# One TRADEMARK Error BOXED IN Burger King

An episode of [Earn Your Leisure](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1450211392), 7 Apr 2026, 10 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/8dbc4f54-a337-4481-9ef2-b355012b0a3d/4fecd8dc-8434-48d5-8883-b4220100a61c/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=eac4c628-29cb-469a-b5c8-b355012b0a48

A simple registration mistake limited a massive brand's growth for decades. Learn the "Burger King Lesson" so you don't repeat this legacy-killing error. Subscribe and watch more videos here: https://www.youtube.com/@EarnYourLeisure Join the EYL community for deeper training and a more detailed approach: https://www.eyluniversity.com Join the number one stock club in the world: https://www.ianinvest.com Invest Fest | August 7-9, 2026 Grab early bird tickets now: https://www.investfest.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: So why do business owners need to trademark their business
[0:02] Speaker 1: before launching? So I always ask people, will you build
[0:07] Speaker 1: a house on land you don't own? I'm gonna ask
[0:09] Speaker 1: you guys, will you build a house on land you
[0:10] Speaker 1: don't own? I didn't no, right, right cause it makes sense, right,
[0:16] Speaker 1: you're gonna before we build houses in America, right, we
[0:20] Speaker 1: go and we do a title search on the land
[0:21] Speaker 1: and make sure no one owns the lands. There's no
[0:24] Speaker 1: leans on a land or anything like that, because if
[0:26] Speaker 1: we go and we just start building the house on
[0:28] Speaker 1: land and we haven't cleared the land, the owner of
[0:31] Speaker 1: the land can come tear that house down.
[0:32] Speaker 2: Right.
[0:33] Speaker 1: It's the same equivalent when it comes to building a
[0:36] Speaker 1: business on a brand name and you don't own the name.
[0:39] Speaker 2: Right.
[0:39] Speaker 1: And so being that I have been practicing this law
[0:42] Speaker 1: for ten years, I have seen where people have invested
[0:45] Speaker 1: their four one K plans or took out money, you know,
[0:49] Speaker 1: from their retirement to invest in product and marketing material,
[0:53] Speaker 1: only for it to be torn down by the rifle owner.
[0:56] Speaker 2: Right.
[0:57] Speaker 1: So I tell people, before we build brands and we
[1:00] Speaker 1: build businesses, we want to make sure we're clearing the
[1:02] Speaker 1: name and we're actually owning that name, so everything that
[1:05] Speaker 1: we're building on top of it is ours now.
[1:08] Speaker 3: Okay, So if we got to get the name to
[1:11] Speaker 3: make sure that we own it, what where are we
[1:13] Speaker 3: going to search for this?
[1:14] Speaker 1: Like?
[1:14] Speaker 3: Are there specific sites? I feel like most people have
[1:17] Speaker 3: no idea. They'll just type in trade and whatever Google
[1:19] Speaker 3: tells them that's what we're using. It might not be
[1:22] Speaker 3: the most accurate thing. So what sites are we going
[1:24] Speaker 3: through to ensure that if we use this name, we
[1:26] Speaker 3: can own this name.
[1:27] Speaker 2: That's a great question.
[1:28] Speaker 1: So what I would first start is with the USPTO
[1:31] Speaker 1: dot gov and make sure it says dot gov and
[1:34] Speaker 1: not dot com, right, because there can be some you know,
[1:37] Speaker 1: fraudulent sites and things like that. So start with the
[1:40] Speaker 1: USPTO dot gov. And you want to start broad because
[1:43] Speaker 1: you want to see does anybody own the name? But
[1:45] Speaker 1: also too, this is where it's important to hire an
[1:48] Speaker 1: attorney because under the law, it's not about what's the same,
[1:52] Speaker 1: but what can be deemed confusingly similar. So if you
[1:54] Speaker 1: go to the USPTO dot gov and you search Starbucks, right,
[1:59] Speaker 1: probably nothing will come up and you'll be like, oh,
[2:01] Speaker 1: I'm good, I can go start a coffee company. Well,
[2:04] Speaker 1: Starbucks is gonna have a problem with that because under
[2:06] Speaker 1: the law, it's not about what's the same, but what
[2:08] Speaker 1: can be deemed confusingly similar. So first I would start there,
[2:12] Speaker 1: and then I would start with Google, and then possibly
[2:15] Speaker 1: social media handles as well, and then just searching domains.
