S06.E23: BeeSweet Lemonade, BrandYourself, iCPooch, The Home T

[marny]

Hmm, the guy on etsy selling the Home t-shirts claims to have a trademark on "Home." And some of the photos on the Shark Tank guy's websites don't have the little "the Home T" on the shirts (look specifically at these: http://www.thehomet.com/pages/reviews). It looks like Etsy guy could have a great lawsuit if he really does have the trademark.

Edited March 22, 2015 by marny

[leighdear]

I'm a Floridian.  I just went over to the cafepress website, and they have over 40 THOUSAND ladies Florida T-shirts.  Most with much more attractive designs at a much cheaper price.  My own not-terribly-well-known town has 218 different designs available. 

 

I also checked out the etsy guy's merchandise.  He should have trademarked a more unique design because unfortunately that one is boring. 

 

There really is no need for what he's offering and I'm glad they shut him down.

[JellyFishQueen]

What ever happen to kevin harrington? He just vanished from the show?

[nobodyyoucare]

What ever happen to kevin harrington? He just vanished from the show?

Yes and good riddance. He never made that many deals and he never went on a deal unless another shark did it first. Only deal he went after by himself was the pee stick.

 

I am surprise the T Shirt guy never thought of going into handbags, backpacks, wallets etc with home state on it. That way he can expand his t shirt company outside of it?

The guy did have stuff like that. He said the non t-shirt stuff was ten percent of his business.

[Guest]

To be fair though, with every single person practically a papparazzi now and social media just a few clicks away, stupid stuff about yourself getting uploaded to the internet doesn't have to be necessarily just coming from you. You have to avoid stupid friends, avoid possible stupid situations, etc. (which sometimes can be out of your control, etc.). Basically, just be a perfect person and stay home.

I don't know... outside of public intoxication, nudity or crime, what could someone capture that I'd pay money to have a potential employer not see?  Me without mascara?  Me bowling a gutter ball?  

[theatremouse]

I'd imagine most of the evidence people want to go unnnoticed is related to intoxication. Or otherwise poor judgement. It's not necessarily just crimes that could lose you a gig. Some employers could see any number of types of buffoonery and decide you're not a right fit for the corporate culture.

Of course there's always the option to just not post that sort of thing on the internet, but the population seems to in large numbers, not have gone that route. Which strikes me as weird about this dude's customer base: self-aware enough to realize it looks bad, but not so much to have not put it out there in the first place. So yeah, I guess, great marks for his business.

Edited March 23, 2015 by theatremouse

[nobodyyoucare]

I'd imagine most of the evidence people want to go unnnoticed is related to intoxication. Or otherwise poor judgement. It's not necessarily just crimes that could lose you a gig. Some employers could see any number of types of buffoonery and decide you're not a right fit for the corporate culture.

Of course there's always the option to just not post that sort of thing on the internet, but the population seems to in large numbers, not have gone that route. Which strikes me as weird about this dude's customer base: self-aware enough to realize it looks bad, but not so much to have not put it out there in the first place. So yeah, I guess, great marks for his business.

It's like a bad tat. Only after do you realize you shouldn't have done it. 

[needschocolate]

At $3 bucks a bottle , I would only buy it once, but I want to try the mint lemonade.  And I don't care if he dad was really in charge, that little girl was amazing.  I couldn't believe she remembered the whole pitch. 

 

I like the t-shirt idea, but not the price, and not the guy. 

 

I don't drink and I am not looking for a job, so I have no interest in the web search cleanser..  I also don't hire people, but, if I did, I would now know to go to the 3rd or 4th page of search results when checking out prospective employees. 

 

How do people know their dog has separation anxiety? Because they came home and found out their dog destroyed something while they were gone.  The doggy Face-time toy is just something for them to destroy when they are feeling anxious. 

 

And, on the rare chance that it helps with anxiety, the dog will still destroy the toy to get to the treats.  Dogs natural chew on something if they think it leads to food - pet owners encourage (enable?) this behavior by filling the Kong with treats when we leave so that the dog can spend some time chewing the Kong to get the treats out.  The dog isn't going to understand that he isn't supposed to chew this new toy filled with treats.

