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Artist Uses Social Media To Fund Legal Defense

2010-06-01T10:48:16-04:00

Reknown Artist John T. Unger found himself under legal attack after a copycat artist tried to usurp his copyright claim to his original work. After mounting his defense, it became apparent that this was going to take more time and money then originally thought. John turned to his peers and a growing audience of social media to send a message of hope to other artists who have had the same happen to them and to ask for resources to take the fight to the end. He discusses some of the points of the case and its resolution with Damien Allen on today's program.

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Announcer: Today’s program is brought to you by the attorneys at Traverse Legal, PLC, a global law firm specializing in Internet law, Trademark infringement, Copyright Infringement, Cybersquatting, On-Line Defamation, Non-Compete & Trade Secret Law and Complex litigation. If you have a legal matter arising on the web, Contact one of Traverse Legal’s internet lawyers today to learn how these innovative attorneys are changing the way law is practiced. Welcome to Traverse Legal Radio. Now here’s your host, Damien Allen.

Damien Allen: Good afternoon and welcome to Traverse Legal Radio. My name is Damien Allen, and today I am on the phone with John T. Unger of John T. Unger Studios of Mancelona, Michigan. John is an artist who makes artisanal firebowls. Good afternoon and welcome to the program, John.

John T. Unger: Hi, Damien. Glad to be here.

Damien Allen: It’s a pleasure to have you today, sir. Now, recently, you were involved in a case, a little piece of litigation, where a competitor decided to copy some of your designs for your artisanal firebowls and then sue you to make you stop using your own designs, basically run you into the ground, and, of course, he tried to do this in federal court. I understand you had a kind of unique model for funding your defense.

John T. Unger: Yeah. I mean, we fought it out of pocket for a long time, and I felt like it was very important to do that. Then when we got to the point where we really couldn’t carry the cost of the campaign anymore, we took it to the internet and were able to raise a significant amount of both awareness and money for our case. That really turned the balance in our favor, and we were able to settle out of court and achieve the goals that we had, which were basically to protect our designs and keep anyone else from using them. I think, one of the things we should touch on is that going into litigation like this it’s really important to understand what your goals are. We didn’t receive any damages or legal fees, so we’re still out the money that we spent, but our primary goal was to protect the intellectual property and to protect the rights of other artists. We didn’t want the case to set a bad precedent that would affect other artists.

Damien Allen: And copyright infringement is something that artists, of any sort, have to deal with. When you took it to the internet, what did you do on the internet in order to fund this?

John T. Unger: Initially, what I did was I wrote a very long post on my website, on my blog, that described what was happening to me and why it was important for other artists and other people to care about, how people could help us raise money, how they could help us raise awareness, how the lawsuit affected others, and what I was doing myself and had already done before asking for help. And I think in a case like this where you’re going to try and raise funds over the web, the most important thing to do, once you figure out what your goals are, is to figure out what the story is, what questions people are going to naturally want answers to, making sure those are answered in the copy that you write. Supporting documentation is really good. I included a PDF link to the lawsuit. I included PDF links to the actual copyright certificates for our designs. That way, the more people know, they’re not going to read the whole thing necessarily, but if they see that everything is there, then when they ask questions you can say well, it’s right there. Because you never know how people are going to react to a story. There are some people who just really think copyright is only for corporations and is just plain evil, and they’re going to attack any pro-copyright stance, so you need to have answers for those people. Another thing that’s really important to do is take the time to really write a compelling story. You don’t want to use actionable language. You don’t want to call the other party names or any of that, but it’s okay to use strong language that’s based on fact or clearly labeled as opinion but that explains how you feel about it and why you think it’s important. Recently, when I was talking to somebody else who’s planning to organize a campaign, some of the best advice I have on this matter is if it does take off, you’re going to get a ton of email. I was getting 300 emails a day at the peak of the frenzy, and you need to be able to respond to all of those. Many of them are going to require that you actually write a personal email back that addresses whatever somebody said, but if you have a lot of well-written boilerplates for the thank you’s and for the thank you for the support and this is what we’re going to do, that kind of thing, if you have that stuff written in advance, which we didn’t, it will save you an immeasurable amount of time and then you can personalize the boilerplate so that it actually addresses each individual email a little more personally. Another thing that we did is in the how you can help raise awareness section. In terms of fundraising, we had two things going on. I had a sale on certain models of the firebowls, and I also developed a whole new line of 600 sculptures that were available through a website called kickstarter.com, which is a fundraising website that the people don’t get billed unless you raise your target goal. Our target goal was $5,000; we raised $10,000 in a little over a week with that. So, have a clear and easy way for people to contribute funds. Make it really clear that if you’re not a not for profit, these are not tax deductible, and you really have to be very clear about that. And then, in terms of raising awareness, I had a numbered list of ways they could do that, and I should probably just read it to you because it’s not on the web anymore.

Damien Allen: Sure.