[2:18] Speaker 1: But it's also important that we understand the nuances of
[2:22] Speaker 1: the law. Right, there's forty five different classes under trademark law,
[2:26] Speaker 1: and sometimes you can have brands that co exist in
[2:29] Speaker 1: a marketplace. That's why we have the chocolate, Doft Soap,
[2:32] Speaker 1: Mac Makeup, Mac Computer, Delta Airline, Delta Falset, Pandora Jewelry,
[2:36] Speaker 1: Pandora Music. So your name might come up, but if
[2:40] Speaker 1: it's a plumbing industry and you're in a beauty industry,
[2:42] Speaker 1: you make and coexist.
[2:44] Speaker 2: Right.
[2:44] Speaker 1: But where a lot of times people fall short entrepreneurs
[2:47] Speaker 1: is they will say, Okay, my name is available, I'm
[2:51] Speaker 1: gonna file the name, and they just pick a class
[2:54] Speaker 1: and now they think they own that name in its entirety.
[2:58] Speaker 1: You know.
[2:58] Speaker 2: Recently I seen an interview from Caesar from.
[3:00] Speaker 1: Black Ink, and he talked about how he actually was
[3:04] Speaker 1: surprised when he had his dog fighting issue that he
[3:07] Speaker 1: was let go from a show, the show that he
[3:10] Speaker 1: thought he owned because he created black Ink and a
[3:13] Speaker 1: black Ink brand. Well, what Caesar didn't know was and
[3:16] Speaker 1: he filed his own trademarks too, and he thought he
[3:19] Speaker 1: had his trademarks register, but he filed him for Tattooon
[3:22] Speaker 1: Services and I think for a peril. But when he
[3:25] Speaker 1: did his deal with Viacom with the reality show, they
[3:29] Speaker 1: went and filed the name for entertainment services. And so
[3:33] Speaker 1: there's a big difference there. So it's important that you
[3:35] Speaker 1: understand those nuances.
[3:37] Speaker 3: And so inside that we shouldn't do this on our own.
[3:39] Speaker 3: So some people will say, I can do I can
[3:42] Speaker 3: figure this out by myself.
[3:43] Speaker 2: Get an attorney, Get an attorney. I have about five
[3:47] Speaker 2: thousand clients.
[3:48] Speaker 1: And a fourth of them either did in themselves first
[3:51] Speaker 1: and then they had to come to us later, or
[3:53] Speaker 1: they went to one of these inner internet sourcing companies
[3:57] Speaker 1: right thinking they're hiring someone who will guide them and
[4:00] Speaker 1: lead them. But they're just really data transfer companies where
[4:04] Speaker 1: they'll take your data and transfer it into the information system.
[4:07] Speaker 1: So why isn't an LLC or corporation enough to have
[4:11] Speaker 1: for ownership in the business. And so that is also
[4:14] Speaker 1: a great question and the reason is is because as
[4:17] Speaker 1: business owners, I always say an educated entrepreneur is a
[4:20] Speaker 1: successful one.
[4:22] Speaker 2: We have to understand the different legal vehicles and why
[4:25] Speaker 2: they're here. Right.
[4:27] Speaker 1: And a lot of times people think, oh, if I
[4:28] Speaker 1: got an LLC, I'm good. But the LLC might not
[4:31] Speaker 1: even be the best entity type for you.
[4:33] Speaker 2: Right.
