On Wednesday, September 30, 2020, I had the opportunity to teach my Intellectual Property 101 class to the Jim Moran Institute Small Business Executive Program Class VII in Jacksonville, Florida. 

The members of the class included owners of a restaurant, a law firm, a marketing consultant business, an IT managed service provider, a business planning advisor, an equipment company, and a fish aquarium store, to name just a few of the members of the class. 

The class received an overview on the value of intellectual property assets, trademarks, trade dress, trade secrets, copyrights, and patents. The members had a wide range of knowledge and experience in the area of intellectual property law, which made the discussion during and after the presentation fun. 

During the class, one of the business owners went onto the USPTO trademark database and found someone else had registered a trademark that was identical to her company name. We were able to review the trademark information together after the class, and I gave her some advice on the best strategy at this point for her business. It’s a great feeling when you realize that someone actually listens to your presentation and learns something new!

The Institute is part of the Florida State University College of Business and provides executive-level training to well-established small business owners. The mission of the Institute is to cultivate, train, and inspire entrepreneurial leaders through world-class executive education, applied training, public recognition, and leading-edge research.

Learn more about the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship.