It has been a busy few weeks between track days, races, auditioning and finally getting my trademark registered officially! Let me begin with saying that the idea of starting a company sounds great…working for yourself, setting your own schedule and doing what you are passionate about. However, the challenges can be overwhelming and at times what you didn’t even consider take a front seat. For me it was the issue of getting my trademark registered, which should have been an easy process and could’ve been final within a year, BUT I had a company (to remain unnamed) oppose my trademark stating they used it in trademark form well before I chose to register it. What was a surprise was that I contacted the company early on to work with them so that we could both continue to use the word as long as it didn’t cross over into my area of the industry, my hope was that we were female owners and that we could’ve worked together to promote our love of the sport. Long story short (I mean this is really condensed here), after a legal battle with them they could not show that they used the word in a way that constituted it being a trademark, but only as an expression. Our legal system is flawed as we all know and to oppose a trademark doesn’t require much, for a minimal fee you can file an opposition and if the company is in it’s infant stages they hope you will abandon it and they will then file for the trademark themselves. I’m really oversimplifying the process, but you get the gist. It’s easy for more established companies to BULLY startups to give up their name and opt for another, which in my case, was not an option so I fought them. I had to hire two attorneys one to start the process then another to take over and really fight them for me. Needless to say, after 2 years I finally got my trademark registered! I am passionate about promoting our love of motorcycling not to just women, but also men…I have had more male students than females and the look and gratitude I see on their faces at the end of the day make what I do even more satisfying. I only hope that with each person I speak to, instruct, inspire, touch and empower they will take the love of the sport and pay it forward.
Stay safe and keep the rubber side down! Vixens Ride!