John T. Unger: But it was: 1. If you have a blog, please write a post and link to this page, feel free to quote as much of this post as you like or to write about it in your own words. It is important to stick to the facts and avoid derogatory language. 2. If you know any journalist or bloggers who would be interested in this story, please send them a link and ask them to help. 3. Use Twitter, Facebook forums and other social networks to help spread the story. 4. If you are an artist and use Etsy, 1000markets or ArtFire, please tell other artists about this case in the forums there. 5. If you have an email newsletter, consider sharing a link to this story with your mailing list. 6. Tell your friends. 7. Email this post to a friend, which was a live link. 8. Throw a benefit party to help raise awareness and funds. 9. Alert your local arts counsel, library or schools. 10. Be creative, which is sort of the dangerous one. Some people were a little too creative, and I had to write another follow-up post saying, no, really, we have to keep everything about above board. And you do. But I think one thing I would have done a little bit differently, I would…we had the long post that really went into detail and was more emotional and was more of the story. We had press releases which were much shorter and dryer and just to the facts. If I were ever to do this in the future, I would, for instance, write ten different tweets that people could use on Twitter that were sort of approved language. I would write some stuff specifically for Facebook, specifically for forums, because people don’t know what to write themselves and sometimes they overstep or get things wrong. So if you provide them a really easy way to participate without having to work real hard, you’re going to be a lot more successful and the message is going to be a lot cleaner and clearer. I think that’s probably one of the strongest points I would urge people to do in a situation like this is, is have a prepared copy that people can share. Another thing that you need to know….let’s describe a little bit of the process of what happens. So, I wrote the blog post. I put it up at 6:00 pm on a Monday, when typically the internet is pretty dead, and I chose that time because I wanted to have a good eight hours or so for the story to spread before the opposing counsel asked us to take it down, because I had a feeling they were going to do that. And they did, and we said we have free speech rights, and, you know, we do. But what was interesting and totally unexpected was I figured the only people who were really going to care we’re going to be friends and clients and people who knew me by reputation on the internet. Some of those friends are pretty famous bloggers, so I thought the story might spread. But, what I did when I wrote the post was it wasn’t all about me. I really was concerned about other artists’ rights and I still am. And so, I made it about a bigger issue than just myself. Because let’s be honest, no matter who we are, most people don’t care that much. You need to make your story be about something bigger than yourself, and if you do that, you need to really be prepared to give back somewhat as a result of that. You have to really be responsible to the position you’ve taken. So, in my case, I said that if we raised more money than we needed for the case, which we didn’t, we would start a not for profit and do a national as opposed to a state-based legal aid for artists, a national one. And it turns out, that the reason that doesn’t already exist is because it really is a nontrivial problem to have a national not for profit. So, I think, what we’ll end up doing instead, is I’ve registered defendart.org, and it’s going to eventually be an information resource for other artists and creatives in a similar position. And we had a really hard time finding pro bono organizations, and we weren’t able to find one in Michigan that could help us because the funding for that was cut. What I want to do is collect all of the possible places people can look for help and all of the resources that are going to be useful for them and maybe some boilerplate cease and desist letters, stuff like that, that they can use, and I haven’t done that yet because I’m still kind of PTSD from the whole thing.

Damien Allen: How long was this legal siege?

John T. Unger: It was almost a year, and it ended up occupying probably 50% of my working hours for at least the second half of that. That’s something I can’t stress strongly enough to people in that position is it may not be worth fighting. You really have to give some serious consideration to whether you are up for the emotional realities of it and how important it is to you. For me, it was most important because people were confusing me and the other guy, and I’ve spent years online developing a reputation for being a good business person and a good person, and I was worried that I can’t control another person’s action so I’m not comfortable being mistaken for somebody else, no matter who that is. That was really my primary concern. It wasn’t about the money. It was about the precedent that it could set, and it was about making sure that people knew who they were talking to when they called.

Damien Allen: How long have you been doing this particular style of art and creating this product?

John T. Unger: Since 2005.

Damien Allen: So you’ve got basically now five years into this, and I understand trying to balance, is it emotionally worth going after this but I mean five years of time of creating art, creating a product, selling it worldwide and then to have somebody come four years after the fact and try to shut you down. To put a price on that, your work, your expertise, your artistic direction, your creativeness, how do you…?

John T. Unger: You know, that’s the thing too, right, is because my reputation on the whole is not just the firebowls, although it’s really interesting. Like, let me tell you a little story that does illustrate why this was so important to me. I meet people all over the country, and I’ll walk up to them and their looking at my face, and I introduce myself, and I say hi, I’m John T. Unger, and it’s surprising how many people have heard of me because of the internet, but what’s more interesting is then I hand them a card that has a photo of the Great Bowl of Fire on it, and a lot of people don’t recognize my face, a lot of people don’t recognize my name, but when they see my art work their like oh, I know who you are. And I would say probably 50% of the people once they see my artwork are like, oh, I actually know who you are, because that’s how much coverage I’ve had for this particular idea. And so that is really important to me. People recognize the art more than the name or the face or the person. But beyond that, too, the firebowls are not all I do. I also do software consulting, I own a radio show called ArtHeroesRadio.com that’s a business and marketing advice for artist. I give a lot back to the art community that way. And what I’m really most known for is being creative and for coming up with interesting solutions to difficult problems, and the firebowl is one example of that that’s one of the most well-documented supporting examples of that. And so that’s really important to me that people know, yeah I’m the guy that invented that, you know.

Damien Allen: Right.

John T. Unger: That was mine.

Damien Allen: And I’m also the guy that invented the way to defend somebody stealing it from me.

John T. Unger: You know, it’s just, you know, so, I think, I think, you know, you just, you have to plan ahead. The thing is it’s going to seem really urgent when it happens, and it is kind of urgent, but you do have a lot more time in litigation than you think you do, generally, I think. And when we put that up there at 6:00 pm on a Monday, a couple of our friends retweeted the tweet that I wrote about on Twitter, and then surprisingly, it got picked up by Warren Ellis who’s a UK comic book writer with a huge following and then Wil Wheaton, the actor from Star Trek who has, you know, I don’t know, at least a million and a half followers. And so they retweeted it, fans retweeted it and by the time I got up the next day, literally a million people had linked to my website on twitter over night. I mean, it was insane, and there’s been over 140-150 people who have blogged about it, and so what happened was my email just went through the roof, and like I said I had to answer that, I had to…I gave up answering comments on websites pretty quickly. It got written up in The Consumerist, which is a big deal. A lot of people came from there. But what happened was those first three days all I did was respond to emails and phone calls and twitter, and by the end of it, literally, my entire body was shaking with exhaustion, it looked like I had palsy. And had I had more of the boilerplate stuff so that I would have had to do less writing under high pressure, that would have been a lot easier to take, a lot easier to deal with. So, you know, there’s no guarantee that social media is going to make your story go through the roof, but if it does, it really, really, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to be ready with the answers in advance, and what we did was, as I kept responding to email, I kept collecting the best written lines that described what we were doing and what we needed and what we planned to do in the future, and I finally kind of crafted something on the fly that answered most questions, and I would start with that and then edit it to match the other person’s needs. But the more of that you can have ready when you go, the better off you’re going to be.

Damien Allen: Well, I’d like to thank you very much for joining us today, John, and describing your situation and what you can do with social media to help your case out.

John T. Unger: Well, thanks for having me on the show, Damien.