[4:34] Speaker 1: But what we need to understand is what comes with
[4:37] Speaker 1: that formation of an entity. So under the law, when
[4:41] Speaker 1: we file our entities, whether it's an LLC or a
[4:44] Speaker 1: corporation or partnership, under the law under our Secretary of State,
[4:49] Speaker 1: we're forming in it within our state. But that says
[4:52] Speaker 1: that by us creating that company, it's going to give
[4:55] Speaker 1: us a legal shield to protect us the individual owned,
[5:00] Speaker 1: from any legal liability that is to arise out of
[5:02] Speaker 1: our business. We also may get some tax benefits from
[5:06] Speaker 1: that as well.
[5:07] Speaker 2: Right. But nowhere in the law.
[5:09] Speaker 1: Does it says it's going to give you exclusive ownership
[5:11] Speaker 1: rights to that name. Right, So you could form your
[5:14] Speaker 1: business let's say in the state of Illinois, but if
[5:17] Speaker 1: someone owns the trademark, and Illinois said you can have
[5:21] Speaker 1: this business name. But if someone owns the trademark, let's
[5:24] Speaker 1: say in the state of Florida. They can shet your
[5:27] Speaker 1: business now in Illinois. So that's why it's important as
[5:31] Speaker 1: business owners we understand these different legal vehicles and how
[5:34] Speaker 1: they work and how they're set up to protect us.
[5:37] Speaker 1: The trademark is there to protect our name, our logos,
[5:41] Speaker 1: our slogans, and not a lot of people know. But
[5:43] Speaker 1: you can also trademark a sound as well.
[5:46] Speaker 3: Like you got mail interesting, so you brought up the
[5:49] Speaker 3: state things. So now it makes me wonder there's a
[5:52] Speaker 3: difference between filing the trademark and the state. Can we
[5:56] Speaker 3: file federally as well? So like talk about the nuances,
[6:00] Speaker 3: that's a.
[6:00] Speaker 1: Great question as well, because you can file your trademark
[6:04] Speaker 1: on the state level, right, but when you file it federally,
[6:08] Speaker 1: you get a lot more coverage. And I always say
[6:11] Speaker 1: technology is moving faster than the law. So back in
[6:14] Speaker 1: the day, you used to have to prove interstate commerce
[6:18] Speaker 1: in order.
[6:18] Speaker 2: To give federal registration.
[6:20] Speaker 1: So a lot of people use the state law system
[6:23] Speaker 1: to file their trademarks when before the internet, right, because
[6:26] Speaker 1: now that we have the Internet, as long as your
[6:29] Speaker 1: business is a ww dot com or you're on social
[6:32] Speaker 1: media and you're offering your services or your products to
[6:36] Speaker 1: anyone across the royal Basically, now you have interstate commerce.
[6:40] Speaker 1: So with the Internet, it kind of took that away.
[6:43] Speaker 1: So you want to go for the broader coverage most
[6:47] Speaker 1: as possible because you know. There is a case and
[6:51] Speaker 1: it arise out of the state of Illinois, and it
[6:54] Speaker 1: was in the nineteen fifties where there was this restaurant,
[6:57] Speaker 1: a small mom and pop restaurant. They sold burger shakes
[7:01] Speaker 1: and fries, right, and so then there was a Florida
[7:05] Speaker 1: restaurant that adopted the same name and they sold burger
[7:08] Speaker 1: shakes and fries as well. And so the Florida restaurant
[7:12] Speaker 1: began to grow very.
[7:14] Speaker 2: Fast and very rapidly, and.
[7:17] Speaker 1: There was supposed to be an agreement that they will
[7:19] Speaker 1: never come into the state of Illinois. Well, we know
[7:22] Speaker 1: money talk and boy Craft walk, and they came in
[7:25] Speaker 1: the state of Illinois. Well, the State of Illinois restaurant
[7:28] Speaker 1: filed a declaratory judgment under federal law to kick them
[7:31] Speaker 1: out of the state of Illinois. And the court asked
[7:34] Speaker 1: them in the state of Illinois, they were the first users, right.
