John Dirks Jr Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 I designed a service mark. Looks like I can try and register it with either my state or federal or both for that matter. State is $50. Fed is like $300 or more. Since I will only be doing business in my state, is state registry good enough? Any other advice on this subject? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Fabry Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 I'd like to give advice, but I don't know what a service mark is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randynavarro Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 What is a service mark? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dirks Jr Posted June 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Servicemark is like a Trademark. Trademark is for trading goods. Servicemark is for trading services. Chad for instance, your avatar house with the question mark could be registered as your Servicemark, then no one else could use it. Its sort of like a copyright for an icon. Heres the definition from my states web page: A service mark is a name, symbol, word, or combination of 2 or more of these that a person displays or otherwise uses to advertise or sell services that the person performs to identify those services that the person performs and to distinguish them from services that another person performs. Examples of service marks: Wendy's (restaurant services); Waxie Maxie (retail phonograph record store service); COMPUSA (retail and wholesale computer services). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenT Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 LOGO? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian G Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Service Mark is the guy your wife calls when you're out of town. [:-dev3][][:-dev3] Brian G. Failure To Resist Posting #874, and Counting [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dirks Jr Posted June 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Originally posted by StevenT LOGO? LOGO? Sorry I meant to say loco. loco = definition of the average member of TIJ. [:-tong2] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Service marks are important if you are an open public firm. Do you plan advertising on billboards, bus benchs, newspaper etc? I think most inspectors do not go public, in the sense they need the public to recognize where they are and encourage the public to stop and shop. That being said, I think the fifty bucks is the most I would spend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Got to thinking more about this and thought about Warren Buffet. Berkshire Hathaway was a shirt company service mark. What is Warren's service mark? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dirks Jr Posted June 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 I figured if I went through the effort of printing an icon on my business cards, embroidering on shirt pockets and caps, having it on the front page of report ect..., having it registered would give me some level of assurance that no one else was using anything too close to it. That way I would have less worry about a letter from some attorney demanding that I stop using it. Since I will only be operating in my state, $50 for the state registry will do for now I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kibbel Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Ours is a registered as a trademark ®, which includes our logo and and company name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicago Posted June 28, 2007 Report Share Posted June 28, 2007 Having a logo or service mark will give you more of a sense of pride. I just designed one for myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted June 28, 2007 Report Share Posted June 28, 2007 Just try to stay away from spy glasses and houses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicago Posted June 28, 2007 Report Share Posted June 28, 2007 Les.. the very fact those were the things you said to stay away from make them the best choices. Remember we are going for instant recognition among a public that is in a hurry to find a guy.More than likely it is a one time shot. We are not marketing to other home inspectors,whom find it lacking imagination,but to the public looking for something familiar. While two Swans flying off into a sunset might meet with fellow inspectors approval on originality,it will not help clients figure out what you do for a living. Logos need to be instantly recognizable as a symbol of your profession ,as boring as that might be. As an artist I would love to get creative but must do what draws business rather than art awards or Kudos. [ Image Insert: 20.75 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfSwamp Posted June 29, 2007 Report Share Posted June 29, 2007 Originally posted by chicago Les.. the very fact those were the things you said to stay away from make them the best choices. Remember we are going for instant recognition among a public that is in a hurry to find a guy.More than likely it is a one time shot. We are not marketing to other home inspectors,whom find it lacking imagination,but to the public looking for something familiar. While two Swans flying off into a sunset might meet with fellow inspectors approval on originality,it will not help clients figure out what you do for a living. Logos need to be instantly recognizable as a symbol of your profession ,as boring as that might be. As an artist I would love to get creative but must do what draws business rather than art awards or Kudos. For what it's worth, I'm with Les on this one. It's not just that Sherlock Holmes hats, Sherlock Homes, magnifying glasses and houses with the tops lifted off are trite and corny. Maybe it's just me, but I've never come across an HI company with a trite, stale, artless logo that also had a really good HI in the company. If anybody's interested, there's a whole lot of public-domain art in old shelter mags (Better Homes/Gardens) and old carpenter books and mags. A clever HI can get a mighty tasty logo for free. WJid="blue"> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted June 29, 2007 Report Share Posted June 29, 2007 Originally posted by chicago Les.. the very fact those were the things you said to stay away from make them the best choices. Remember we are going for instant recognition among a public that