Damien Allen: You’ve been listening to Traverse Legal Radio. We’ve been speaking with John T. Unger, my name is Damien Allen. Everybody have a great afternoon.

Announcer: This netcast is powered by Vertio.net. Vertio.net, optimizing your brand and web presence worldwide. Vertio.net. Be Heard. Be Seen. Be Found.

Chuck Brunet Speaks about the Traverse City Law Firm Traverse Legal

2009-06-12T07:45:00-04:00

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	Radjet - "...we’ve found we’ve been able to get to a contract that we can actually sign and be happy that we signed. And not spend an excessive amount of money to get there..." Listen To The Interview Here
Chuck Brunet	"...Whenever we have something that comes up...we want Traverse Legal’s help..."
	"…We’ve worked with lots of different law firms over the last 25 years I’ve been in business and we’ve found it’s very aggravating to get a bill at the end of the month because you called your lawyer and talked to him for five minutes...None of that ever happens with Traverse Legal...."
	"…We’re very happy with their services and feel like it’s money well spent...It’s always a really very fair value..."

Play Chuck Brunet speaks about Traverse Legal
Traverse Legal, PLC
Read Transcript

ANNOUNCER: Today’s program is brought to you by Traverse Legal. A law firm specializing in internet law, domain disputes, and technology company representation. That’s Traverse Legal www.traverselegal.com. Welcome to the Vertio Talk Radio tech spotlight with your host Damien Allen.

DAMIEN ALLEN: Good morning and welcome to Traverse Legal Radio. Today on the phone with us we have Mr. Chuck Brunet. How you doing this morning Chuck?

CHUCK : Doing great. DAMIEN: So, what kind of business are you in? What companies do you own?

CHUCK: We’re in the oil and gas service business. We provide a service where we go in and recomplete oil and gas wells.

DAMIEN: And how long have you been using Traverse Legal?

CHUCK: We’ve been using Traverse Legal since 2001. So, eight years.

DAMIEN: What kind of matters have they handled for you?

CHUCK: Well they’ve handled a number of different matters for us. They’ve helped us with some litigation issues that we had. We had ownership of a company up in Traverse City and that resulted in some litigation that Traverse Legal looked after for us. In addition to that, they’ve helped us with contracts for Radjet (132) here in the states as well as the international operation we have. And also, they helped us with IT matters that is filing for patent and trademark protection both in the U.S. and internationally.

DAMIEN: So what would you say you liked working with them?

CHUCK: Well what I’ve found with Traverse Legal they do things a bit different. They tend to give you a deliverable and charge you amount of money for that deliverable not based on how many hours it takes them to do it, but based on providing what they promised to. That’s quite refreshing. We’ve worked with lots of different law firms over the last 25 years I’ve been in business and we’ve found it’s very aggravating to get a bill at the end of the month because you called your lawyer and talked to him for five minutes and you got billed for a quarter of an hour. None of that ever happens with Traverse Legal.

DAMIEN: Traverse Legal prides itself on being strategic and focusing on clients’ goals. Did those qualities show up in your projects?

CHUCK: Very much so. Whenever we have something that comes up that we want Traverse Legal’s help on, we layout for them what we are trying to achieve and invariably they come up with a scope of work and a cost of doing that scope of work. That’s quite refreshing from a clients’ perspective.

DAMIEN: What return on investment? Most of the money spent on lawyers is just money spent. Did you get good value out of the legal dollars expended with Traverse Legal?

CHUCK: We absolutely have. On the litigation they helped us with we came out much better than we anticipated. On the contracts we’ve worked with them on we’ve found we’ve been able to get to a contract that we can actually sign and be happy that we signed. And not spend an excessive amount of money to get there. It’s always a really very fair value with regard to the IT and trademarks they helped us with. Actually, they directed us to some associates they work with and have actually done the patent applications for us as well as filed for a protection in international locations for some of the patents we had already filed U.S. applications on. So they have kind of helped us across the board. We’re very happy with their services and feel like it’s money well spent.

DAMIEN: Thank you very much for sharing this information with us Chuck.

CHUCK: Ok, happy to do it.

DAMIEN: You’ve been listening to Traverse Legal Radio. We’ve been speaking with Chuck Burnet about Traverse Legal. This is Damien Allen. Have a great afternoon everybody.

Ed Carmody Discusses What He Likes Best About Traverse Legal's Attorneys.

2009-05-19T18:57:33-04:00

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	Prior Owner, Bullfrog Embroidery - "The best part about working with Traverse Legal is the people. Comparing Traverse Legal to other law firms is like comparing night to day." Listen To The Interview Here
Ed Carmody	"...When you get a bill it’s not like open up a credit card bill and you have no idea what it’s going to be. It’s a defined amount ahead of time. And if there is course of action that need to be taken in the middle of working on something they let you know and they let you know that there maybe additional costs.."
	"…I feel with Traverse Legal I’m not afraid to pick up the phone and call the gentlemen I’ve dealt with there, Enrico and Mark. In regards to, I don’t feel I’m going to get billed a hundred dollars just to pick up the phone and talk to them..."
	"…They’ve given me a whole new outlook on law. It’s hard to imagine that other law firms practice the way they practice and get away with what they do..."

Play What Clients Like Best about the Traverse Legal Law Firm
Traverse Legal, PLC

ANNOUNCER: This VTalk Radio spotlight is brought to you by Traverse Legal a high-tech law firm providing international representation in business technology, intellectual property, and complex litigation matters. You can contact Traverse Legal through its website at www.traverselegal.com. Welcome to Traverse Legal Radio. Now here’s your host Damien Allen.

DAMIEN: Good morning and welcome to Traverse Legal Radio on Vertio Talk Radio. My name is Damien Allen and today we’re on the phone with Ed Carmody. How you doing Ed?

ED: I’m good. How you doing Damien?

DAMIEN: Oh, not too bad. Very few complaints. Tell us a little bit about your business Ed.

ED: Well, I had an embroidery and screen printing business that I use to own that I want to reference here, in regards to how Enrico helped me out. As well as, several rental properties that I’ve had and that I still have some of them.

