Williams Law

Williams Law Business & trademark attorney helping business owners protect their businesses and their brands.

Dolly gave the world her music, her generosity, and her unmistakable joy. She also gave generations of creators an examp...
08/26/2026

Dolly gave the world her music, her generosity, and her unmistakable joy. She also gave generations of creators an example worth remembering: believe in the value of what you create, even when protecting it requires you to say no.

At the time, she could not have known that Whitney Houston would record the song nearly two decades later or that it would become one of the most successful recordings of all time. She only knew that she had created something valuable and that the opportunity was not worth surrendering ownership of it.

Dolly spent her life giving generously, but she understood that generosity did not require giving away what she had created.

Believe in the value of your work, even when no one else can see what it may become. Protect it, even when the opportunity is extraordinary. Sometimes the most important decision you can make is to say no.

💖

Stop expecting women in business to prove that they are kind, compassionate, or reasonable by sacrificing themselves or ...
08/19/2026

Stop expecting women in business to prove that they are kind, compassionate, or reasonable by sacrificing themselves or their businesses to accommodate someone who no longer wants to honor what they agreed to.

There. I said it. 😮‍💨

So many women in business are very good (read: too good) at giving people grace. We want to be understanding, preserve relationships, and approach hard conversations reasonably, which can make it surprisingly hard to enforce a contract when someone asks us to make an exception.

There may be times when making an exception makes sense for your business. There will also be times when you hear someone out, understand exactly why they are asking, and still decide to enforce the agreement you both signed.

👉🏼 Your contract establishes the terms both parties agreed to and the obligations each party accepted. When circumstances change or someone decides they no longer like those terms, you do not have to renegotiate the agreement simply because they are asking you to.

You can have empathy, communicate professionally, and still say, “I understand, but this is what we agreed to.”

I want more women in business to feel completely confident doing exactly that.

📑 And it is a whole lot easier when your contract is clear, enforceable, and drafted to protect your business. Your agreements should tell you what each party agreed to and what happens when things do not go according to plan, so you are not trying to figure out your rights after a problem arises.

If your contracts leave you questioning what you can enforce, it may be time to take a closer look. 👉🏼 Schedule a consultation or get your attorney drafted contract templates at denvertrademarklaw.com!

If I were on the other side of the table choosing a name for a new business, I would be very intentional about the proce...
08/18/2026

If I were on the other side of the table choosing a name for a new business, I would be very intentional about the process.

I would think past my current product or service. A name that only makes sense for what I sell today can box me in if I expand or pivot.

I would stay away from purely descriptive names. “Denver Coffee Co.” tells people what you do, but it is nearly impossible to trademark and even harder to stand out with. A name with some distance from the literal service holds up better legally and commercially.

Before hiring an attorney, I would do some preliminary research on my own. I would Google each name, search social media, and run a basic search of the USPTO trademark database. This helps identify obvious conflicts and narrows the list before moving forward with a comprehensive clearance search.

I would not let domain and social handle availability drive the decision. Those matter, but a free domain does not mean the name is free to use. Legal availability and digital availability are two different checks, and only one of them protects the business long term.

I would then hire a trademark attorney to conduct a comprehensive clearance search before committing to a name. That search should go beyond Google and the USPTO database to evaluate federal and state trademark records, similar marks, related goods and services, and common law use. I would want to understand the legal landscape before building the business around a name I may later have to change

I would file the trademark application early, while the business is still small and the cost of being wrong is low. Waiting until there is traction and then discovering a conflict is one of the most expensive mistakes a growing business can make.

👉🏼 Naming a business is a creative decision with real legal implications. Taking both seriously early on can help you choose a name you can build, grow, and protect.

Ready to protect your brand name? Schedule a trademark consultation at denvertrademarklaw.com or using the link in my bio!

