Back to business …

Three weeks in a caravan in France with two small children, an evil mosquito … and pretty much non-stop rain! Call that a holiday?! Well, anyway, that’s where I’ve been, and boy am I glad to be back! Don’t get me wrong, it was good to have a change of scenery and it wasn’t quite as much of a nightmare as it could have been, but gone are the days of long lie-ins, sexy siestas and boozy nights out! To top it all off, it couldn’t have come at a worse time work-wise. I made the mistake of thinking I’d be able to liaise via e-mail, checked that the campsite had internet access … and then turned up to find that that was only if you’d brought your own computer. As my laptop was languishing at home, having been completely and utterly unable to squeeze into the car, I had to resort to a PC at the local Mediatech, which only opened every now and again (different hours every day!) and which had a French keyboard with everything in the wrong place. I even had to ask a spotty French student how to get the ‘@’ sign! So, to cut a long story short, I’m now three weeks behind ’schedule’, according to my very informal plan. I’ve got a meeting with the trademark lawyer on Thursday, and also with UnLtd, so hopefully by the end of this week I’ll be able to make some big decisions. Same name, different name? Trademark or no trademark? Brand identity, design, database build … full steam ahead? It’s getting to that scary signing on the dotted line time …

A case of mistaken identity

Ooops, it appears that the name I’ve chosen for my new business venture may be a bit too close for comfort to something that already exists … and there was me thinking that I’d checked everything and covered all the bases! As I’m just about to commission a design agency to work on the brand identity, thought I’d better make sure that they don’t start work on a ‘mistaken’ identity. So this morning saw me on the ‘phone to trademark lawyers and on the web trawling the Patent Office’s website - which is now the Intellectual Property Office don’t you know! www.ipo.gov.uk Apparently nothing is black and white in these matters, which of course means that people can make money out of trying to decipher and interpret the various shades of grey for you! Anyway, I’m holding onto high hopes that I’ll get to use ‘my’ name, whilst simultaneously racking my brains for an alternative that I like just as much if not more. Isn’t it ironic, I wasn’t sure about it until I thought I might not be able to have it … and then I suddenly realised how much I wanted it! Story of my life! How about you?