Rosezena J. Pierce Explains Why Trademarks Are Important, Achieved Top 15 Trademark Attorney Ranking + More
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
What's up? Its way up?
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Put Angela Yee on a wealth Wednesday, and I have
a special guest, somebody who I actually met at the
podcast summit, and we've been trying to figure out how
we're going to make this happen. I told you we
would because this is valuable information. But we have trademark
and business attorney Rosina J. Pears Esquire here with us today.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Thank you so much for having me. Thank you for
making it happen.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
I'm happy it took a while, but the timing was amazing.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Yes, nothing but perfect time. You know, sometimes we want
things to happen in an odd time, but God is always.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Right on time. I got to ask you, Rosina, how
did you get that name? It's actually my grandmother's name.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Really, yes, And I really didn't think I knew anyone
with that name besides her until I got older and
I met someone else who has a different spelling but
pronounce it the same way.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
All right, Well, it's beautiful.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Thank you actually, And so when we talk about trademarking, right,
this is something that is really important as far as
protecting your brand, but some people don't understand like how
to go about it, why it's necessary, what the steps
are to take it. We've seen a lot of trademark
cases happen, especially in this entertainment business.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
I mean in every business, but in fashion and entertainment.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
So talk about why it's so important to trademark when
you have your own brand.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
You know, Angela I always asks people, will you build
a house on land you don't own? And what's your
build a house on?
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Nope?
Speaker 3 (01:29):
So everyone always says no. But then I say, well,
in turn, why do we build these businesses in these
brands if we don't own them? And it's really the
same equivalent because so often we see people who are
building a nice business, great business, great marketing, great product packaging,
all to have it torn down by a cease and
desist letter because they did not do the proper steps.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
You know, when you.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
File your trademark through the USPTO, you get a different
set of ownership rights to the brand name, so that
you can make sure what you're building is protected, and
not only just protecting it so no one else can
tear it down, but also protecting it from copycatters and
counterfeitters and people who can.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Benefit because they can cause confusion. It could be the
logo too, right, You trademark a logo and somebody might
have a logo similar to yours, or a name that's
similar to yours, or sometimes the exact same name. We
see this just happened with Tesla, and there was another
company that was called Tesla. I think they're currently doing
a lawsuit with that. Another one that's in the news
(02:30):
right now is Pharrell versus Pink Okay. He has a
company I guess it's called p dot I n C okay.
And then she felt there would be some confusion because
she's pink. So I don't know how that's gonna go,
because sometimes I can't tell what's gonna work and what's
not gonna work.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
Yeah, So the good thing about trademark law is it's
not about what's the same, but what can be deemed
confusionly similar? Right, And so will there be confusion is
the big question? And so you know, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
How it is for real. Do you know how he's
using the word pink.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
I think it's in some entertainment capacity. While you're talking
about it, and I'll talk about some other wins, I
look it up. What are some cases that you've seen
where something maybe has you know, just give us an
example where somebody had a brand and it really like
caused their brand to go away because if a season
desists or having to like start all over again.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Well, so basically there's a lot, there's a lot of
give us an example so people could understand. So actually
there's one where you know, even Caesar from Black Ink, right,
he has his issues where he tries to file his
trademark himself. He started his tattooing business and sometimes a
lot of people don't understand that there's forty five different
(03:43):
classes under trademark, right. So yeah, so Caesar when he
filed his application, he filed it for tattooing services, and
so when he had his dog fighting issue and was
fired from the show, he couldn't understand that because he
thought he owned the name and he owned you know,
the name black Ink. Well, when he did his deal,
(04:03):
they actually Viacom actually filed the trademark wow to register
it for entertainment services. So that's when it becomes very important.