Is it inspiration or is it stealing? 🤨Very few businesses create in complete isolation from everything they have seen be...
08/13/2026

Is it inspiration or is it stealing? 🤨

Very few businesses create in complete isolation from everything they have seen before.

Ideas are shaped by other businesses, art, culture, trends, conversations, experiences, and creative work that already exists, and copyright law leaves room for businesses to be influenced by those existing ideas and creative works. What matters is how that influence shows up in the work the next business ultimately creates.

“Inspiration” starts to look a lot more like stealing when a business follows the original work so closely that, rather than building from the idea, it begins recreating the original work itself.

You do not need to create in a vacuum. You do, however, need to understand where inspiration ends and stealing begins.

And if someone crosses that line and steals your business’s work, you do not have to ignore it.

The Cease and Desist Letter Template takes the guesswork out of approaching someone who is copying your work and gives you a clear, professional way to demand that the infringement stop and protect your intellectual property.

📑 It also includes a Release Agreement Template to help you document a resolution with the infringer, including terms addressing removal of the infringing work, future use, and compensation for financial losses or damages caused by the infringement.

Plus, the template includes a step by step Copyright Application Guide to help you apply for federal copyright registration and strengthen the protection available for your creative work.

Get your Cease and Desist Letter Template at csuitecontracts.com or using the 🔗 in my bio!

That probably sounds strange coming from a trademark attorney, but it is true.In my experience, the number of applicatio...
08/07/2026

That probably sounds strange coming from a trademark attorney, but it is true.

In my experience, the number of applications matters much less than whether you are protecting the right things.

I think many business owners assume trademark strategy is simply a matter of filing as many applications as possible. In reality, a good trademark strategy is really an exercise in deciding what matters, what can wait, and where the business is headed next.

Before I recommend a filing strategy, I want to understand the business itself.
💭 What name do customers actually use when they talk about the business?
💭 Where does most of the revenue come from, and what name or mark is associated with it?
💭 If the business had to rebrand tomorrow, what would be the most painful thing to lose?
💭 What part of the brand would the owner never want a competitor to use?
💭 Is the business planning to expand into new products, services, or markets in the next few years?
💭 Is this a business you plan to build for the next decade, or are you still figuring out what you want it to become?

For some businesses, the answer is obvious. For others, it is not as obvious. Some businesses are built entirely around the company name. Others derive most of their value from a particular product, service, podcast, course, or even a personality.

Every business answers those questions differently, which means the right strategy looks different every time. Sometimes that means filing one application. Sometimes it means filing several applications in a particular order. Sometimes it means waiting.

The goal is not to blindly trademark everything. The goal is to understand what matters most, where the business is headed, and what should be protected first.

Ready to discuss your trademark strategy? Schedule a consultation using the 🔗 in my bio or at denvertrademarklaw.com!

Please help me congratulate  on the registration of the Safe To Show Up® trademark! 🥳🥂🍾Safe To Show Up® is officially fe...
08/03/2026

Please help me congratulate on the registration of the Safe To Show Up® trademark! 🥳🥂🍾

Safe To Show Up® is officially federally registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Founded by Emily Jacobson, Safe To Show Up® is a 12 week, 1:1 coaching experience for the female founder who is done hiding but still feels terrified of the spotlight. This work is for the entrepreneur who has something worth saying and still freezes before hitting post, before saying yes to the podcast, before pitching her offer in person. Emily helps her clients understand that this fear is not a confidence problem. It is a nervous system response, and it can be worked with.

Through Safe To Show Up®, Emily guides her clients through the nervous system patterns, survival strategies, and shame cycles that keep them silent, so they can show up fully without shocking their system or abandoning themselves to be confident. Her clients leave this work able to share their voice, their value, and their vision on their own terms.

For coaches, educators, and service providers, a program name often becomes one of the most valuable parts of their business. It is the name clients recommend to friends, share on social media, mention in podcasts, and associate with a specific transformation and experience. Over time, that reputation becomes an important business asset, and a federally registered trademark helps ensure Emily has the exclusive right to use Safe To Show Up® nationwide in connection with those services.

