The Creator's Law Firm

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The Creator's Law Firm Providing cutting-edge legal & business counsel that turns Legacy-Driven Entrepreneurs into protecte

10/06/2026

Two weeks before the Street Fighter movie hits theaters, Capcom filed ANOTHER Street Fighter trademark application. 🥊

Wait... don't they already own it? 🤔

Yes! But a trademark registration protects the specific products listed in the application. (Courts can sometimes protect a brand against closely related products too, but the registration itself is limited to what's listed.)

Capcom ALREADY owns registrations for the Street Fighter® brand on:
🎮 Video game software
🧸 Action figures, plush toys, card games
🕹️ Handheld game units
🃏 Trading cards, posters, stickers
📚 Strategy books and comics

On Oct 1, they applied for NEW protection (still under review) on:
📝 Stationery, pens, sticky notes, paper banners, and printed materials

Those new items aren't covered by their existing registrations. My take? They're closing the gaps before the movie brings a wave of new fans (and merch). 🎬

Want to steal this strategy for YOUR brand?
✅ List what you sell now AND what you plan to sell later
✅ Check if your trademark actually covers your products, programs, and services
✅ Ask yourself where you feel exposed or unprotected BEFORE you start or scale

⚖️ Legal information, not legal advice. Every brand's strategy is different, so talk with your own IP counsel about yours.

Who's seeing Street Fighter on opening weekend (Oct 16)? 🍿 Drop your fighter below 👇

"Can I patent my copyrighted trademark?"I felt this illustration in my soul. 😩If you've ever mixed up patents, trademark...
09/22/2026

"Can I patent my copyrighted trademark?"

I felt this illustration in my soul. 😩

If you've ever mixed up patents, trademarks, and copyrights — you are NOT alone. I've heard variations of this question from entrepreneurs AND even some attorneys who don't practice IP law. It's genuinely one of the most commonly confusing areas of law, because all three protect "ideas" — just totally different kinds.

Let me break it down for you like four flat tires:

Trademark → protects your brand identity. Your business name, logo, slogan — anything that tells customers "this is ME, not a competitor." Think: the Nike swoosh.

Copyright → protects creative work. Books, songs, photos, website content, art. The moment you create it, it's technically copyrighted — registration comes with benefits.

Patent → protects inventions. A new product or design. This is the one that has NOTHING to do with your brand name or your content — it's for actual inventions.

So no — you can't "patent" your copyrighted trademark. Because your trademark isn't copyrighted, and neither one is a patent. All three are different tools, protecting different things, filed with different offices, under different laws entirely.

Confusing these three isn't a "dumb question" — it's actually one of the most common (and costly) misunderstandings business owners make before they ever talk to an attorney. Filing the wrong protection, or assuming one covers you when it doesn't, is how brands end up exposed.

Have you ever heard someone mix this up? Drop it in the comments — bonus points if it was you. 😅

"Ticora Davis, owner of The Creator's Law Firm®, was recently featured in The Virtuous Creative discussing the business ...
09/17/2026

"Ticora Davis, owner of The Creator's Law Firm®, was recently featured in The Virtuous Creative discussing the business coaching industry — and what every entrepreneur should check before signing a coaching contract. In the piece, Attorney Davis breaks down three key areas: the scope of services promised, the termination clause, and what happens to your access and intellectual property once the coaching relationship ends. As the coaching industry continues to grow, Attorney Davis reminds entrepreneurs that protecting their investment starts with understanding the fine print.

Read the full feature — link in comments. ⚖️📰 "

A trademark registration is like a passport: it can take you almost anywhere — but only to the countries you actually ap...
07/20/2026

A trademark registration is like a passport: it can take you almost anywhere — but only to the countries you actually applied to visit.

I get this question a lot from brand owners who've scaled fast: "I'm registered federally — am I protected everywhere?"

No. Trademark rights are geographic.

Your U.S. registration protects you in the U.S. The registration doesn't automatically follow your brand to Paris, Dubai, or anywhere else — the same way your passport doesn't get you into a country without the right visa for that specific destination.

So why does this matter if you're not "going international" yet?

Because the internet already made your brand global, whether you filed for it or not. There are bad actors out there who watch for companies on the rise, then quietly register YOUR name in their region before you ever get there.

Here's what that actually costs you: when it's finally time to expand into that country, you can be blocked from using your own name.

Now you're stuck with an expensive decision — rebrand your entire company just to have one consistent name globally, or operate under different names in different countries. Both options are costly, and neither one existed as a problem until someone else filed first.

Or, the bad actor holds your name hostage in that market — and you end up paying THEM a lot of money just to use the brand you built.

This is why I tell clients: even with zero plans to expand right now, a defensive filing in key countries or regions protects the door before someone else walks through it.

You don't have to file everywhere. But you do have to decide on purpose — not by accident.

If you're building a brand with real growth potential and haven't thought about where your trademark rights actually end, that's worth a conversation before someone else has it for you.

