About us
Trademark Law
If You Have A Growing Business, Does This Sound Like You?
Are you a manager or an entrepreneur who wants to change the world, but are either concerned with how to keep others from stealing your customers (or sick over watching them being stolen right in front of you)? I know how that feels, too. And I can assure you…
- If you are using (or about to use) a new product or service to grow your business …
- If you’re secretly hoping that no other competitor is using a similar mark …
- And especially if you just discovered a competitor (or former employee) is using your ideas, name, slogan or logo to steal YOUR customers …
…then you’ve found what you’re looking for: this site is for you.
My name is Steven Thrasher, and I help grow businesses by protecting brands. If you have customers that you think a competitor may want, this means you are just a few minutes away from discovering how to protect your business.
My Story
Unlike most attorneys, I’m an entrepreneur — some say a successful entrepreneur. And as much as I enjoy the thought that these colleagues may be right, I certainly wasn’t always a successful entrepreneur. My first shots at starting businesses in college resulted in abandoned patent applications, zero sales and debt (not to mention late homework and shoddy lab assignments). Later, I learned hard lessons as people I trusted blatantly stole my inventions, and suppliers I trusted failed to deliver products. And, through my experience at a large law firm as well as in my own law practice, I’ve seen just about every kind of chicanery imaginable.
Since my rocky starts, I’ve learned a few things that have helped many businesses file trademarks, and use that and other intellectual property to bring many new and exciting products and services to customers that appreciate them (and to get funding, or be acquired).
I’ve had the honor and privilege of working with some of the most influential and interesting owners of emerging businesses. Some of my clients include a former President of the United Inventors’ Association (and the brains behind product lines at Scunci) Lisa Lloyd, Party City Director of new products Will Niskanen, New York Times best-selling author Payne Harrison (author of Storming Intrepid and Eurostorm), Gabriella Draney’s TechWildcatters, and Cheri Garcia and Mark Locker (product scouts for SharkTank’s Mark Cuban and Kevin Harrington, respectively), Ray Edwards (author of Writing Copy that Sells), and many more.
And, I hope to add you to this happy list.
Today, in addition to spotting the traps you want to avoid, I’ll also teach you the right way to grow your business by protecting your brands. I took a long (and very expensive) road; and, now you can benefit from my experiences.
For example, I’ve actively participated at the start of several businesses, including:
- Proxomo Software, Inc., which was acquired by Lucent Mobile in 2013.
- Advanced Search Labs, Inc., which researched new ways of organizing unstructured data.
- The Juice Shack, Inc. (I’m passionate about health and nutrition and in 2015 helped to open a retail juice store to share my love of fresh juice — you can read my blog about it at http://www.befitagain.com).
- Tree Top Bird Center and Pet Supplies. (I’m a sucker for animals, and for nearly a decade it was the fourth largest parrot specialty store in the USA).
- The Stirling Group, LLP. Specializing in licensing and intellectual property valuation, especially intellectual property owned by university and government research labs. Notable clients included Baylor Health Research and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- And several more, including Thrasher Associates — my law practice and the reason you’re here today. So, let’s get back to you . . .
3 Ways I Can Help You for Free
Because you’ve read this far, chances are you’re new here. My view is that working with you is a relationship, and I believe the best way to start a new relationship is by giving. That’s why on this site, my YouTube Channel, on Facebook, and through emails I give away lots of free, useful content. Here are the three most popular ways that I can help you, all of which are 100% free.
1. Download Your Free E-Books About Trademarks and Intellectual Property.
I’ve put together handfuls of resources for growing businesses, and these are probably what you’re looking for to get started.
2. Read the posts on this site.
I have written articles on all aspects of using trademarks (as well as patents and copyrights) to start, run, and grow your business. All of these articles are available absolutely free on this site.
3. Watch my free training videos, starting with the Playlist “Trademarks for Growing Businesses”.
This core training will help you understand my approach to protecting your logo, slogans, and names, as well as my approach to assisting entrepreneurs. Even if you’re not a first-time entrepreneur, I believe you will benefit from this training: the core principles are applicable to first-timers and experts alike.
You get all three of these benefits when you sign up for my newsletter. You also receive an update every time I post a new article to the blog, publish a video, or make a new training resource available. I usually also include cheat-sheets to make learning fast and memorable… just fill out the form below to claim yours now.