 

So the dog toy is only god for dogs that don't have separation anxiety and are either extremely patient, extremely well-trained, or toothless. 

 

This talk of separation anxiety in dogs reminded me a of a story a guy told me years ago --- He had a dog for a few years and never had any trouble with separation anxiety, until he cam home from work one day and his dog had destroyed something.  After that, the dog destroyed something every day, including things like the drywall and door frames.  He took the dog to the vet.  The vet asked if there had been any change at the house.  The guy said that they had remodeled and gotten new window treatments.  The vet asked if the dog could see him leave.  The guy realized that the dog used to be able to see out the front window but couldn't do that anymore.  So he started leaving the drapes open a little bit and the dog didn't destroy anything anymore.  The theory was that, when the dog didn't see him go, the dog would look for him and destroy things in the process. 

 

When we dog sit for my brother's dog, I always make sure that the dog watches him drive off.  Then the dog is fine at my house, but the one time she didn't see him drive away, she sat by the door for hours waiting for him to come back in. 

[NikSac]

In other words, the idea is great but you don't need to buy this product. Unless you want a really expensive way to give your dog treats whlle you are away.

 

Very good point. When I felt really guilty once about  leaving my dog for the weekend I put him outside and hid a bunch of treat around the house and inside of his toys. He enjoyed it (as far as I know) and it was a helluva lot cheaper than buying him in iPad and treat dispenser.

[cooksdelight]

BrandYourself.com, the internet search guy, has nothing proprietary and there's another company out there that's been doing the same thing for years. Reputation.com does the same thing. It erases anything about you online you want to disappear. They charge a fee, but it's not tens of thousands as the guy said. A business I used to work for used them and were very happy with results.

[slowpoked]

I don't know... outside of public intoxication, nudity or crime, what could someone capture that I'd pay money to have a potential employer not see?  Me without mascara?  Me bowling a gutter ball?  

Say a public confrontation in a restaurant that everyone who could see would use their Iphone videos and upload on Instagram/Facebook/Twitter and caption "Crazy customer goes ballistic on poor waitress!!!!" I've seen "viral" videos of people unknowingly being videotaped or photographed just because they did something "interesting" for the public to see, but 10 years ago, these videos wouldn't even make it in the light of day. I mean, if people think to instagramming every single food they order, they would do it on more "fun" stuff like people losing their shit on public. It's unfortunate, but it happens. 

[Guest]

I think it's a far cry from 'just stay home', though.  I don't lose my shit in public, so I don't worry about it any more than I worry about pics of me committing a crime or public intoxication or nude selfies or anything else I don't do.  

 

Also, it seems like the pics/vids of you with your name attached (not 'crazy customer') are the issue and those were posted by someone you know.  You could ask them to remove the pic or video or remove your name from it.  It seems a lot easier than hiring a company to bury it in false positive info about you.  Though I guess if people you know dislike you enough to refuse to remove your name from damaging pics online, then you might be a customer.  

[roctavia]

I don't know... outside of public intoxication, nudity or crime, what could someone capture that I'd pay money to have a potential employer not see?  Me without mascara?  Me bowling a gutter ball?  

 

 

There have been several cases of teachers being fired because of photographs of them showing up online not intoxicated or necessarily doing anything bad... but because they are holding a beer... or in one case, it was someone holding a red plastic solo cup. So not even any proof that there was alcohol in it....  

 

Pictures like that- say at a friends party/ summer barbecue could actually cost someone their job- which I think is pretty sad in itself. So I guess I can sort of see why this is something there is a market for. That said, it's not something I found overly compelling.

 

 

This weeks episode was sort of boring IMO... the t-shirt thing just went on and on... it's interesting that there is someone else on Etsy with a similar product... but I don't know how you could trademark the word "home" unless it's a very specific font or something... that's like try to claim the word "the" or something so you get a penny everytime someone uses it... home is just too common of a word.

Edited March 23, 2015 by Jjrmt

[charlieboo]

I agree.  Who pays $5000/year to hide their stupid pics?

 

As I understand it, the pictures and links don't disappear, they just get buried on page 2 of a google search.  But surely any company that takes these background checks so seriously will just start jumping to page 2 automatically to see what the applicant is knowingly trying to hide.