And then there's another young lady. She had an issue
back in the day where she actually i think is
based here in New York for a skin and esthetician company,
and she filed her trademark for her esthetician services, and
(04:25):
then Kim Kardashian, who has a lot more money, filed
the same name but all these other different classes. And
so it's like it can cause reverse confusion because Kim
has the bigger brand, so people would think, oh my god,
like she took Kim Kardashian brand, but it was her
brands and they were able to, you know, work something out.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
It's like bad look for Kim Kardashian to do something
like that too when it gets a tene press is
that and you're proaching somebody else's.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
But and the thing is, that's why it's so important
that everybody does research before they file brands and adopt brands,
because I don't know if Kim knew about the Young
Lady here.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
In New York first.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Sometimes it's innocent, yeah, Sometimes it's innocent, right, And sometimes
people don't know, Like Lebron James has an issue right
now with a trademark and it's more than an athlete,
and there was an actual trademark for the registration for
more than an athlete, and it looks like the nonprofit
organization filed the trademark application themselves, right, And so then
(05:23):
what happens is there's a part in the process. The
government may approve the trademark and then anyone in the
public has thirty days to oppose it. Well, Lebron James
came and filed that similar trademark and all these other
different classes, and the Trademark Office approved it. And so
now this nonprofit organization filed a lawsuit against Lebron James
(05:45):
for thirty three million dollars saying.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
That their brand name.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
But then the question becomes, does your registration actually support
your thirty three million dollar claim?
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Right? Right? So it's you know, it's so, that's so
you need a lawyer.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Yes, this is a lot it is And imagine a
lot of times when you start a business sometimes you
may not know how well it's gonna do. You don't
and if you haven't taken those proper precautions, Like you said,
you're not gonna build a house on lands you don't own.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
So you have to make.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Sure that as part of starting your business you are
protecting your brand and.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Also just doing the research first, right, Like doing the
research when we go buy a house or a rebind land,
we do a title search first to make sure that
there's no Leans on the house or anything like that.
And before you adopt your brand name, you definitely want
to make sure that you have done a clearance search
for the words so that you don't get into issues
where someone is now suing you because they're saying your
(06:39):
brand is confusingly similar. And sometimes when people will go
to the USPTO dot gov and they'll just search the
name and nothing comes back, and they'll be like, oh,
I'm good, right, but no, but then if it calls likely,
so somebody you could go search Starbucks and say I'm
gonna open up a coffee company because starbecks right, and
Starbucks is definitely gonna come and say no, this can
(07:00):
cause confusion shut the brand down, right. So it's very
important that you understand the nuances because you know, anyone
can file the trademark application, but it's about is it
gonna have protection and then once you get registration, is
it gonna be able to be strong enough to enforce
your rights in case you having a friendship and you've.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Worked with some amazing people too, like Angela Simons, Yeah,
twist us arrogates. That's good that people are knowing that
I need a professional what are some of the first
steps you would tell somebody they need to do.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
The first step I would tell someone is develop a
unique name.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Right.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
A lot of times people like to just pick a
name to like easily call people to their brand name,
right or so like say you know beauty industry or
beauty studios.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Right.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
That's common because there might be other companies who want
to use the word beauty studios because it's descriptive to
the services.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Right.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
So first make sure that you're developing a unique name.
The most unique names are gonna be the best type
of names to get registered and then also protect from
any infringers. Right, So think about like nanke, Exon Mobile, right, Kodak, right, Disney.
Those words have no meaning to it. So first and foremost,
(08:16):
when you hear those names, you really think about those companies.
But then also too, their competitor has no excuse to
use those names its real words exactly to infringe on
their brand.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
So first, just start with a unique name.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
You know, when I was coming up with a name
for this show, that was hard right way up with
angela ye, and somebody told me, I don't know if
this is two or not, but they're like, whatever you
do don't google it, because then people can see you're
googling something and then try to snatch that from you.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
So I believe that.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
You know, so domain names are very important when you're
starting a brand. You definitely want to make sure if
you're gonna start searching that name, especially in a domain
like search engine where you're going to buy that name.
I believe that there are some cyber squatters out here.
They can have tracking device to see what name people
(09:06):
are searching. So if you are gonna say, hey, I
want to search way up with angela yee, and you
search it, somebody's gonna grab it, well, I would just
say maybe if it comes back and the domain name
is twenty dollars, you just buy it.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
I just had to do that for my building in Midtown.
