What's in a Name? So we discovered yesterday that, through the wonders of common-law trademark, we're going to need to ditch my wife's brand identity. She's fine in LA - but there's an existing business in Seattle whose logo and name are like a shitty version of hers. Unfortunately they've been in practice long enough to have earned the rights to their shitty logo and shitty name, and should my wife move her business (a $2500 process, just for the tax documents) without coming up with a new corporate identity, we are "diluting" their brand. So that sucks. It's entirely possible I'd seen them and subconsciously modeled our shit on theirs. It's just begging for improvement, which is pretty much what my wife's brand is. She's good enough that if you google (common noun) (common verb) you get her business. Whereas theirs is (common noun) (adjective) (adjective) (noun) (adjective) (noun) but two of those five words are synonyms for my wife's noun'n'verb so we're pretty much fucked. To be clear - I'm delighted that "common law trademark" is a thing. It's protective of all the right things. I just wish I'd discovered it myself (I did an exhaustive trademark search and found nothing and assumed we were okay). And to be clear - this is an opportunity to retrench, reconfigure and rebrand. Kind of a bummer that all we're taking north is an EIN, though. So in pursuit of new identities, we went hunting last night. Birth centers want to be welcoming - so "sanctuary" or "refuge" or "haven" are great choices, and all COMPLETELY taken. So then you start looking for synonyms of "house" and they're all awesome. - "The Birth Shack" ...all of which go very well with the logo our (extremely talented and witty) web designer suggested. So then you go down the list of north-westy things. Trillium Birth. Taken. Cedars birth. taken. Puget Sound anything. Taken. So you start leafing through plant spotting guides for the Pacific Northwest and you discover that this beautiful and unassuming little plant, all 5 centimeters of it: ...is called NAKED BROOMRAPE. (someone hates the fuck out of that plant) And that's about where you try on "Naked broomrape birth center" for fun, roll off the couch, recognize that there aren't many combinations of words more likely to grenade one's business than "Naked Broomrape (anything)" and decide you should go to bed, it's midnight, you're drunk. And then your daughter wakes you up at 6am.
- "Birth Shanty" - "The Birth Hole"
First Breath Birth Center Green Apple Birth Center Clear Water Birthing center Soft Mountain Birth Center l'enfant Birth Center balai viol Birth center renaissance birth center Serenity Birth Center Arya Birth Center Melody Birth Center Harmony Birth Center Off the top of my head
Hmm. Pretty interesting re: Common Law Trademark. A distantly related case is my wife's business. Turns out there is a shop with an identical name out in CA. Sometimes her accounts ship her merchandise to us by mistake. Anyway, we're looking at expanding online, and I wonder how that affects the geographical component of CLT...hmm.
What constitutes a "geographical market", vis-a-vis CLT? For those purposes is "Greater Seattle area" the market of interest? I suppose with a birth center one could make an argument that anywhere more than a 30 minute drive probably isn't an overlapping market. Not sure it's defensible, but then, CLTs aren't super defensible to begin with, so far as I can tell. Edit: I think the video has fuckall to say about CLT, because it's from the USPTO, and they don't want to encourage anyone to go that route, as it isn't a great option for businesses or attorneys.
That logo looks like someone is installing a lampshade over a pregnant woman. Have you considered more descriptive / abstract names? A word that sounds comforting because it looks like comforting words but doesn't mean anything. P.S. Maybe this neat lil' PDF can help a bit.
Not only am I going to scrutinize that neat li'l PDF like I'm gettin' paid, but through reciprocal work I've ended up getting a $1500 digital strategy workshop for free, as well as consulting with the guy who runs it. So all is not lost, despite the fact that our company is about to be... something else. More drinking shall be necessary, methinks.
I've never been a fan, actually. If I'm going to mix Kahlua I'll generally throw a little tequila in it and drink it on the rocks. Otherwise I'll drink it on the rocks. If I want a milkshake I'll drink a milkshake. (I never want a milkshake) I recognize that my disdain for White Russians upsets the Dude-like order of the Coen brothers universe, but I've never cared much for the Coens either.
The Internet tells me it's called a " Brave bull". I call it "tequila and kahlua." They also want silver tequila. I usually use whatever rotgut I have on hand, which is often Cazadores, occasionally Hornitos.
But you'd have an excuse to put this in a commercial.
If you can't pull a name out of plants or rivers, how about caves? Ape Cave Births is... not worse than Naked Broomrape Birth Center.And that's about where you try on "Naked broomrape birth center" for fun, roll off the couch, recognize that there aren't many combinations of words more likely to grenade one's business than "Naked Broomrape (anything)" and decide you should go to bed, it's midnight, you're drunk.