®️👏🏼✨

Emily, thank you for trusting me and Williams Law with your brand. Getting to protect work this personal and this intentional is always meaningful. Congratulations! 🥳

Last week, I attended the  Partnership Bootcamp here in Denver. It was a workshop focused on helping coaches, consultant...
07/30/2026

Last week, I attended the Partnership Bootcamp here in Denver. It was a workshop focused on helping coaches, consultants, and other service providers think more strategically about building intentional partnerships and collaborations.

One thing I really appreciated was that the conversation was not just, “Go network more.” It focused on finding the right partners, creating mutually beneficial relationships, and being intentional about how those collaborations are structured.

The legal side of those collaborations starts in the same place: clarity.

Before anyone signs an agreement, the parties should already have a shared understanding of what each person is contributing, how the relationship will work, what each person expects in return, and who owns what.

Those conversations lay the foundation for both a stronger agreement and a stronger relationship. When expectations are discussed early and documented clearly, everyone is far more likely to stay on the same page as the relationship evolves.

The agreement is not there to create the relationship. It is there to reflect the relationship you intentionally built together and help protect it if questions or disagreements arise later.

Because every collaboration is different, the agreement should be too.

➡️ Swipe for a few examples of agreements that may be appropriate depending on the type of business partnership or collaboration.

Thinking about a business partnership or collaboration? Make sure you have the right agreement!

Honorable Mention: Sharing confidential information during discussions with a potential business partner or collaborator → Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).

Still looking for the right agreement? Schedule a consultation or get your attorney drafted contract templates at denvertrademarklaw.com

Protecting a trademark is about more than preparing and filing an application.It is about helping clients make informed ...
07/29/2026

Protecting a trademark is about more than preparing and filing an application.

It is about helping clients make informed decisions, explaining the strategy behind each recommendation, answering the questions that inevitably come up, and making sure they always know what comes next.

That has always been the kind of practice I wanted to build.

So incredibly grateful for clients who trust me with their businesses and brands!

By the time many business owners start thinking about filing a federal trademark application, they have already invested...
07/27/2026

By the time many business owners start thinking about filing a federal trademark application, they have already invested thousands of dollars into their brand.

They have purchased a domain name, designed a logo, ordered packaging, built a website, launched social media accounts, printed marketing materials, and begun building a reputation under that name.

If a trademark issue arises at that stage, the cost is often much greater than the filing fee. It can mean rebranding a business that customers have already started to recognize and trust.

👉🏼 That is why I encourage business owners to think about trademark protection early.

Generally, the best time to think about trademark protection is before you launch. The second-best time is ASAP.

A trademark application is more than paperwork. Knowing when to file can be just as important as knowing what to file.

Ready to get started? Schedule your consultation using the 🔗 in my bio!

Your trademark is registered! 🥳®️🥂🍾 That is worth celebrating, and it also marks the beginning of the work that keeps yo...
07/24/2026

Your trademark is registered! 🥳®️🥂🍾 That is worth celebrating, and it also marks the beginning of the work that keeps your registration in force.

Here are three things you should do after your trademark registers:

® Start using the registered trademark symbol. While not required, it puts others on notice that your trademark is federally registered. Plus, you’ve earned it!

👀 Monitor and enforce your trademark rights. If someone begins using a confusingly similar mark, you should evaluate whether action is necessary. Failing to police your mark over time can weaken your rights.

📅 Keep track of your maintenance deadlines. Trademark registrations require periodic maintenance filings, with the first generally due between the fifth and sixth year after registration. Missing those deadlines can result in cancellation of your registration.

Registering your trademark is a major milestone. Maintaining it is what keeps those rights in place. 🔏

Ready to protect your brand? Schedule a consultation using the link in my bio!

Address

Denver, CO

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Williams Law posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share