DAMIEN: And, of course, we’re speaking about Enrico Schaefer, one of the proprietors of Traverse Legal. In general, what kind of matters did Traverse Legal help you out with? Besides that.

ED: Well they helped me with a buy/sell agreement for the business that I divested myself a couple years ago. As well as, they’ve helped me with several in regarding tenants in my rental properties. As well as, how to structure plan contracts, buy/sell agreements regarding the properties that I own in Traverse City and abroad.

DAMIEN: Have you had a chance to use other legal services or law firms before?

ED: Unfortunately, yes. I think it’s almost a misstatement to call Traverse Legal a legal firm, or call the other ones legal firms, in a way, in regards to how they each conduct business. It’s like night and day.

DAMIEN: What was different about Traverse Legal?

ED: I would say, probably the biggest one was the transparency in the way they do their business. As well as all actions are defined towards an end goal in the manner in which they get done. When you get a bill it’s not like open up a credit card bill and you have no idea what it’s going to be. It’s a defined amount ahead of time. And if there is course of action that need to be taken in the middle of working on something, they let you know and they let you know that there maybe additional costs. So, you just don’t open a bill and think it’s a bill that’s going to be so many hours and all of a sudden it’s ten times that and you get sticker shock. As well as the transparency with the manner which they conduct business.

DAMIEN: So, with all that. What did you think of their billing model, the extranet access, and the fine deliverable approach?

ED: I thought it was great. At first it kind of stunned me that somebody would actually do law work in that manner. But, as I’ve become accustomed to it, and I mean when I say stunned me it was like a refreshing stun that people actually would conduct business that way. It’s almost like you’re buying, you’re in essence buying services, but you’re buying them packaged as a product. So, you know that ok, if we do this, this is what we’re looking at for cost and then you can weigh the cost benefit. Versus, going out and spending five times what you thought you were going to spend on a project and at the end you look at it and go, ‘God, this project wasn’t worth spending that much money on.’

DAMIEN: Indeed. Do you feel you got a good return on your legal investment?

ED: Definitely. Definitely. I feel with Traverse Legal I’m not afraid to pick up the phone and call the gentlemen I’ve dealt with there, Enrico and Mark. In regards to, I don’t feel I’m going to get billed a hundred dollars just to pick up the phone and talk to them.

DAMIEN: What was your favorite thing about working with Traverse Legal?

ED: I would say the people. And then, I mean if you want, the list goes on, but the manner in which they conduct business, their transparency of their actions. They’ve given me a whole new outlook on law. It’s hard to imagine that other law firms practice the way they practice and get away with what they do after I’ve...well, they don’t get away with what they do anymore with me after using Traverse Legal.

DAMIEN: And I don’t think you can get a better testimonial than that. We’d like to thank you Ed for joining us today.

ED: Thank you.

DAMIEN: You’ve been listening to Traverse Legal Radio. I am Damien Allen. Have a great afternoon.

Dale Campbell discusses the benefits of using Traverse City Michigan Law Firm Traverse Legal PLC

2009-05-05T18:37:10-04:00

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	CEO AND PRESIDENT, DALE H. CAMPBELL A twenty year veteran of the Casual Furniture Industry is a self motivated, aspiring entrepreneur that has lead sales organizations to a fifty percent increase in sales, while greatly enhancing customer satisfaction. Listen To The Interview Here
Dale H. Campbell, CEO and President, Urban Diversions.	"...I am extremely grateful to the firm."
	"…The amazing thing behind that is you can call him as many times as you want..."
	"… …when I first met Enrico I was extremely impressed...Enrico took care of all of the inhibitions right away..."

Play Dale Campbell discusses the benefits of using Traverse Legal PLC
Traverse Legal, PLC

JOHN BENTLEY: Today we’re speaking with Dale Campbell owner of Urban Diversions fine furnishings, antiques, and architectural elements of Traverse City. So Dale, how has Traverse Legal helped your business?

DALE CAMPBELL: Well John I have to tell you, when I first met Enrico I was extremely impressed, because as you know when you speak to lawyers you really not sure of what it’s going to cost or where the actual path is going to go. Enrico took care of all of the inhibitions right away when he told me their fees are like a menu. If you want a certain project done he will give a price so there is no hidden cost. The amazing thing behind that is you can call him as many times as you want in between the project being finalized; which I just find absolutely amazing and very comforting. On the professional side I have never met with anybody more professional, more enlightening, and knowledgeable. His whole firm has walked us through many phases of making our website what it is today and he has helped us with our trademarks and our patents and made us very secure in all our moves. And I am extremely grateful to the firm.

Traverse City Attorneys Gaining Client Trust by Providing Excellent Representation and Advice.

2009-04-10T18:36:07-04:00

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	"The thing that I like about Brian in particular, I’ve primarily been working with Brian Hall, is that, Brian, he is constantly advising us in terms of what is best for our business, not what’s best for Traverse Legal, and their legal fees. And that’s something that’s great. I mean, just yesterday I actually sent him an e-mail regarding the registration of a trademark of another business and he got back to me and he said, ‘Sean, I understand where you would like to trademark this slogan, but I see three main trouble areas for you. Here’s one. Here’s two. Here’s three.’ This is something that probably took Brian 15, 20 minutes maybe more to look up, he provided that feedback and he was basically providing this evidence and research that was not in support of me getting a trademark, in which, he would have been paid a trademark fee. And so, that’s something that I really appreciate with Traverse Legal and that’s why we have such a high level of trust and such a high rating and recommend them so highly, because I always feel like they’re looking out for us.” Listen To The Interview Here.
Mr. Sean P. Kelly, Chief Humanist of HUMAN.	"...they’ve always been looking out for us and always providing us with great advice all around..."
	"…constantly advising us in terms of what is best for our business, not what’s best for Traverse Legal, and their legal fees..."
	"… that’s why we have such a high level of trust and such a high rating and recommend them so highly, because I always feel like they’re looking out for us."

Play Sean Kelly for Traverse Legal
Traverse Legal, PLC
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DAMIEN ALLEN: Good afternoon and welcome to Traverse Legal Radio. My name is Damien Allen and today with us in the studio, via the telephone, we have Mr. Sean P. Kelly Chief Humanist of HUMAN. Welcome to the program Sean.

