Second Anniversary: Blog Round-Up

This month marks the second (!) anniversary of Spear IP's opening. You might notice that Spear IP started as a general intellectual property law practice. In its second year, Spear IP pivoted to focus on the fashion, hospitality, blog and new media, and tech industries, along with creative (non-musical) professionals. Here is a look back at the lessons learned and content shared on the Spear IP Blog during Year Two.

In this last year, you've learned about protecting an idea. You learned what to do (really, what not to do) when a celebrity wears your brand. You also took a deep dive into labeling requirements for clothing. Fashion Revolution Week made us all ask #WhoMadeMyClothes.

Bloggers learned about protecting blog content and putting procedures in place for registering websites or blogs. You also learned about copyright protection for DIY posts and recipes.

Creative professionals discovered fair use and the not-so-black-and-white test that applies to repurposing another's art. Together, we explored the various types of Creative Commons licenses and the terms that apply to each one. You learned that there is more to running a contest on social media than simply saying "tag your friends to enter!"

And finally, I shared some thoughts on what I consider to be essential skills for entrepreneurship (in my humble and not-at-all-expert opinion).

Year Two was the Year of the Checklist. Many of you signed up for Spear IP's free fashion tool: a Basic Legal Checklist for Fashion Brands. That list is available on Spear IP's Fashion Industry Page (and also here). You'll also notice a more general, non-industry-specific legal checklist is available on the Spear IP Homepage (or, alternatively, at this link) -- a Basic Legal Checklist for Modern Brands. The checklists are educational and provide some hot topics to think through when starting or growing a business. They're fancy, too (read: hyperlinks to more detailed content and interactive check-boxes).

So what's on deck for Spear IP: Year Three? Some pretty exciting things. Stay tuned, and you'll find out.