We had to come up with a name for the building. Yeah,
and so I was like, I went and saw that
there was nobody that owned the website yeah, and so
I just bought it right away. It was like twenty
dollars yeah, and I was like, let me just grab this,
you know, as a and then I told everybody, this is.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
What we're gonna call it.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
But even coming up with this name, when you look
on Instagram and you're trying to see if there's a
page for it. You know, somebody might see that and
snatch it up, and then you'll be very upset to
not be able to have that.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
So what I say first and foremost is do the
search right to make sure that the domain and then
hire an attorney right to go through the trademark process
and search it there, because again you might be able
to have that domain but safe. For instance, if you
did justice, do it right, and the domain name is
available right, and now you want to do justice, do
(10:08):
it and you want to put a pair on there
and jymps and you know, and JYMP shoes and sneakers,
we say JYMP shoes from Chicago. But if you want
to put that on there, Nike is gonna have a
problem with that, and they're still going to shut that
website now. And don't make the mistake of spending thousands
of dollars on a domain name and you haven't cleared
the rights to the name right right.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
I know people who have bought.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Domain names for twenty five thousand dollars only to get
a ceasent desist letter where they had to shut down
their whole website because it was infringing on someone else's brung.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
What a waste of money?
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Yes, you know recently we saw those mischief like Timberland boots.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Did you see those?
Speaker 2 (10:47):
And they're like these sneakers. Remember when everybody's wearing those
big red sneakers. They look like cartoons years. But then
they did the Timberland ones and I was like, how
are they able to do this? I'm gonna show you
what these look like? And I was like, how are
they because I know Simbelin did initially have an issue
with it, but somehow they were still able to get
away with this.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
But I just want you to see it.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
So and sometimes companies have the weigh their options like
do we let this go or do we actually follow
a trademark lawsuit? Like who is really gonna wear these things?
How far are they going to go?
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Mischief? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Okay, oh yeah, I think Timberland should.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Do something about that. When you said the big red boots,
I was like.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
Who they did those first? But then they did these
Timberland ones the same company. Yeah, but I feel like
they didn't make a lot of them.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Maybe and that's why also too, Now their argument can
be that that's just the standard construction boot, right, as
long as.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
They're another construction boots that look like yeah yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
So as long as they're not using the Timberlin logo
right and putting them on the boots, they're really not
infringing on Timberland's brand, you get what I'm saying. So
it's just so that's why it's important though, as business
owners and brand owners that we do on our name,
our logo, and our slogans because people will try to
use them in different ways. Now, that to me just
looked like a construction boot. But the moment they attached
(12:04):
to Timblan logo on and now Timbland has a trailer tree.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Oh did they put a tree? Oh?
Speaker 3 (12:09):
I was gonna say now, because that could be a
likelihood of confusion, right, don't give them no ideas.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Actually, I want to ask you what made you to
say I want to be a trademark and business attorney.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
So I am from the West Side of Chicago and
there is a lot of things that go on and
I knew I wanted to be an attorney since I
was five years old. Been exposed to the criminal justice system.
You know, my father went to prison my brothers were
in prison all at one time, and so I just
wanted to do something more impactful, more different.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
My father, he came home.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
He really wanted me to do criminal law because he
knew half the judges at the county jail.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
And I was like, right. I was like, no, Daddy,
I'm not and he was like and and really.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
Like four years after being a lawyer, my father will
still call me like, such and such a jail. Can
you go get do go see what they charging them
with it? And I'm like, Daddy, that's not what I do.
But it's not my scholar. But we're gonna call somebody
else to help such and such. But I knew I
wanted to do something as it related to business and
international business, and I thought I wanted to travel a lot,
(13:15):
see the world and.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Not being selfish.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
But I finished law school and I studied intellectual property
a whole time in law school, and I love just
working with you know, brands, and then coming out and
seeing them in the world and just knowing I had
a part of that. But I finished law school and
not having any job offers, I thought I was gonna
work at a big corporation or a big law firm
had no job offers. And it was a professor who
(13:40):
told me, he said, you know what do you I said,
I don't have any jobs. You know, I got three
kids at home. Just did you know past the bart
the first time? What am I gonna do?