is in a hurry to find a guy.More than likely it is a one time shot. Using the same graphic that everyone else uses will not create instant recognition. You'll just be lost among the other 37,542 companies that use a roofline on their logos. Yes, it should be instantly recognizable, but it should also be unique. We are not marketing to other home inspectors,whom find it lacking imagination,but to the public looking for something familiar. How do you know what the pubic is looking for? Some of the most successful inspection companies in my area have logos that are imaginative. The public seems to like them. While two Swans flying off into a sunset might meet with fellow inspectors approval on originality,it will not help clients figure out what you do for a living. Logos need to be instantly recognizable as a symbol of your profession ,as boring as that might be. How do you know that a prospective client won't think you're a roofer after looking at your logo? As an artist I would love to get creative but must do what draws business rather than art awards or Kudos. Why not both? - Jim Katen, Oregon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicago Posted June 29, 2007 Report Share Posted June 29, 2007 Interesting that the two negative comments came from guys with no web sites listed on their profiles.Hmmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted June 29, 2007 Report Share Posted June 29, 2007 Bob, I don't know why the way these guys have filled in their profiles would have anything to do with logos. For the record, I've seen both of their websites and neither one has a house or a magnifying glass on it. It looks like you and they have a difference of opinion. So what? Lots of people have differing opinions. Nobody is forcing you to agree with their opinion, so let's keep things friendly. Please. OT - OF!!! M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfSwamp Posted June 29, 2007 Report Share Posted June 29, 2007 Originally posted by chicago Interesting that the two negative comments came from guys with no web sites listed on their profiles.Hmmm. The website for my old company is in flux, and is being tweaked by my longtime biz partner. So, I didn't include a website in my profile. FWIW, the company logo is a graphic of a house taken from an American Carpenter & Builder magazine from the 1920s. It was public domain until I registered it as our company trademark. There's a ton of public domain stuff out there, free for the taking, and of very high quality. No offense to anybody, but it's a rare HI who has the skillset required to create high-quality logo art. Remember when NBC paid $1M+ for a stylized letter "N?" If one can legally "steal" excellent art, why not do it? WJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted June 29, 2007 Report Share Posted June 29, 2007 Huh, I remember seeing a Plumb bob on Jim's site, but I really didn't remember a house on yours. Oh well, I was half right anyway. How about explaining this public domain concept to those of us who aren't familiar with it, Walter. OT - OF!!! M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Brown Posted June 29, 2007 Report Share Posted June 29, 2007 If your not going to franchise your business someday State registration is probably all you need. Quote: Originally posted by chicago As an artist I would love to get creative but must do what draws business rather than art awards or Kudos. Bob, As an artist you should know that blue and red don't go together and your lettering is too close to the borders. Those two things don't make it look professional. Logos also should be easy to use with other text, so when you make a business card the text doesn't disappear because the roof is too big. Also when a logo is center justified it looks like a sign maker made it, not an artist. Without reading it you could also think it was a roofer/contractor/builder etc. It has a white background though, which is good. If you spend 500 to 1000 to get a decent logo, it's worth it. It takes quite a few tries to get a good one. Unfortunately the magnifying glass is one of the only things you can use with a house that says graphically that it's a home inspector. It's way over used in this business! Now that's the best logo I've ever seen! Hey, what do I know? [:-tong2] Michael Brown DevWave Software Inc. http://www.inspectexpress.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dirks Jr Posted June 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2007 I got a house but no magnifying glass. I know its extremely basic and I wont win any awards with it. Yeah, lame....so what. Image Insert: 2.92 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Fabry Posted June 29, 2007 Report Share Posted June 29, 2007 I just saw my logo displayed as an example of what's good... I paid for the logo. I hired someone to design it for me because, as Walter said, it's a rare HI that possesses the skill set to create an effective logo. Further, my logo inspired my tag line, which also was penned by someone else. "Answers to your questions" Mike Brown @ DevWave software designed the logo. Richard Moore donated the tag line. John, pay Mike an inspection fee or two. He'll design you a logo and provide it in every format imaginable so all you have to do is hand a disk to your printer and sign maker. It's worth every penny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dirks Jr Posted June 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2007 I am sure I will expand to something better in the future. For now its low budget to get started. Most of the available funds are going into education/training materials, licensing and insurance..ect. BTW I searched for instructions to add avatar to my profile. I want to add my own avatar. How do I do that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Brown Posted June 29, 2007 Report Share Posted June 29, 2007 I got a house but no magnifying glass. I know its extremely basic and I wont win any awards with it. Your logo should be basic... which it is. It doesn't look too bad to me! I would probably just add a little color too make it stand out a bit. If you want it for your avatar... just copy the link from your post above and paste it in your profile. Use the profile link on the menu. Michael Brown DevWave Software Inc. http://www.inspectexpress.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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