If a beauty giant names a product after your viral makeup technique, is it trademark infringement?That's the question at...
06/12/2026

If a beauty giant names a product after your viral makeup technique, is it trademark infringement?

That's the question at the center of the Patrick Ta and Painted by Esther controversy.

And as our Founder, Attorney Ticora Davis told Forbes — the answer isn't as simple as who did it first.

Trademark rights don't go to the person who coined a phrase alone. They are awarded to the person who attached that phrase to a product or service (or filed an intent to use application) before anyone else.

We've seen this before.

Lil' Wayne gave us "bling bling." A young woman gave us "on fleek." Neither one promptly filed a trademark application. Neither one tied the phrase to a product. And someone else walked away with the proverbial bag.

Painted by Esther popularized a technique.

But popularizing something and owning it legally are two very different things.

So what happens next?

Without evidence of prior commercial use tied to the name, Painted by Esther's path to a trademark claim is narrow. Patrick Ta, having filed, holds the stronger legal position.

This is the part that keeps me up at night as an attorney who works with Black creators.

You can shape culture and still lose the rights to it — if you don't protect it while you're building it.

Tomorrow I am launching a new content series called Case Closed. And if you're a chiropractor, med spa owner, doctor, or...
05/12/2026

Tomorrow I am launching a new content series called Case Closed. And if you're a chiropractor, med spa owner, doctor, or wellness entrepreneur — you need to see it.

Every episode is built around a real situation that a health and wellness entrepreneur faced when their intellectual property was not protected. The case. The legal exposure. And how we resolved it.

The first case involves a fake franchise, an angry EX-employee, and a med spa owner who built her business on legal ground she didn't own. The details are ones I have not seen discussed openly in the spaces where clinician-entrepreneurs gather.
Episode one drops tomorrow.

If you are new here — follow this page and select "Favorites" from the follow settings so Facebook actually shows you my posts. This is not content you want to find 3 days later.

Drop a 🔔 in the comments if you want a reminder when it drops.

A famous brand does not automatically mean a strong trademark.McDonald’s is learning that in real time. The phrase carri...
05/09/2026

A famous brand does not automatically mean a strong trademark.
McDonald’s is learning that in real time.
 
The phrase carried decades of recognition, but legal protection still depends on something deeper:
➡️ Distinctiveness.
That is where many founders unknowingly weaken their own brands.
 
If your name only explains what you sell, trademark protection becomes harder, slower, and more expensive. And if registration lapses, even history may not fully protect you.
 
The strongest brands are not built on what sounds obvious.
They are built on what becomes memorable.
 
If you are building a business that needs long-term legal strength, schedule a free strategy call today!
 
⬇️ Comment FREE and I’ll send you the link ⬇️
 

This week’s copycats learned the hard way:Fame does not beat filings.From a Grammy-winning artist to a fried chicken sho...
05/07/2026

This week’s copycats learned the hard way:
Fame does not beat filings.

From a Grammy-winning artist to a fried chicken shop, the same legal truth keeps showing up. Ownership matters more than visibility when trademark rights are on the table.
 
Here’s what every entrepreneur should take seriously:
⚡ Names can collide even across industries.
⚡ Fame does not protect what was never secured.
⚡ The law often favors who moved first, not who became loudest later.
 
The real mistake is thinking legal problems only happen to bigger brands. Most of them start with assumptions that felt harmless at the time.
 
If you want clarity on how to protect your brand before it becomes someone else’s case study, comment 👇 FREE 👇 and I’ll send you the link!
 

What makes this case worth watching is not just who is involved.It is what it reminds creators and founders of every day...
05/06/2026

What makes this case worth watching is not just who is involved.
It is what it reminds creators and founders of every day:
➡️ Visibility creates value, and value attracts unauthorized use.
 
A likeness is not just sentimental when it has been commercially built, licensed, and recognized over time.
It becomes an ASSET.
 
That is why legal protection around names, images, and brand identity matters long before conflict shows up.
Because once something becomes culturally recognizable, people often assume access comes with permission.
✖️ It does not.
And many businesses only realize what they failed to protect after someone else starts profiting from it.
 
If your brand, face, work, or content is part of how you earn, it deserves legal clarity before it becomes vulnerable.
Comment ⬇️ FREE ⬇️ to schedule your strategy call for free!
 

A yes without clear terms is how creators end up doing extra work, waiting too long to get paid, or watching their conte...
05/04/2026

A yes without clear terms is how creators end up doing extra work, waiting too long to get paid, or watching their content get used far beyond the original deal.
 
Because the truth is, a brand saying “we’ll send the rest later” is not protection.
 
Before content is filmed, posted, revised, or approved, a few things should already be clear in writing:
👉 how you are getting paid, what they can do with your content, how many edits are included, and whether they expect exclusivity.
 
A paid opportunity should not come with hidden terms you discover later.
 
👇 If you want to schedule a free strategy call before your next deal lands in your inbox, drop FREE below!
 

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