Protect Your Cannabis Business: Don’t DIY Legal Work
When starting a business from the ground up, it can be tempting to do as much of the legwork as you can on your own. This is often associated with a desire to cut costs and save money, which is completely understandable. Starting a business is hard! But oftentimes, cutting costs can have detrimental effects on the longevity and success of your business.
Within the cannabis space, competition is fierce and regulations are confusing. Those who attempt to “DIY” their own legal work can be exposing themselves to significant legal and business risks. Not only is obtaining the information you need difficult in itself, adhering to strict regulations requires a proper understanding of the laws governing cannabis sales in California.
There are two important parts of protecting a cannabis business that may require some guidance: patents and trademarks. No, these terms are not mutually exclusive. Let’s take a deeper dive.
Cannabis businesses often feature innovation, which means that there are new ideas and products that require protection from use by others. Novel products and processes should be patented as a form of protection, but often the process can be daunting.
A registered patent attorney must be involved to communicate with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, as the process is highly complex and requires someone with an extensive understanding of drafting, prosecution, litigation and licensing. Choosing the right attorney is key to getting the best results. Cutting costs or trying to execute parts of the process on your own can have unintended consequences down the road.
Trademarks are another element of protection that can keep others from encroaching on a brand you’ve invested to perfect. However, while the process to apply for a trademark may seem simple, the approval does not always come easily. It may seem like something you can do yourself online, but even the USPTO recommends hiring a qualified attorney.
As outlined in a prior post, the complex cannabis space requires extra expertise to carve out rights that can be obtained even with prohibition on federal trademarks for most cannabis goods and services. Translation? The process to get patent or trademark allowed can be long and arduous, and expert guidance is recommended.
Of course, trademarks and patents are only two tools to protect your growing cannabis brand.
We understand that the process of developing and perfecting a product or brand is long and difficult. We’re here to help you simplify the rest. Handling legal work yourself can often be more harmful than beneficial, which is why we’ve begun offering free 30 minute consultations with potential clients.
Let us show you how McConnell Law Firm can help make your licensed cannabis business in California regulation-ready. Book your FREE consultation by clicking here.
As always, nothing in this post constitutes legal advice or representation. Please contact me directly to discuss how the above impacts your specific business situation.
© 2019 McConnell Law Firm