Case Study of Z-Burger
I have been reiterating to my friends and clients to always register their trademarks, own their Intellectual Property, and make sure to have copyrights and patents in place. Too many people take these issues lightly, until the day they end up regretting it.
Payam Tabibian, better known as Peter, registered the red, white and yellow Z-Burger logo in 2007. He went on to open his first fast-food restaurant in 2008, a lively, accessible store tied to the local community. It held contests, food giveaways, fund-raisers and happy hours.
After the success of the first outlet, Mr. Tabibian began adding stores in other locations. He was in partnership with brothers Mohammad and Ebrahim Esfahani. Eventually they had a falling out, and ended up in court fighting over control of the Z-Burger name and trademarks.
This kind of clash over IP is common, and as important as it is, trademarking and copyrighting are often overlooked. The biggest challenge startups face is finding the time to register their brand while setting up a business. Hiring an intellectual property specialist to do the research and paperwork for you saves you money and stress in the long run.
Mr. Tabibian went on to win the case against the Esfahani brothers, and even opened up more outlets. Read the details here.