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Okay, that is not easy. We're just talking about that,
especially with three kids. Yeah, and she was an infant
at the time. So I was having a lot of
amazing yes.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
But but so then I fell into a depression because
I was even on my law review, my intellectual property
law review at school, and you know, it was only
two black people on there, me and the other guy,
and everybody else that didn't look like us all had
job offers. You know. It's like when when you're finishing
law school, it's like, you know, being drafted to the
pros or whatever.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
And we didn't have any job offers.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
And I was like, dang, if I could you know,
just I really want to do intellectual property law. And
talking to this professor after passing the bar, you have
to take a professional responsibility course, and I say, God
makes no mistakes because he is the one who planned
to see and he said, you know, what do you
want to do? I said, I want to do intellectual
property and he said, well, you will go a long
way serving and underserved.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
And I said, well, I don't want to do criminal
law because I just.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Thought about like no real quick and I was like,
I want to do that, and he was like, no,
who is underserved in your practice area? And I said
small business owners? And he said, you will go a
long way serving now. And I'll tell you fast forward
eleven years later. You know, I was looking at those
big corporate jobs because I'm like, oh my god, this
is how much I can make. Never make that much money,
but you know, building my own business, have done that
(15:10):
and sometimes in a month, you know times, but also
too Now my firm is ranked above all of those
law firms that I applied.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
For, out of the top fifty firms, and these are
already the top fifty firms in the US.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
In the US out over twenty eight thousand.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Yes, trademark law firms. You're in the top fifteen of
those top fifty.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
So I'm ranked top fifteen out of trademark lawyers in
the country, which is over thirty three thousand trademark lawyers
in the country.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
But the firm that I built and started, and I
have an amazing team. I have three other lawyers that
work for the team. We're in the top one percent.
So we were numbers already.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Y See, guy, I had a plan for I had
a plan.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
I have to stop asking him why and just say
what's next, because I say to that because I you know,
I really wanted to work at these law firms. And
I say, people's rejection is God's protection because he knew
he had a bigger plan from my life, and you know,
I was trying to get under their name, and he
had put me a book.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Sometimes when your back is against the wall, that's when
you fight the hardest and really make it happen.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
So I love that. Yeah, I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
And even just your spirit and energy because like I said,
I met you and then we were talking about like
making this happen, and I was like, we got to
make sure at some point that we get you up
here on the show to talk about this because you
live in Atlanta.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Now, I do, okay, I do, all right.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
And so the other thing I wanted to ask you
about with some of the brands that you've helped, because
this is a critical piece of Like we just talked
about protecting a brand, helping a brand to grow and scale.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
How does it feel for you when you know you've.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Been part of that process and you get to see
the success of other people.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
It's amazing. We always tell our clients, your success is
our success.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
Right.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
We have over five thousand clients that we represent in
five thousand brands that we're helping at the creation.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
Of their brand.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
You know, I have a client, she was a young entrepreneur,
started her business at sixteen. Her and her mom were
homeless at the time. Wow, you know they you know,
got an award from Joe Biden. They've been featured on
Shark Tank. The products is now like in targeting things.
But then they had some issues just recently where you know,
a lot of us want to get in retail spaces
(17:20):
and things like that, but what we don't know is
it can become taxing.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Tell me about it. We had some products and target
and whole foods. Your coffee company coffee uplifts people and
it costs money and to be able.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
To mind that on the shelves and then you gotta sell,
you gotta sell.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
And so they you know, they were having an issue
where Target called them and said, look, the products is
not moving us fast enough and if we have to
ship it.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
Back, we have to charge that. Yeah, right, chargebacks.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
And the crazy thing is they shared their story that
the deal we thought they got on Shark Tank did
not go through, did not happen, and so you know,
I was just like, Okay, what can I do. I'm
gonna post this on my social media everybody in Texas
because I.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Have clients all across the country.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
Everybody in Texas just go buy a bottle of the sauce, right,
and the brand is Siana Sauce.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Shout out to Siana Sauce and her mom. They do
great work.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
And you know, the news came out the next day
just to support them. People were ordering off of their
website and things like that. And so that's what helps
me and make me feel good about amazing that we
do when we help our clients promote, you know, their brands.
