Global Vision

By Lynn Beresford

On Your Mark

Does registering your trademark internationally sound like a labor-intensive, hassle-ridden task? Rest easy—now you can register in 15 European countries in one fell swoop.

The Community Trademark registration system, now in effect, means you can file in one central office and be registered in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. Trademarks filed this way are good for 10 years, with the option of 10-year renewals.

Planning your expansion strategy early on can help ensure no one else uses your trademark overseas, says Philadelphia attorney Laura G. Miller. Decide what markets you'll want to enter two, five or 10 years from now; do a trademark search there, and register your trademark early. Community registration costs approximately $5,000—a bargain when you consider that filing charges usually range between $1,000 and $1,250 per country.

Finally, Miller says, once you've registered, be certain to use your trademark in the countries within the required amount of time to make sure it stays current. Following these steps will help you avoid trademark trip-ups.

Easy Access

Export regulations—the words alone are enough to strike fear in the heart of even the most eager entrepreneur. But understanding the ins and outs of exporting just got a lot easier, thanks to the Commerce Department's Export Administration Regulations (EAR).

EAR is a service available in loose-leaf form or online that keeps national and foreign small-business owners abreast of changes in U.S. export regulations worldwide—no small task since licensing requirements vary among countries. EAR helps entrepreneurs stay on top of issues such as how to get an export license, when an export license is
necessary (and when it's not), how license applications are reviewed, policy changes, restrictions on some commodities and on exports to certain countries, and where to go for more help.

Now's the best time to get hip to export regulations: “We've just rewritten the regulations for the first time in 40 years,” says William A. Reinsch, undersecretary of the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Export Administration. Thankfully, this time around, the regulations are in plain English. “We want to make sure [entrepreneurs] are not intimidated by the rules,” says Reinsch, “and the best way we can do that is to make them as accessible and user-friendly as possible.”

EAR is available in loose-leaf form for $88 a year by calling (703) 487-4630, at 24 U.S government bookstores nationwide, or online at http://www.fedworld.gov/bxa/info/info.html.

French Connection

Planning to export to France? Don't go it alone; an intermediary company can make the process easier.

“It's a fallacy that the French prefer French products,” says Gary Gould, director of L'Accent Anglais, a Cremieu, France, consultancy that has been advising mostly small and medium-sized businesses on the finer points of exporting to France since 1989. Au contraire, Gould says, American exporters can succeed in France as long as they establish a presence in the country from the get-go. “The French need to know they can contact somebody in France,” he explains.

Companies like L'Accent Anglais can act as intermediaries, introducing your products to the marketplace. Once you've established an identity in France, you can get referrals for trustworthy distributors and agents from the people you've been doing business with.

That's especially important because, under French law, an agent you use once and then decide not to use again can sue you for damages.

The bottom line? Finding the right agent is key to export success in France.

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Department of Commerce, Bureau of Export Administration, Office of Public Affairs, (202) 482-2721, fax: (202) 482-2421;

L'Accent Anglais, 33-74-90-0515, fax: 33-74-90-0502;

Woodcock Washburn Kurtz Mackiewicz & Norris, 1 Liberty Pl., 46th Fl., Philadelphia, PA 19103, (215) 568-3100.