What message are you trying to send to your existing and potential clients and is the message they are getting the same message you are trying to send? When you become a business owner you have an obligation to your business, and more importantly yourself, to ensure the messages your business is sending reflect your core values and beliefs.

Core values in business quite often reflect the personal beliefs and values of the business owner. How you utilize those values in your marketing efforts will determine how your potential and existing clients view you and your business. Here are just a few ways you are communicating your values to others:

Business Name
The first contact others have with you and your business is your business name. When you answer the telephone, meet others in person or send out marketing materials, your name is an essential component of that “introduction”. Having a good solid business name you can stand behind is one of the most important business tools you need to create a thriving business.,

Slogans or Taglines
A slogan or tagline is an extension of your business name and allows you to further define your business. Just as your business name needs to be a name you can stand behind, so must your slogan or tagline. Try to stay away from cutesy taglines unless it is the image you are trying to send to a potential client.

Symbols
Many people exert great effort and energy when choosing a name that will reflect their personality but forget that the core values that drew them to their name needs to extend into any logos or other symbols they use to parlay that name. Be careful when choosing symbols to ensure they present a consistent and solid ideal. For example having never been to Sue’s Restaurant, if Sue uses curving letters that look like calligraphy in her logo a person might conjure up an image of a high class restaurant yet block style letters will conjure up a completely different image of a family type restaurant.

Marketing Campaigns
Always ensure your values speak through your marketing campaigns. These campaigns include brochures, business cards, Web sites and so on. For many the first contact they have with your company will not be a personal one so your marketing materials need to communicate your message. Have others read your marketing materials and tell you in their own words what your company stands for. Their “synopsis” will reveal whether or not you have “hit the mark” with your marketing materials.

How You Speak
Many people act professionally on the telephone or in person, but forget they should exude the same professionalism at all times. Remember that what you are saying, whether in forums, blogs, articles or books reflects upon you as much as if you were talking to the person in public. Be careful not to “air your laundry” in public forums or blogs as the Internet allows anyone to see how you handle yourself both professionally and personally. Remember as a business owner you always, always represent your business and not just yourself. It is okay to have an opinion on something, but does that opinion reflect how you want others to see you and your business?

How You Dress and Act in Public gatherings
Not only is speaking an important part of conveying your business to others, but so is how you act and dress. Take once last look in the mirror before leaving for any function to ensure the image looking back at you is the image you want others to see. Also, keep in mind that even if you are not attending a formal function, you are still representing your business even if you are just running to the corner store. How likely are you to run into a client or potential client along the way?

The key to creating a thriving business is ensuring that your business reflects your core values in everything you say and do. Make sure when your business is “talking behind your back” it is saying the things you want it to be saying.

Quite often people hear the terms trade-mark and copyright, but are unsure what they mean. While both trade-marks and copyright are types of intellectual property each is different from the other.

Trade-marks
A trade-mark is a word, symbol, design (or a combination of these features), used to distinguish the wares or services of one person from those of others in the marketplace. Trade-marks identify the source of the wares or services associated with the mark. Examples of trade-marks include Pepsi, Kleenex and Nike.

Trade-marks are valuable business assets. They represent the actual wares and services as well as the reputation of the producer or supplier.

By registering a trade-mark, the owner’s ability to protect the mark is enhanced. First, registration gives notice to the world of the owner’s rights in the mark. When persons select a trade-mark they will often conduct a search within the Canadian Intellectual Property Office to locate potentially confusing marks. Thus, persons selecting trade-marks will avoid using a mark that is likely to be confused with a mark that is already registered.

Second, registration of a trade-mark gives the owner the exclusive right to use the trade-mark, in association with the wares and/or services, throughout Canada for 15 years from the date of registration. The registration is renewable every 15 years thereafter.

Third, registration is prima facie evidence of the ownership of the trade-mark because the registration is presumed to be valid unless proven invalid. Thus, in a legal dispute, a person does not have to prove ownership of the trade-mark.

Fourth, the owner of the registered trade-mark may also prohibit its use in any manner that is likely to depreciate the value of the goodwill attaching to the trade-mark. Goodwill is the reputation that is connected to the goods or services that causes customers to return and repurchase the same goods or services.

The right of the registered owner to exclusively use the trade-mark is infringed when someone uses the exact same trade-mark as the registered owner or uses a confusingly similar trade-mark to that of the registered owner.

Trade-marks represent the image and reputation of a business and are, therefore, valuable business assets that should be protected through registration.

Copyright
In Canada, copyright is governed by the Copyright Act. Copyright protects original literary, artistic, musical and dramatic works. Examples of works which are entitled to copyright protection in Canada include: books, newspapers, advertisements, logos, computer software and sound recordings.