I suspect this problem will burn itself out over the course of the next few years as more and more millennials enter the workforce and more and more boomers exit.  It's like how smoking pot used to be a surefire way for a presidential candidate to lose, whereas now it's pretty much expected that anyone under the age of 50 has tried it.

[Guest]

There have been several cases of teachers being fired because of photographs of them showing up online not intoxicated or necessarily doing anything bad... but because they are holding a beer... or in one case, it was someone holding a red plastic solo cup. So not even any proof that there was alcohol in it....  

 

Pictures like that- say at a friends party/ summer barbecue could actually cost someone their job- which I think is pretty sad in itself. So I guess I can sort of see why this is something there is a market for. That said, it's not something I found overly compelling.

 

 

This weeks episode was sort of boring IMO... the t-shirt thing just went on and on... it's interesting that there is someone else on Etsy with a similar product... but I don't know how you could trademark the word "home" unless it's a very specific font or something... that's like try to claim the word "the" or something so you get a penny everytime someone uses it... home is just too common of a word.

 

How could a teacher get fired for drinking a beer, or holding a red cup?  Drinking beer is legal.  Were they on a class field trip or something?  I feel like if you have a job where you're not allowed to drink ever, though I can't think of one, then I think you should be fired if you're caught drinking.  So to me it's not an injustice, though is a photo of someone holding a drink proof enough?  

 

I agree about the word 'home'.  

 

Edited to add I found the teacher story and others like it.  Most sued the employers successfully, it sounds like.  Though the big GA case the teacher lost because she resigned, feeling she was bullied into it.  That was clearly ridiculous.  She was in the Guinness brewery in Ireland holding up a glass of beer.  She would've won if she made them fire her.  

Edited March 23, 2015 by Guest

[Kromm]

re: the DogPad.

 

I do wonder, as some have suggested, if it's more the SOUND of the owner's voice the dogs are reacting to more than the face image.

 

It's hard to tell with dogs.  On one hand it's common knowledge that their eyes are built fairly different from ours.  

 

On the other hand, they're also the only other creature on the planet who we're 100% sure can read human facial expressions.  Ergo, we know they can recognize a lot about what makes a face a face.

 

The myth is that dogs see in black and white. that's actually not true.  Supposedly the difference is that dogs simply have less color sensitivity.  Red, yellow and green all look like one color to them, blue and purple a second color, and cyan and magenta as a third.  So they're basically red-green color blind, similar to humans who have that condition.  They also can't see detail and brightness levels nearly as well as us.

 

But despite that, they still somehow know what to process looking at human faces.

[roctavia]

How could a teacher get fired for drinking a beer, or holding a red cup?  Drinking beer is legal.  Were they on a class field trip or something?  I feel like if you have a job where you're not allowed to drink ever, though I can't think of one, then I think you should be fired if you're caught drinking.  So to me it's not an injustice, though is a photo of someone holding a drink proof enough?  

 

I agree about the word 'home'.  

 

Edited to add I found the teacher story and others like it.  Most sued the employers successfully, it sounds like.  Though the big GA case the teacher lost because she resigned, feeling she was bullied into it.  That was clearly ridiculous.  She was in the Guinness brewery in Ireland holding up a glass of beer.  She would've won if she made them fire her.  

 

 

Certainly the firings weren't exactly legal (though some schools can make people sign a contract saying they won't do x thing - like the unwed teacher who was fired from a religious based school for being pregnant- though the father of the baby who worked at the same school wasn't fired... hmmm)  but more it's something that sets a 'bad' example and crazy parents flip out and someone gets fired.  I'm glad to hear that the cases you found turned out well for most of those teachers ( i mean, as well as can be expected when someone gets fired), since they should be able to sue for wrongful termination... but it does go to show how ridiculous things can get when it comes to stuff posted on the internet and employers.

Edited March 23, 2015 by Jjrmt

[nobodyyoucare]

re: the DogPad.

 

I do wonder, as some have suggested, if it's more the SOUND of the owner's voice the dogs are reacting to more than the face image.

 

It's hard to tell with dogs.  On one hand it's common knowledge that their eyes are built fairly different from ours.  