SEAN KELLY: Thank you Damien. I really appreciate it. It’s good to be on.

DAMIEN: Why don’t you tell us a little bit about HUMAN and what you do?

SEAN: HUMAN which stands for Helping Unite Man and Nutrition. Is, simply put, a healthy vending company. We manufacture and create our own innovative state of the art vending machines, stock these with healthy products, and place them across the country.

DAMIEN: That sounds like a very interesting little business. In general, what kind of matters did you have Traverse Legal help you with?

SEAN: Thus far Traverse Legal has primarily helped us with our various trademark applications, trademark assistance, filings, and actually achieving the official Federal registration of trademarks.

DAMIEN: Had you have the chance to use other legal services or other law firms before?

SEAN: Yes we have. We’ve used several law firms, me and my businesses, even though HUMAN is my main business. I own another business and also have founded other businesses in the past. So, yeah I’ve used quite a few different law firms.

DAMIEN: So what did you find that was different with Traverse Legal?

SEAN: More than anything, I think it’s the hands on services and it’s that Brian and Enrico who I have primarily been dealing with since day one over there. I’ve never really known if they were kind of better friends or lawyers. I didn’t know which one they were. Were they more of a lawyer or more of a friend? I think they’ve always been looking out for us and always providing us with great advice all around. The thing that I like about Brian in particular, I’ve primarily been working with Brian Hall, is that, Brian, he is constantly advising us in terms of what is best for our business, not what’s best for Traverse Legal, and their legal fees. And that’s something that’s great. I mean, just yesterday I actually sent him an e-mail regarding the registration of a trademark of another business and he got back to me and he said, ‘Sean, I understand where you would like to trademark this slogan, but I see three main trouble areas for you. Here’s one. Here’s two. Here’s three.’ This is something that probably took Brian 15, 20 minutes maybe more to look up, he provided that feedback and he was basically providing this evidence and research that was not in support of me getting a trademark, in which, he would have been paid a trademark fee. And so, that’s something that I really appreciate with Traverse Legal and that’s why we have such a high level of trust and such a high rating and recommend them so highly, because I always feel like they’re looking out for us.

DAMIEN: What did you think of the billing model, the extranet, and the define deliverable approach?

SEAN: Well, it’s simple, especially as a previous owner and entrepreneur in online space and somebody who is very active in the web 2.0 world, I appreciate it. There’s relatively no paperwork, unless one of our trademarks gets filed and that’s usually from the Federal Government or the USPTO office. It’s easy. It’s simple. I think it takes a little while to get used to and that’s only because most law firms and IP firms seem to love paperwork, but at the end of the day it works best for everybody. Everything’s fully tracked and it’s always really easy to go back and see exactly what’s happening, what has happened, and what still needs to be done.

DAMIEN: Would you say that you got a good return on your legal investment by using Traverse Legal?

SEAN: That’s without a question. Traverse Legal not only, I think, have they provided me, my company, and my employees and partners with the best service, but they have actually always been able to work with us regardless of what level of funding or what we could spend. They always found a way to work with us and even when we have paid them their full billing rate it’s been more than worth it. That’s for sure.

DAMIEN: So you’d feel safe in recommending Traverse Legal to your friends, co-workers, and associates?

SEAN: I already do! I’m trying to get them more business out here in Los Angeles. I already do, do that. I was actually, just recently, at the Online Media and Advertising, OMA, tradeshow last week, it’s kind of like additional fineage online advertising organization. I was at the tradeshow here at the Renaissance Hotel in Los Angeles, because our healthy vending machines actually have digital LCDs on the front of them that display advertisements, health education information, purchasing advice, so we were there learning a little bit more about the industry, meeting contacts, and quite a feel people in that space had questions regarding what we were doing for IP, if we had any advice, or if we had any recommendations and we gave Traverse Legal’s name and contact information out. So, we’re already doing it.

DAMIEN: Well great deal. We’d like to thank you very much for joining us on the program today, Sean.

SEAN: No problem. Hey, like I said anything I can do to support Traverse Legal I’m more than happy to do it, because they, again since say one, have been in full support of us and it’s a great synergistic partnership.

DAMIEN: We’ve been speaking with Sean P. Kelly Chief Humanist of HUMAN, Helping Unite Man and Nutrition. I’m Damien Allen in the studio. Have a great afternoon.

From Start-Up Through Trademark Protection: Traverse Legal's Lawyers Have You Covered

2009-03-28T23:27:21-04:00

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	Three Sergeants Brewing Company is owned and operated by three former military veterans. The founders always appreciated home brewing. Along the way they decided to brew their own formulas, brand them with a Military theme and take it to the marketplace. It’s called Sergeants American Ale. Traverse Legal assisted with all aspects of business start-up and trademark protection. Listen To The Interview Here.
Dave Page, Co-Owner Three Sergeants Brewing Co.	"My favorite thing about working with Traverse Legal's attorneys and staff is the ease with which we can get through a complex issue, like trademark protection... "
	"So, everything they said they were going to do ... you knew what you were being charged for and everything was laid out right in front of you ... we know exactly what we’re being charged up front."
	"I refer colleagues and friends to *Traverse Legal.*"

Play Show: Dave Page Talks about Traverse Legal PLC

Read Transcript

ANNOUNCER: This spotlight is brought to you by Traverse Legal a high-tech law firm providing international representation in business technology, intellectual property, and complex litigation matters. You can contact Traverse Legal through its website at www.traverselegal.com. Welcome to Traverse Legal Radio. Now here’s your host Damien Allen.

DAMIEN ALLEN: Good morning and welcome to Traverse Legal Radio. My name is Damien Allen and today we have with us in the studio via the telephone Dave Page of Three Sergeants Brewing in Traverse City, Michigan. Good morning and welcome to the program Dave.

DAVE PAGE: Thank you Damien.

DAMIEN: So why don’t you tell us a little about Three Sergeants Brewing?

