An Idea to Open Hiking Business

The Concept of Starting a Hiking Equipment Business

The entrepreneurial activity that I have long had an interest in exploring is starting a company that specializes in manufacturing custom hiking equipment, more specifically hiking backpacks. Developing such a company would come with a variety of legal issues that would need to be addressed from both a business standpoint and a product standpoint. In this essay, I will explore the various legal hurdles that will need to be addressed when creating my new business and product.

Business Regulations and Establishment

When starting any new business, there is always concern with what kinds of government regulation might exist in your particular industry. With our business structure, we do not anticipate running into extensive government regulations beyond the normal business establishment processes. For instance, we plan on seeking a local business license in the city of Chicago. This is required by every business to operate within a municipality. Additionally, we will acquire a tax ID number from the federal government. This number is unique to every business and is required to properly file taxes. Finally, we will establish the company as a limited liability company (LLC) in order to protect personal assets from any potential creditors in the future.

Legal Protections for the Brand and Product

When opening a retail-based business centered around a single product, there are a number of legal protections that you must seek in order to protect your company and product, but the most important is trademark protection. A trademark is a form of federal legal protection that applies to a company or product name, or a logo (Hinrish & Peters, 2014). For the company I am seeking to establish, I will seek a trademark for my company name, my product name, as well as the logo that will be developed for my company. This legal protection will allow me to protect my brand and any names associated with it from being used by copycats. Furthermore, since I will be offering a unique product designed by my company, I will also need to seek a patent on this design. A patent will protect my product from being duplicated by potential copycats for a period of 17 years (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, n.d.). Patent protection for my company would be critical in ensuring that the company is not only able to establish our product in a fairly crowded backpack market, but it will also allow us to protect our product for a long time to ensure that it thrives in the marketplace. Due to the fact that there are so many variations of backpacks already on the market, our design will have to be very unique in order for the government to issue a patent for our design.

Product Safety and Liability Concerns

When developing any new product, there is always a concern about the safety of the product, and with that, any liabilities that might arise from creating such a product. Although we are developing a product that would be considered somewhat of an everyday item, I do not feel there are many liabilities that will arise from the use of our product. Since we are developing a backpack that will be meant for hiking specifically, and therefore will be used in many different potentially extreme environments, it will be important that we are very clear in both our marketing as well as on our product packaging about what the limitations of our product are. For instance, when we design the product, we intend to make it waterproof, but by using such a term in our advertising and promotions, we will need to be upfront with the consumer about the limitations on the pack so as to ensure that we are not held liable for future false advertising lawsuits. Ensuring transparency in these aspects will not only protect us legally but also build trust with our customer base.

Conclusion

When starting any new business, there are a number of legal concerns that need to be confronted. For our business, we will need to first establish our business in our city, and from there, seek trademark protections for our name and logo, as well as a patent for our product. Addressing these legal aspects comprehensively will lay a strong foundation for the successful launch and growth of our company in the competitive hiking equipment market.

References

• Hinrish, J., & Peters, L. (2014). The Importance of Trademark Protection. Business Journal.
• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. (n.d.). Trademark, Patent, or Copyright? Retrieved from https://www.uspto.gov/