 

On the other hand, they're also the only other creature on the planet who we're 100% sure can read human facial expressions.  Ergo, we know they can recognize a lot about what makes a face a face.

 

The myth is that dogs see in black and white. that's actually not true.  Supposedly the difference is that dogs simply have less color sensitivity.  Red, yellow and green all look like one color to them, blue and purple a second color, and cyan and magenta as a third.  So they're basically red-green color blind, similar to humans who have that condition.  They also can't see detail and brightness levels nearly as well as us.

 

But despite that, they still somehow know what to process looking at human faces.

Dog toys shouldn't be red for example. The red ball and the grass have the same exact color so the red ball gets lost. Now they can find tennis balls not because of eye sight but because the surface of the tennis ball soaks up their saliva and has the owner's scent on it. Blue they can see quite well. Also their night and motion sensing is a bit better then humans. But for the tradeoff in lack of color and not seeing so good they get incredible hearing and smell. Odds are you have seen blind dogs being walked on a leash and had no idea the dog couldn't see at all.

 

http://www.cracked.com/article_19935_8-ridiculous-animal-myths-you-probably-believe_p2.html 

 

 

 

How could a teacher get fired for drinking a beer, or holding a red cup?  Drinking beer is legal.  Were they on a class field trip or something?  I feel like if you have a job where you're not allowed to drink ever, though I can't think of one, then I think you should be fired if you're caught drinking.  So to me it's not an injustice, though is a photo of someone holding a drink proof enough?  

 

I agree about the word 'home'.  

 

Edited to add I found the teacher story and others like it.  Most sued the employers successfully, it sounds like.  Though the big GA case the teacher lost because she resigned, feeling she was bullied into it.  That was clearly ridiculous.  She was in the Guinness brewery in Ireland holding up a glass of beer.  She would've won if she made them fire her.  

Those were just some of the examples of people being fired that made it to the media and managed to sue. The majority of people fired didn't sue or lost their cases.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/17-people-who-were-fired-for-using-facebook-2014-7 

[piewarmer]

It's not necessarily just drunken spring break photos people might not want front and center, or in fact anything they've posted. 

 

I was the victim of a white collar crime. There were (small scale) news stories that included my name. Although I didn't commit the crime, I'm not super crazy about potential employers seeing these stories as they might question my professional judgment, and a number of the stories aren't particularly accurate. The stories were published for quite a few years, every time there were subpoenas, arrests, indictments, convictions, releases from jail, etc.

Edited March 23, 2015 by piewarmer

[Guest]

Those were just some of the examples of people being fired that made it to the media and managed to sue. The majority of people fired didn't sue or lost their cases.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/17-people-who-were-fired-for-using-facebook-2014-7 

I only looked at about 5 of those 17 people's stories but they were fired for clearly breaking policies and other gross misconduct that took place on Facebook.  

Here's just one: 

The day after a sixth grader died during a field trip to the beach, 15-year teaching veteran Christine Rubio posted the following to her Facebook profile:

"After today, I'm thinking the beach is a good trip for my class. I hate their guts."

The school board is figuring out how to proceed.

 

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/17-people-who-were-fired-for-using-facebook-2014-7?op=1#ixzz3VFhVwYTP

[Lola16]

If you don't have a unique name like Daymond's, when employment firms do searches, they can confuse other people's misdeeds and missteps as yours.  It sucks but it has happened.  There isn't always a photo, location or age associated with it to verify.  People can be disqualified even before the HR person at the company even reads their resume.  That would suck.  So if there's a free service that will help you to promote good stories with your names, basically giving people free SEO advice, why not?

 

 

When I've had to board my cats, I have been known to call the vet's office and ask how my cats are doing. I'm sure the vet's office thinks I'm completely nuts. If I had the means, I wouldn't be above installing cameras in my home to watch my cats sleep during the day. And invite the neighborhood cats over to play poker and get high on the 'nip.

I've called to speak to my cat.  If I had to work late, I'd call him and leave him a message.  When I traveled, I'd ask to speak to him.  I didn't do that will all my cats but some seem to want the connection.  My current cat sulks when I'm away over night.  So I call him.  He purrs.  He'd also rip that treat dispenser to shreds. 

