With 14 other states and the District of Columbia having joined California in legalizing medicinal marijuana, and potential pot sales estimated at $35-45 billion if it's ever legalized nationwide, the attorneys at Berkeley's Cobalt law firm had a message Thursday for the industry:
It's time to get serious about your intellectual property.
Entrepreneurs are pouring large amounts of money into education, cultivation and dispensing, but stand to take big losses if they don't lock down their IP.
"What's the point of building the Taj Mahal if you can't lock the front door?" associate Lezlie Huston said to an audience of 38 that included both entrepreneurs and other IP lawyers.
The catch is that marijuana remains illegal under federal law. So the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office isn't going to register Big Fatty, Orange Krush or Alaska Thunder Fuck any time soon. The Purple Heart Patient Center may be popular among Oaklanders, but the PTO isn't going to approve.
So Cobalt partner Tsan Abrahamson offered some practical advice:
Don't try to register a mark for manufacturing or dispensing. Instead, consider building the brand around a broader set of legal activities such as running a community center or offering educational services. (Two years ago, Abrahamson registered the Lollipipe, an "edibile candy tobacco pipe.")
Try registering with the state of California. That will protect a trademark in California, and create leverage to block infringement in states where medical pot isn't legal.
Don't indulge questionable practices like contests, coupons or sweepstakes -- that will only draw more scrutiny from regulators.
And make sure not to appropriate someone else's mark, no matter how funny you think it is.
Comments