Need Direction

[Torry]

Hi, hows it goin. For a long time now i have been really wanting to start up a footwear company but, until recently, I finally really actually started to put it into play. I have a name but i dont have the patent. What i wanted to ask you is how much will it cost to get a patent for my Brand/name? What kind of patent to get? I also wanted to ask you if you know any companies who turn 2D sketches into actual footwear. Im ambitious and i know what people like. I just need a direction in which to go with. Do you have any suggestions?  Hope to hear from you,

David A.

[Buidhe]

Hi,

I´m European, and in Europe it´s a different organization that handles patents and trademarks.

On the USA, there´s an organization called United States Patent and Trademark Office that handles this kind of registration. Here´s their website: http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/process/index.jsp

Suggest you take a look into it; it states the process that you should undertake and the fees for that.

One clarification: patent is different from trademark. A patent is when you have a radically new idea for a product and you want to protect that idea so that no one can copy it without your agreement. From what I understand from your e-mail, you are looking to register a trademark, a brand, so that you can sell shoes with your own brand. The process of registration is different and the fees also. Please take into account that you can register your brand for USA trade only or for other countries as well; I think the fees are country dependant bum I´m not obsoletely sure. Also, take into account that this is a burocratic and a bit expensive process, so, go on with it if you are obsoletely sure that you are going to do some business; otherwise it will be a waste of time and money.

Regarding the companies; almost any medium size shoes factory has the ability of turning 2D sketches into actual shoes. I´m from Portugal and actually I work in a footwear company; we have a design department that takes the 2D designs from our customers, and design the different pieces of footwear and "transform" those designs into real footwear. Most of the Portuguese footwear industry have similar design departments, as well as the rest of the competition(Europe, Asia, South America, you name it). I don´t know if you are looking for USA companies or if you are thinking on outsourcing your footwear in other parts of the world. It will all depend on the quantities and the investment you are willing to take...

Also, a personal advice. In my years in the industry I have seen a lot of dreamers; people that have a idea for a brand, and that think that for art of magic is just designing the shoes and gain lots of money. My experience tells me that the difficult part is not designing shoes or have good ideas for brands; it´s to have the right distribution and commercialization circuit. If you have a grip on the commercial side of the trade then the rest if far more easy; it´s just production and for that there are thousands of companies.

Sincerely hope it helps, and I remain at your disposal if you need further clarification,

Best regards(and good luck)

H.