 

I was also surprised the iPooch girl was 14.  I thought she was one of those women that talk like a girl.  Good for her.   Wonder if her partner really left Asus or he was laid off and decided to try this.

 

 

 

I'm glad the T-shirt guy didn't take that deal from Daymond. I usually like Daymond but I didn't like it that he offered a deal to the guy because he would want to work with the guy, but just so he could prove his point. I wouldn't want a partner like that either. On that note, he should have maybe try to counter at 15%. But yeah, I agree with Mark that he shouldn't have had to take those deals because he had a fair enough valuation that can be justified by his sales. There's risk involved, but the sharks were putting too much premium on the risk, IMO. 

T-Shirt guy seemed shifty.  I think he wanted the bump from the show and he under-estimated how they'd respond to the 5%.  He acknowledged he knew they wouldn't accept it but thought it would give him room to negotiate.  Thought it was also odd that he wore such an ill-fitting t-shirt.

[bilgistic]

I've called to speak to my cat. If I had to work late, I'd call him and leave him a message. When I traveled, I'd ask to speak to him. I didn't do that will all my cats but some seem to want the connection. My current cat sulks when I'm away over night. So I call him. He purrs.

I'm cracking up over this. My mind has gone to this place: You call him, and the boarding place tells you he can't come to the phone because he's in the john.

[cooksdelight]

Hey, I used to leave messages on my answering machine for my cats.

[Lola16]

I'm cracking up over this. My mind has gone to this place: You call him, and the boarding place tells you he can't come to the phone because he's in the john.

Ha!  I'm fortunate.  I've been able to 'board' my cats with my mom for the most part over the years.  More familiar for them and gives her something else to complain about :D

[marny]

This weeks episode was sort of boring IMO... the t-shirt thing just went on and on... it's interesting that there is someone else on Etsy with a similar product... but I don't know how you could trademark the word "home" unless it's a very specific font or something... that's like try to claim the word "the" or something so you get a penny everytime someone uses it... home is just too common of a word.

I presume the Home trademark is for the font and the period after the word-- and the etsy guy's font is the same font the Shark Tank guy is using.  It's more like stealing a logo than simply using the word "home".

[basiltherat]

Can you trademark a font  ?  If so, do I owe somebody money for putting the word "font" iitalics (or for using quotation marks)?

[roctavia]

Can you trademark a font  ?  If so, do I owe somebody money for putting the word "font" iitalics (or for using quotation marks)?

 

 

I suppose if you created your own special font? But even then.... it is maybe the combination of the font, the word and the period after it or something... making it a "logo" instead of just a word. Which means that someone could still very easily rip it off by changing the font or adding a different symbol with it.

 

I suppose someone out there got paid millions for comic sans... but don't get residuals for every day use of it...

[NikSac]

Hey, I used to leave messages on my answering machine for my cats.

 

I've left messages for my dogs, too.  And it was wayyyy cheaper than a special device plus treats and tablets.

[NikSac]

Can you trademark a font  ?  If so, do I owe somebody money for putting the word "font" iitalics (or for using quotation marks)?

 

I think so, actually. I can't even remember what it was for, but years ago I tried to use the "got milk?" font for something at work and I was told by Legal I couldn't use it, unless the company bought rights to use it (and they weren't interested in spending the $$).

[cooksdelight]

Only if it's a proprietary font created especially for an ad campaign. Most fonts that are out there are fair game.

[Katmai]

A certain chicken chain tried to keep a small business from using "eat more" for his EatMoreKale.com business by saying they had exclusive rights to those two words. After a three year legal battle, the small business won.

[NikSac]

I wasn't sure where to put this.. but just saw an ad for "After the Tank" which is supposed to follow up on businesses after Shark Tank. Sounds like a fun show!  Unfortunately my DVR can't find it yet but I assume it's on the same channel.

[LeGrandElephant]

Maybe I'm cold hearted, but I actually really hated them presenting that lemonade business as all hers. I bet her dad does her science fair projects for her, too. I think I would have been ok with it if they at least said it was "our" business, like they were partners, though either way it's clear he's the one running it.

The dog thing needs work. I thought she should have pointed out they wouldn't pee on it because it dispenses food, and animals don't usually pee where they eat. But I bet they would totally chew on it or knock it over.