DAVE: Three Sergeants Brewing Company is owned and operated by three former military veterans; myself, my two partners Todd and Jeff. We’ve always appreciated home brewing. We had a guy in our unit that was a home brewer years ago and after a training cycle we, like most people would after a hard day of work, we would enjoy one his home brews. Along the way we started naming it for our own use within the unit decided as a customary thing to do and eventually this name took on a real life product now it’s in the marketplace. It’s called Sergeants American Ale. And that’s where we met Traverse Legal.

DAMIEN: What type of legal issues were you facing when you met Traverse Legal?

DAVE: The first thing we had to understand is how to legally incorporate a company. We’re three retired sergeants so, we hadn’t founded any kind of private enterprise of this kind of undertaking. So we had to meet with Enrico and talk about those issues, understand what minimum documents were required to exist as a legal entity in the state of Michigan. And after that we had to figure out our trademark protections. We named this a beer that we conceived of. We have to give it a name and we have to have it protected and that is something he helped us with right from the start.

DAMIEN: How did you learn about Traverse Legal PLC?

DAVE: I happened to, was working for Raymond Minervini at building 50 on the renovation and Enrico was a tenant there. So, that’s how I met their office and their business and they were a small business starting up at the same time that that project began.

DAMIEN: What was your favorite thing about working with Traverse Legal PLC?

DAVE: I think the ease with which we can prospect through a complex issue, like trademark protection. Because we can meet and conduct an interview and get a familiarity for what they’re teaching us basically and then we can go online and follow up and see the notes from that meeting and know exactly what we’re being charged. And also, know what the concept of our discussion was.

DAMIEN: So what did you think about their flat fee billing and, of course we just mentioned, the defined deliverables and the ease of use of the extranet?

DAVE: Well, that was unique because we could track our invoicing. We could do it from a Blackberry or we could do it from our studio, our home office. So, without having to have a document and sort through a file we could, with just a couple click of the mouse, there it is.

DAMIEN: So, everything they said they were going to do you knew what you were being charged for and everything was laid out right in front of you?

DAVE: Yeah. If I had any questions click on the clients and say, ‘Hey. I’m confused about this issue. Can you clarify?’

DAMIEN: Would you refer Traverse Legal PLC to one of your colleagues or somebody that you’re in business with or a friend?

DAVE: Yes I would. In fact I do have other business associates that are clients of Traverse Legal.

DAMIEN: Indeed. We thank you very much for this fine testimonial for Traverse Legal PLC, Dave.

DAVE: Thank you.

DAMIEN: We’ve been speaking to Dave Page with Three Sergeants Brewing in Traverse City, Michigan. You are listening to Traverse Legal Radio. My name is Damien Allen. Everybody have a great afternoon. We’ll catch you next time.

Disclaimer: Each case is different. Prior results should NOT create an expectation about results in your case. We do provide deliverables, however, which are guaranteed in each instance. Your retention agreement will provide the details concerning the terms of your engagement of Traverse Legal.

Registering & Protecting Trademarks: Traverse Legal's Attorneys are Personable & Knowledgeable

2009-03-24T23:25:16-04:00

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	Matt Myers and his brother Keegan co-own one of the largest Kiteboarding Schools around, Broneah, with operations in Traverse City, Patagonian and Puerto Rico. They also co-founded M22, LLC, one of the most successful apparel companies in Northern Michigan which also co-brands wine, coffee and other products. Traverse Legal helped create and manages 's trademark protection and monitoring program.which has resulted in enforecement actions and representation before the United States Trademark Trial & Appeal Board. Listen To The Interview Here.
Matt Myers, Co-Owner M22, LLC 7 Broneah, Inc.	Well, first off, Enrico is probably one of the cooler guys you’ll ever meet. So, just dealing with him on a personal basis is great. And then, he’s so straight forward ... He’s just a real guy and he explains things to you in a way you understand ... "
	"It’s a paperless office which makes it just very nice... It’s super organized. There’s no delay in response, so, you’re not waiting for a letter in the mail or anything. Everything is instantaneous. You can update him with info that you get in a split second. "
	"[My favorite part about Traverse Legal is that] the protection we get for our trademarks. The confidence in knowing that Enrico is just on his game. All those guys, Brian, everybody there, they’re just on it and they’re up to date. They’re super knowledgeable, so we feel really protected in what we paid for."

Play: Matt Myers Talks Traverse Legal

Read Transcript

ANNOUNCER: This VTalk Radio spotlight is brought to you by Traverse Legal a high-tech law firm providing international representation in business technology, trademark, patent, copyright, intellectual property, and complex litigation matters. You can contact Traverse Legal through its website at www.traverselegal.com. Welcome to Traverse Legal Radio. Now here’s your host Damien Allen.

DAMIEN: Good afternoon and welcome to Traverse Legal Radio. My name is Damien Allen and today with me via phone we have Matt Myers on the phone. How you doing Matt?

MATT: Doing great Damien.

DAMIEN: Good deal. So, tell us a little bit about your business.

MATT: We run the M22 business based out of Traverse City. Maybe you’ve seen it around, the M22 symbol on the shirts and whatnot.

DAMIEN: Indeed. Well in general we’re talking about Traverse Legal today. In general what kind of matters do Traverse Legal help you with?

MATT: Enrico actually came to us in the beginning. He was a kite boarding customer of ours. We teach kite boarding, also. And he saw we were starting this M22 business and he let us know that he specializes in trademarks and whatnot and was interested in trying to help us to tackle our M22 trademark.

DAMIEN: Had you had a chance to use legal services from other law firms before?

MATT: Yes, we have.

DAMIEN: What did you find that was different with Traverse Legal?

MATT: Well, first off, Enrico is probably one of the cooler guys you’ll ever meet. So, just dealing with him on a personal basis is great. And then, he’s so straight forward and like real, you know. There’s no suits and like goofiness. He’s just a real guy and he explains things to you in a way you understand and he does everything on the computer with e-mails and the way he documents things. It’s a paperless office which makes it just very nice.

DAMIEN: What did you think of their billing model and the extranet and the fine deliverable approach?

MATT: We thought it was pretty nice. It’s super organized. There’s no delay in response, so, you’re not waiting for a letter in the mail or anything. Everything is instantaneous. You can update him with info that you get in a split second. So, there’s no time delays and everything’s just done at the pace it needs to be done. Which makes it really good and clean.

