Patent Attorney and Founder
We had a client at Bold Patents not long ago who shared a wild story. Years ago, he built a solid business, launched a brand, and had a good run with it. Over time, he lost interest, but he kept the website and a few digital assets active.
Then one day, out of nowhere, someone in China copied his brand completely. They took his logo, his photos, even his product descriptions, and re-launched his entire store on Amazon. And they weren’t just selling a few items… they were moving hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of products. Unreal.
We’re helping him figure out the next steps. It’s one of the boldest brand rip-offs I’ve ever seen. Recovering the Amazon store might be possible, but going after damages overseas is tricky. You can sue here in the U.S., sure, but good luck collecting from someone across the world. The best you might do is recover the last few weeks of Amazon sales held in their payout account.
Then someone asked another great question:
“I want to register a martial arts system name, but I can’t afford a lawyer right now. Can I do it myself through the USPTO? And what about using that name internationally?”
Good question. If you run a martial arts studio or training program, you can file a trademark for your dojo’s name under “education and training services.”
Do you need a trademark attorney? Not technically. You can do it yourself if you’re willing to learn the process. Many people file on their own, though their success rate is lower than those represented by an attorney. If you’ve got the time to research and follow the USPTO’s directions carefully, you can absolutely give it a shot.
But filing internationally, that’s a whole different ballgame. It’s expensive. I just quoted a client $950 to file in the UK alone. Here in the U.S., fees are going up from $250 to $350 per class, which already feels steep. So yeah, abroad it adds up fast.
The USPTO says those increases will help speed up their review times. Let’s hope that’s true because right now it takes around eight months just to get your first response.
We also talked about design patents.
Someone asked:
“Can I get a design patent for a silicone cover that fits around an existing audio device, like AirPods?”
Interesting question. The short answer: maybe.
You have to be careful. If your cover copies the shape of something that’s already patented, like the AirPods themselves, you could run into trouble. The patent office might grant your design, but that doesn’t mean you can legally sell it. They don’t check for infringement; they just check for novelty.
Your design has to be different enough, not just in color or texture, but in shape or style. Think ridges, folds, patterns, something clearly unique. When you file, you can show the underlying product in dashed lines to make clear that it’s not part of your claimed design.
It’s a fine line, but doable if you truly add your own creative twist.
Another person asked:
“Can I trademark a name like John’s Bicycle Shop for my home-based business?”
Probably not, at least, not easily. The problem is descriptiveness. A name that clearly tells people what you sell (“bicycle shop”) isn’t considered distinctive enough to trademark on its own.
There’s an example of a company called Eric’s Bike Shop that did manage to register. But that’s because they’ve been around since 1977; they built what’s called secondary meaning, where people strongly associate that name with their specific business.
So, unless your name has that kind of recognition, your odds are closer to 5% than 50%. In most cases, it’s better to pick something more unique and memorable.
At the end of the day, whether it’s a stolen brand, a trademark question, or a design patent idea, the same rule applies: protect your creativity early. Waiting too long can cost you your brand, or worse, let someone else profit from it.