Edited March 25, 2015 by LeGrandElephant

[starri]

I wasn't sure where to put this.. but just saw an ad for "After the Tank" which is supposed to follow up on businesses after Shark Tank. Sounds like a fun show!  Unfortunately my DVR can't find it yet but I assume it's on the same channel.

There's no announcement on when Beyond the Tank is going to air, but I'm going to assume it's going to be over the summer.

[ae2]

Lots of completely valid reasons to want to make certain search results disappear:

 

• another person with the same name as you got arrested for a DUI
• stupid things you did in college or high school that you're not proud of (they don't have to be illegal to be embarrassing)
• an opinion you wrote a long time ago
• a picture on FB that someone tagged you in
• a dispute you had with a contractor where they tried to smear your name (in my case, the contractor went after not only me, but my S.O. as well, all for leaving a bad but completely factual review where I documented all of my problems with photos!)
• contributions you made to a charity or organization that you'd rather remain private 
• in general, keeping your private life separate from your work life

 

One of my clients has the same name as someone who shows up on IMDB as having acted in a couple adult movies, but the actor isn't popular enough to have pictures attached, so if you're not digging too deep you might mistake the two.

 

I've worked in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and online marketing for a long time. That said, there is very little anyone can do to "erase" results on the web. Facebook lets you control when people can tag you, and the general privacy of your own page. Anything on a third party site is completely out of your control.

 

The only way to remove links about you is to email the site owner and ask that your name be removed. This rarely ever works.

 

So these "reputation" services try to bury the bad search results under ones you want to show up. BrandYourself.com doesn't seem to even create the good results, they make you do that. It looks like they try to get you to create things like a Twitter account, a LinkedIn profile, and other generic things. Then they try to get those results ranking higher by telling you how to "optimize" these profiles for search. Other services do a lot more than this one seems to do.

 

(I guess their next level concierge service does this for you. It's not totally clear.)

[nobodyyoucare]

Remember you get what you pay for. Brandyourself has a free service and then paid services which actually have humans work on your online presence. Brandyourself claims they do it cheaper then other paid services. That is their whole schtick a free and a cheaper paid service. Wheter or not they are better then their competition I suspect those that plunk down cash would try them out and see if there is a difference. 

[NikSac]

I was actually pulled over - at gunpoint, no less - by at least 10 cops that I could see in my rear view mirror. They made me face away from them when I got out of the car, so I have no idea how many there actually were. I know they shut down the street (4 lanes!), and I heard the dog that wanted a piece of me, although thankfully the 'lead' cop said "no we don't need the k9."  Out of the corner of my eye I saw some guy video taping the whole thing. It turned out to be a big mistake and someone had apparently stolen my license plate and slapped one on my car from some sort of very bad crime. I've always wondered if that incident would show up online somewhere even though it was a big mistake and I now check my license plates every single time I get in the car... but I'm still not sure I'd pay some guy to make sure it only showed up on page 2 of a search engine.

Edited March 26, 2015 by NikSac

[Guest]

I notice one of the BrandYourself execs worked for Barbara Corcoran from 2006-2010.

 

https://brandyourself.com/info/about/team/10091

 

"... he landed a position as Director of Media of Barbara Corcoran Inc.. During Patrick’s 4 year stint he helped build dozens of Shark Tank businesses and the ‘Barbara Corcoran’ brand...."

[nobodyyoucare]

http://heavy.com/entertainment/2015/03/brand-yourself-google-search-profile-results-shark-tank-products-season-6-episodes-march-20/ 

 

"It all began when one of the co-founders, Pete Kistler, was applying for an internship, and realized that when potential employers Googled his name, a sex offender and a prisoner came up."

 

Yeah you don't want to be confused with those other guys when people google your name. . 

[Guest]

I guess I'm lucky.  When you google my name, people MORE impressive come up.  

[jackjill89]

I guess I'm lucky.  When you google my name, people MORE impressive come up.  

Me too! My name twin is a songwriter :)  I've had people leave messages for me asking for my songwriting services.

 

I went on the home t website and I wish I hadn't. I'm being followed all over the internet by home t ads. Arghhh. I don't want the stupid, over priced t-shirt!