[7:38] Speaker 1: The court actioned them, well, how far does your customers
[7:42] Speaker 1: come to your restaurant?
[7:43] Speaker 2: And this is a restaurant.
[7:44] Speaker 1: It's like in Mattoon, Illinois, which is like maybe like
[7:48] Speaker 1: two hundred miles south of Chicago, but it's right off
[7:51] Speaker 1: a major highway in Illinois. And they said, well, they
[7:56] Speaker 1: come from about a twenty mile radius. And so the
[7:59] Speaker 1: court said, okay, well this company cannot come within a
[8:02] Speaker 1: twenty mile radius of your restaurant. But now you can't
[8:06] Speaker 1: go outside of twenty mile radius of your restaurant because
[8:09] Speaker 1: they have the federal registration and unfortunately federal trump state.
[8:14] Speaker 1: So at do you know, like they boxed them in.
[8:17] Speaker 1: But what's the name of that company? Can you guys imagine,
[8:20] Speaker 1: like what was the name of that restaurant?
[8:24] Speaker 2: McDonald's. That's my first I McDonald's. What's the other one?
[8:29] Speaker 2: Burger Burger King.
[8:32] Speaker 1: So if you google right now the original Burger King,
[8:36] Speaker 1: it's still gonna come up today and it's twenty twenty
[8:39] Speaker 1: four and that restaurant in Withtoon, Illinois is still open
[8:42] Speaker 1: as the original Burger King.
[8:44] Speaker 3: Oh, so explain story again.
[8:46] Speaker 2: There was another Burger King before Burger King, exactly in Illinois.
[8:50] Speaker 1: So the big corporation Burger King, it originated out of Florida, Florida,
[8:54] Speaker 1: out of the state of Florida, but the state of Illinois.
[8:58] Speaker 1: Burger King they were the first users, but they didn't
[9:00] Speaker 1: have federal registration. So that's why it's so important that
[9:05] Speaker 1: we are there. They're still there to this day store
[9:09] Speaker 1: it's just one store because they can never grow outside
[9:12] Speaker 1: of that twenty mile radius.
[9:13] Speaker 3: They could put like four stores inside the twenty miles,
[9:15] Speaker 3: but they don't make sense.
[9:16] Speaker 2: They wouldn't even.
[9:18] Speaker 3: Is not burger King.
[9:19] Speaker 2: It's a restaurant, a fast fool.
[9:20] Speaker 1: It's a restaurant and they sell burger shakes and fries.
[9:24] Speaker 1: And it's called the original burger King. So if you
[9:27] Speaker 1: ever google burger King with Illinois, it will come up.
[9:30] Speaker 3: So with the I mean, that's an incredible story, but
[9:33] Speaker 3: it makes more sense to file federally or is it?
[9:36] Speaker 1: Yes?
[9:36] Speaker 3: I think it's more expensive as well.
[9:38] Speaker 1: Well it is, but sometimes the state registration is not
[9:42] Speaker 1: as it's effective and impact of as you need it
[9:45] Speaker 1: to be, especially in a day and age where the
[9:47] Speaker 1: internet is here. Right and see, another thing why that
[9:50] Speaker 1: story is so important is because trademarks are legacy builders. Right,
[9:55] Speaker 1: A trademark can outlive you. Coca Cola been registered since
[9:58] Speaker 1: eighteen ninety three. Mercedes since nineteen oh three, right, and
[10:02] Speaker 1: so a trademark can like so the original people who
[10:06] Speaker 1: created that burger king that was a family owned business.
[10:10] Speaker 1: So imagine what they could have did and expanded with
[10:13] Speaker 1: their company. But they are now attached to this judgment
[10:16] Speaker 1: out of federal court since the nineteen sixties.
[10:19] Speaker 2: So it limited their legacy.
[10:21] Speaker 1: So I always tell people you want to secure your brand,
[10:23] Speaker 1: not only to secure your bag, but you want to
[10:25] Speaker 1: secure your brand so you can secure your legacy.

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