DAMIEN: Did you feel that you got a good return on your legal investment?

MATT: Yeah, for sure. I mean, for us its well worth what Enrico does for us. I definitely feel perfectly confident giving him what we do.

DAMIEN: What was your favorite thing about working with Traverse Legal?

MATT: The protection we get. The confidence in knowing that Enrico is just on his game. All those guys, Brian, everybody there, they’re just on it and they’re up to date. They’re super knowledgeable, so we feel really protected in what we paid for.

DAMIEN: Well, I’d like to thank you for spending time with us today on the phone. We’ve been speaking with Matt Myers and the folks of M22. They’re down relaxing in Puerto Rico at the moment. But, we’re sitting here in the studio in Traverse City and you are listening to Traverse Legal Radio. I am Damien Allen. Have a great afternoon.

Traverse City Law Firm Providing Clients With Full Service Corporate & General Counsel Representation

2009-03-23T03:21:11-04:00

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Case Study: Traverse Legal Provides Trademark, Contract, Non-Compete, Franchise & Start-Up representation, finding solutions to complex problems and maximizing return on investment for each legal dollar spent.

	Chris Bosio an attorney who went into business after graduated law school. He is the Former Manager of Cintas Uniform Plant in Traverse City, MI and currently the Vice President of Administration at Fast Physical Therapy. Traverse Legal has helped Chris and his companies with trademark issues, business contract as well as franchise issues over the years. He has referred many companies to Traverse Legal for representation. Click Here To Play Interview.
Chris Bosio, VP of Administration Fast Physical Therapy	"It was more like working with a business consultant when you work with Traverse Legal. Where an attorney just tells you what you can’t do, Traverse Legal tells you what you can do and how to get it done....With the billing model there’s no surprises, you know what you’re getting into from the get go."
	"The extranet they use just make the entire process transparent and it’s a real collaborative effort with the staff ... And knowing, and kind of defining, the deliverables up front is really an effective way to deal with various situations and we have nothing but great things to say about Traverse Legal." "[My favorite part of working with Traverse Legal is] the collaboration of ideas. It wasn’t just us trying to explain our position or our issues. It was really a team approach and it was not only like working with an attorney, but a business consultant. It was just a real positive experience."

Play Show: Chris Bosio Interview

ANNOUNCER: This spotlight is brought to you by Traverse Legal a high-tech law firm providing international representation in business technology, intellectual property, and complex litigation matters. You can contact Traverse Legal through its website at www.traverselegal.com. Welcome to Traverse Legal Radio. Now here’s your host Damien Allen.

DAMIEN ALLEN: Good morning and welcome to Traverse Legal Radio. My name is Damien Allen and today we have with us in the studio, via the phone, Chris Bosio from Fast Physical Therapy. How are you doing this morning Chris?

CHRIS BOSIO: Fantastic. Yourself?

DAMIEN: Oh, not too bad, not too bad. A little frozen up here in northern Michigan, but making a way through. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about your business Chris?

CHRIS: Well we have two physical therapy clinics, one in Traverse City and one in Elk Rapids. We do sports training as well as some fitness training as a cash based business.

DAMIEN: I understand that Traverse Legal helped you with some matters. In general, what kind of matters did Traverse Legal help you with?

CHRIS: He helped us with some trademark issues, as well as, he reviewed some franchises over the last couple of years and Traverse Legal helped us look at all those contracts.

DAMIEN: Had you had a chance to use other legal services under other law firms before?

CHRIS: Yes I have.

DAMIEN: What was different about using Traverse Legal?

CHRIS: It was more like working with a business consultant when you work with Traverse Legal. Where an attorney just tells you what you can’t do, Traverse Legal tells you what you can do and how to get it done.

DAMIEN: What did you think of their billing model, the extranet, and the fine deliverable approach?

CHRIS: It was terrific. With the billing model there’s no surprises, you know what you’re getting into from the get go. The extranet they use just make the entire process transparent and it’s a real collaborative effort with the staff at Traverse Legal, as well as, our people here at Fast. And knowing, and kind of defining, the deliverables up front is really an effective way to deal with various situations and we have nothing but great things to say about Traverse Legal.

DAMIEN: You feel you got a good return on your legal investment with Traverse Legal?

CHRIS: Oh, absolutely.

DAMIEN: What was your favorite thing about working with Traverse Legal Chris?

CHRIS: The fact that it’s kind of a collaboration of ideas. It wasn’t just us trying to explain our position or our issues. It was really a team approach and it was not only like working with an attorney, but a business consultant. It was just a real positive experience.

DAMIEN: Sounds great. I would like to thank you for joining us today on Traverse Legal Radio Chris. We’ve been speaking with Chris Bosio of Fast Physical Therapy. Once again, this is Traverse Legal Radio. I am Damien Allen. Have a great afternoon.

Disclaimer: Each case is different. Prior results should NOT create an expectation about results in your case. We do provide deliverables, however, which are guaranteed in each instance. Your retention agreement will provide the details concerning the terms of your engagement of Traverse legal.

Traverse City Law Firm: Client Service is about Open Communication, Access & Collaboration

2009-03-23T02:17:51-04:00

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Case Study: Traverse Legal Does Battle with a Billion Dollar Media Company, Wins Arbitration & Negotiates a Favorable Resolution on Behalf of Kirsty.com.


	Kirsty.com is One Of the Top On-Line Communities For Women on the Internet. Kirsty faced trademark infringement issues asserted by a Billion Dollar media giant, placing their very existence in jeopardy. Against the odds, Traverse Legal won the initial arbitration and thus was able to negotiate a favorable resolution from a point of leverage. Click Here To Play Interview.
Gabrielle Blair, Co-Founder Kirtsy.com	"I called all three of the top three [law firms]... But, Traverse Legal got back the fastest and was by far the most helpful."
	"This was a fantastic communication company ...We really understood the whole time what was happening and felt like we could call at any time and get someone on the phone that could walk us through any questions or ideas that we had."
	"From the first phone call and the first contact, had great response from Traverse Legal ... where I never felt like they were hurrying me off a phone call or skimping on e-mail communication. They truly were accessible ..."
	"I loved how they didn’t bill by the hour. How I could get an exact price on what this project was going to cost, because as a start-up you’re budgeting .. we really needed to know what the cost would be up-front."