Generally, the author is the first owner of copyright. However, there are some exceptions to this general principle. For example, when an employee creates a work in the course of his or her employment, the copyright is owned by the employer.

A copyright owner has the exclusive right to control the work’s (a) reproduction, in whole or substantial part, in any material form, (b) public performance, (c) public telecommunication, (d) publication, (e) translation and (f) adaptation. The owner may also prohibit the distribution of unlawful copies.

Copyright comes into existence automatically, at the time the work is created, and, in most cases, it continues until the end of the calendar year in which the author of the work dies and continues for an additional period of 50 years.

There are many benefits to registering a copyright in Canada. The registration certificate is evidence that the work is protected by copyright and that the person registered is the owner. In the event of a legal dispute, the person does not have to prove ownership. Also, a registration gives public notice of an owner’s rights and may prevent an innocent infringement defence by unauthorized users of the work.

Copyright infringement occurs whenever a person exercises any of the copyright owner’s exclusive rights without consent.

A notice containing the year of first publication and the owner’s name should be placed on all published copies of a work to give public notice of the rights. For example, “© Jones Ltd., 1996. All Rights Reserved”. This notice may be used regardless of whether copyright is registered. The notice should be displayed so that reasonable notice of the claim of copyright in the work is given to the public.

Article Disclaimer

This article provides a general description of trade-mark and copyright law in Canada. The contents of this article are provided for general information purposes only. The article does not provide or constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Any person with a specific legal question or legal problem is encouraged to seek the advice of a qualified lawyer.

Note: The Copyright Act and Trademark Act were used as resources in writing this article

Thanks Barbara

BARBARA BIDNER
Barbara Bidner is an Ontario lawyer. She is the owner of Barbara Bidner Law Office. She was called to the Ontario bar in 1989. She became a registered trade-mark agent in Canada in 1993. Her telephone number is 519-474-4839 and her facsimile number is 519-474-4025.

Incorporating is not necessary for every business, but making that determination can be challenging. There is so much information out there and much of it is very hard to decipher. Many businesses, especially new ones, struggle with trying to decide what structure to choose not only when first starting out, but also as they begin to run and grow their business. At what point does it become necessary or advantageous to consider incorporating?

The best strategy to consider before making any decisions regarding an appropriate structure for your business is to speak with a lawyer. A lawyer can tell you whether incorporation is right for your business. Of course, I am not a lawyer myself, but through my experiences I have learned there are just a few other things you should have answers to or at least consider before consulting with your lawyer:

Is Liability an Issue for You?
As most of us realize and are aware, one of the key reasons anyone would consider incorporating would be because of the limited liability to you, the owner of the business. Since an incorporated business is a separate entity, owners are protected from most of the liabilities of the business. Many people mistakenly believe that by incorporating you are protected from all liability - this is just not true. Be sure to discuss what issues might arise in your particular business and whether you would be better protected through incorporation. Also, make sure to have your lawyer explain to you just which liability issues you will not be protected from even as an incorporated business.

Do you want your business to survive your death?
Keep in mind that incorporations continue to exist even if the owner dies. As a shareholder in your corporation, you can leave your shares in the company to someone else through your Last Will and Testament. How important is this to you and your business? Of course, for many owners who are still small and going it alone they need only consider themselves. However for others, who have employees or contractual obligations, these also need to be addressed when you discuss your plans with your lawyer.

Do you want the ability to market shares in your company?
How important is the growth of your business? Imagine being capable of raising capital for your company through the sale of shares. Only incorporated companies have this option. If this is a goal for your company, incorporation may be something you need to consider. Of course there are still options for raising capital for your business if it is not incorporated and you can also speak with your lawyer, accountant or bank manager about those options as well.

Would you benefit from the tax advantages?
Before consulting with your lawyer, make sure you also speak with your accountant. The way taxation is handled with corporations is very different from proprietorships and partnerships. At some point there will be taxation advantages to incorporating your business. Knowing what those advantages are and at what point they will “kick in” will be a key factor in determining whether or not to incorporate. The same can be said for the reverse and there are in fact, also tax advantages to having a proprietorship or a partnership. Only your accountant can best determine this based on your individual business.

How does incorporating affect a potential buyer’s opinion of you?
Not all, but some clients are more willing to do business with an incorporated business. To them having Ltd, Inc., LLC, or such, associated with your name tells them you are “swimming with the big guys”. Of course for others incorporating can have the exact opposite affect as their target market likes the illusion of the personal relationship that goes with a proprietorship or partnership. The key will be in knowing your target market and determining what their attitudes are. Unfortunately this is one area where only you hold the answers and a professional may not be able to assist you in making this determination.

Ultimately there is no right or wrong answer as to whether incorporating your business is the right choice or a necessary choice. Only you, with the help of your lawyer and accountant, can decide what is right for you and your business to ensure you are creating a thriving business.