Monthly Event - September

Protecting Your Business:  Why You Need to Trademark Your Brand!

You are working hard to build a business and a brand that people know, like and trust.  But is that brand protected in the market?  Or is it vulnerable to potential competitors who could hijack your business?

Business Sorority sister, Karen Boardman, is a licensed business attorney who specializes in helping both emerging and established businesses protect their intellectual property through trademarks and copyrights.

In this dynamic and educational talk, you will learn:

• What is a trademark and why does every business need one?
• What are the top 3 mistakes that business owners make when trademarking their brand?
• How getting a trademark can be more affordable than you think – if you do it right the first time!

About our Speaker:

Karen Schuller Boardman is a proud intellectual property nerd with a passion for empowering business owners to take control of their trademarks and copyrights, as well as reviewing business vulnerabilities.  Small businesses (especially female-owned businesses) produce some of the most creative work in our marketplace and communities, and Karen loves to help these businesses protect their extraordinary innovations.

Karen graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science.  After undergraduate studies, Karen spent eight years working as an intellectual property paralegal, continuing to work full-time while attending law school in the evening at North Carolina Central University School of Law.  With over 20 years of legal experience, Karen is now a partner with Ascension Law and is licensed to practice in Tennessee and North Carolina.

Karen proudly serves as the Membership Chair for Business Sorority and is a Founding Board Member of the Mel Miller Foundation.  She is also a member of the National Organization of Women Business Owners and Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority.   She and her husband, Adam, live with their dog, Abigail, in South Charlotte.