[Jamoche]

Can you trademark a font  ?  If so, do I owe somebody money for putting the word "font" iitalics (or for using quotation marks)?

Yes. It's a creative work, and if it's still under copyright there are license rules - some are free, some cost money, and it gets complicated depending on what you do with them; printing something out in a font has different rules from packing it up in a bundle and selling it. Arial exists because MS didn't want to pay the license fees to ship Helvetica with every copy of Windows.

 

You can also trademark a particular usage of a font - you can't use the same font as Coca-Cola for a soft drink logo, for instance.

[pigs-in-space]

I'm tempted to buy from the guy on etsy but I have a tattoo of the state of NC. That's not a joke. I'm an at-least-eighth-generation North Carolinian. I like calling North Carolina home! Pun.

 

No judgement, I have a Maryland Flag tattoo.  There's also a fairly successful (as far as I know) Maryland business called Route One Apparel that's all about Maryland flag branded items (we love our flag here in Maryland, even if everyone else thinks it's ugly).  And I do love the outline of states (my tattoo was almost the MD outline...until I realized that from far away it would look like I had a gun tattooed on me).  The guy seems to have run a successful business so far, and I wish him the best, but you can find state-outline t-shirts and items everywhere - many cooler and cheaper than his.  I too got the impression that he was just looking for free publicity.

 

The dog thing...I should be able to relate, because yes, I've totally set up a camera to spy on my cats while I'm at work, and my stepdad has done the same because one of his dogs has separation anxiety and he likes the peace of mind of knowing his bedroom hasn't been completely destroyed, but that item...I just can't see it working.  And it was so odd that the guy helping with the business was some random family friend who decided to work on it full time.

[Saylii]

BeeSweet Lemonade is from my area, so the news channels covered it pretty extensively.

They use honey to sweeten the lemonade from sources in the local area and they give back some of the proceeds of the lemonade to use to save bee colonies around Central Texas. I'm sure that was left on the cutting room floor since I can't see them forgetting to mention that.

The online presence guy definitely has the right idea, but I'm not sure decreasing the search engine pages is the way to go. I found the login to an old email address from high school and I was shocked how much old crap was tied to my name, and that email address. Old fanfiction, bad poetry, old blogs I had long forgotten about, etc etc. None of it was particularly racy that could have gotten me fired, but googling that email address brought all that up and was tied to my first and lass name. I prefer my coworkers not to have access to stuff from 15 years ago, so I spent a week trying to scrub that email. I'd say 90% of the stuff is still out there, even with me emailing and calling companies to request it's removable. Find me a service that can do that for a reasonable price and I'm all in.

Edited March 29, 2015 by Saylii

[Lola16]

 

 . I found the login to an old email address from high school and I was shocked how much old crap was tied to my name, and that email address. Old fanfiction, bad poetry, old blogs I had long forgotten about, etc etc. None of it was particularly racy that could have gotten me fired, but googling that email address brought all that up and was tied to my first and lass name. 

If it's a free email service like Yahoo, hotmail, aim, etc, can you go in and change the username on the account?   Maybe that would help to remove some of the mentions.  I know I did that with an old Yahoo account.  I set up a new one in my name and just subscribe to business newsletters etc.  The other one, I gave it its own username and have removed it from any social networks, sites etc that I could find.

[Amarsir]

Can you trademark a font  ?  If so, do I owe somebody money for putting the word "font" iitalics (or for using quotation marks)?

Just a quick breakdown:

 

A Trademark is what you use to identify your business. It can be something as broad as a color (like UPS did with their shade of brown, or Reese's with their orange). But that's because it only applies to the scope of your industry. So you can sell floor cleaner in a solid brown box but can't decorate your shipping trucks like that.  To get one you have to demonstrate that you're operating trade under that mark, and then file it.

 

A Copyright is for an artistic work. It's actually granted automatically for obviously original work like a song or piece of writing. Registering it only makes the recordkeeping easier for future defenses.  It can also be applied to something like a font - and has been many times. However there's a somewhat higher burden of proof and registration because it's less obviously unique to a casual observer.

 

A Patent is on an invented technique or design and blocks others from using that technique or design.  It can be the most powerful but accordingly is also given the shortest life. (20 years)