Play Show: Gabrielle Blair Talks About Traverse Legal

Traverse Legal, PLC

ANNOUNCER: This spotlight is brought to you by Traverse Legal a law firm providing on-line attorneys and high-tech representation in business technology, intellectual property, and complex litigation matters. You can contact Traverse Legal through its website at www.traverselegal.com. Welcome to Traverse Legal Radio. Now here’s your host Damien Allen.

DAMIEN ALLEN: Good morning and welcome to Traverse Legal Radio. My name is Damien Allen and today we have in the studio, via the telephone, Gabrielle Blair of Kirtsy.com. How are you doing this morning Gabrielle?

GABRIELLE BLAIR: Very well. Thanks for having me.

DAMIEN: We’re very happy to have you here today. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about Kirtsy?

GABRIELLE: Kirtsy is a fantastic site that women love to come to and see what the latest and greatest kinds of things that are happening online are. So, if you live in the techie world, you have probably heard of Dig, which is a popular site for men. My partners and I at Kirtsy founded the company based on the Dig model where users can, anyone really that wants to come to Kirtsy, can submit a link to any store that they find interesting on the internet. Basically, any URLs that exist they could submit and the community at Kirtsy can take a look at all of those submitted URLs and decide what they think is interesting and that is the stuff you find on the front page of Kirtsy.

DAMIEN: Nice. I understand that Traverse Legal helped you with a few things. What kind of matters did Traverse Legal help you with?

GABRIELLE: They did and they were so helpful. Basically, back in the day our name wasn’t Kirtsy it was another name and we had a domain name dispute come up where we owned the domain name, but there was a magazine with a similar name that didn’t want us to own the domain name. So, we were a new company and we didn’t have really any legal problems at the time. It was all new to us. But, we found Traverse Legal and they helped us out.

DAMIEN: Had you had a chance to use other legal services from other firms before?

GABRIELLE: We hadn’t. So, basically, what was sort of is a cold call sort of thing and I figured since this is an internet problem we were having that the best internet lawyers would be able to be found quickly on Google. They would be at the top of the list if they new anything about the internet. So, I did a Google search for domain name lawyers and Traverse Legal came up as one of the top three. I called all three of the top three, from the time. I don’t even remember what the other two even were. But, Traverse Legal got back the fastest and was by far the most helpful. And so, that’s why we went with them.

DAMIEN: What do you think is different about Traverse Legal?

GABRIELLE: Again, with Kirtsy I haven’t worked with other lawyers but, just as someone that has worked with lawyers for not Kirtsy related problems I loved how they didn’t bill by the hour. How I could get an exact price on what this project was going to cost, because as a start-up you’re budgeting so carefully and your funds are so limited that we really needed to know going in what the end was going to be.

DAMIEN: What did you think of their billing model, and the extranet, and the fine deliverable approach?

GABRIELLE: I’ll start with the extranet. For Kirtsy it was perfect. We’re a virtual company. We have a partner in Charlotte, North Carolina. We have a partner in Houston, Texas. I’m in New York and we have a new partner that’s in Boulder, Colorado. So, we’re totally a virtual company and we do all of our communication either, via conference calls or online, and so for us the extranet was perfect, because one e-mail would go out. We would all get it. We could all stay in the loop. You get to find all the information in one place. The billing model, as I’ve mentioned, was also perfect for a start-up. Where you really can have an exact price that you can budget for and plan on and that was wonderful.

DAMIEN: Did you feel you got a good return on your legal investment?

GABRIELLE: Absolutely. As I’ve mentioned, we have this dispute about our domain name and we won the dispute which was terrific. The whole way through it had been communicated very clearly, what the chances were of winning and what the outcomes could be. Weeks later we decided to change our company name anyway and go with a new domain. Traverse Legal helped us through that entire process as well. This was a fantastic communication company as far as I’m concerned. We really understood the whole time what was happening and felt like we could call at any time and get someone on the phone that could walk us through any questions or ideas that we had.

DAMIEN: What would you say was your favorite thing about working with Traverse Legal?

GABRIELLE: Accessibility. I truly, from the first phone call and the first contact, had great response from Traverse Legal and time, where I never felt like they were hurrying me off a phone call or skimping on e-mail communication. They truly were accessible and made themselves available to us, their clients.

DAMIEN: Thank you very much for joining us today, Gabrielle.

GABRIELLE: I’m glad to be here. Thanks so much.

DAMIEN: You’re very welcome. And you have been listening to Traverse Legal Radio. We’ve been speaking with Gabrielle Blair of Kirtsy.com. And I am Damien Allen. Have a great afternoon.

2009-03-22T20:57:04-04:00

We are unlike any other law firm you have ever encountered before. Here is what our clients have to say about working with Traverse Legal.

Kirsty.com is One Of the Top On-Line Communities For Women on the Internet. Kirsty faced trademark infringement issues asserted by a billion dollar media giant, placing their very existence in jeopardy. Traverse Legal won the UDRP proceeding on behalf of the client. An ACPA and Lanham Act trademark lawsuit was then asserted. Traverse Legal negotiated a resolution form a point of leverage which ensured that Kirtsy would not only survive, but thrive. Click Here To Play Interview.

"I called all three of the top three [law firms]... But, Traverse Legal got back the fastest and was by far the most helpful."

"This was a fantastic communication company as far as I’m concerned. We really understood the whole time what was happening and felt like we could call at any time and get someone on the phone that could walk us through any questions or ideas that we had."

"I loved how they didn’t bill by the hour. How I could get an exact price on what this project was going to cost, because as a startup you’re budgeting so carefully and your funds are so limited that we really needed to know going in what the end was going to be."


Gabrielle Blair, Co-Founder Kirtsy.com

	"I truly, from the first phone call and the first contact, had great response from Traverse Legal and time, where I never felt like they were hurrying me off a phone call or skimping on e-mail communication. They truly were accessible and made themselves available to us, their clients."