And you know, people always ask, well, what's the difference
between you and the other companies online? Right?
Speaker 1 (18:30):
You know the ones that there's really not a lawyer
and they're.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Just going online and doing it and filling it out.
But you're not going to get that individual guidance and help.
And like you said, there's so many different things I
didn't even know until you came up here and talk
to me about it today, where I'm like, I better
make sure.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
Yeah, And you know it's so crazy to be a client.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
So I have a lot of clients in the beauty
industry because I was a licensed cosmotologist before I became
a lawyer.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
And I did it all girl, it's we three kids.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
I had to do something to take them kids.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Yea, yeah, but so and I finished high school with
my cosmetology license because I knew I was going to
go to college and things like that. And where I'm from,
as long as you finished high school, that's good enough
for everybody. Like you graduate high school, that's good. But
I knew I wanted to be a lawyer. But basically
what I was saying was I have a lot of
clients in a beauty space. And you know the difference
(19:25):
between me being someone's attorney or our law firm representing them.
I can connect my clients to people. I mean, and
just so happened one of my neighbors. He has helped
other big brands, beauty brands like my Yeo Organics Kaleidoscope, right.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
He helped connect.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
They both in part of the show My spotches the
show and me we already had for Kaleidoscope.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
We've had her up here too. Yeah, absolutely, so.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Do and he helped them with their manufacturing and product
production like that.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
And so he's my neighbor.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
He lives right in my community, right, and so now
I'm connecting him with my clients so they can do
the same thing as well.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Listen, y'all, she don't live in a house. She live
in a community. Okay, we got to get to that point,
but you worked really hard to get there, and we
got to celebrate that.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Yeah, absolutely, to be able to go home to your house,
yeah and be like we did this, Yeah, you know.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
I Yeah, I was looking and it's so crazy because
my house now was not my first house that I
bought in Chicago.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
But I was like, oh my god, this is growth.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
And then I know it's growth because I feel a
little guilty because I want this other house now and
I always see it.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
I always see it on Instagram.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
It got the pool in the backyard with the waterfall
coming out, so it's like, oh, I got still so
much further to go. But that's just you know, I
feel like it's the spirit of God challenging me to
my greatness.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Right.
Speaker 3 (20:49):
And it's like sometimes people say, well, you shouldn't wrap
things and material things and things like that, but no,
like you deserve.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Yeah, so if you work hard, you should not feel
guilty for the things that you are but to do
because you also are doing a lot to help other
people exactly, so why not do things for yourself?
Speaker 3 (21:04):
And I feel like it's a disservice to God if
we don't be great, if we don't operate in our excellence, right,
and so if we just sit and be comfortable and
we settle, how has that given him his true glory? Right?
Because you know, by giving him glory, people get to
see the great things He have done for you in
your life. So if I just sit back and be
comfortable in my nice house in my.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Community, when I know I can get this really really,
you're not the way.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
It could be a great investment because the hope is
that will appreciate value.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
And there you go. It has. It definitely has.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
And it's so crazy because it just takes me back
because I know you're into real estate too, and I
remember there was a time where someone was telling, you know,
the black community, we shouldn't buy houses. And I know
this is not a real estate talk, but that just
goes back to the importance of ownership, right, even through
trademarks real estates.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
When you look.
Speaker 3 (21:55):
At the top wealthy people in this country, they're not
wealthy because as a burger shakes and fries. They're wealthy
because of their real estate portfolio and their intellectual property portfolio.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
And why this ins.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
Thoughts and why this person was out telling people mostly
up that looked like us, we should not buy homes.
I actually moved to Georgia twenty seventeen. I said I
would buy a house there until twenty twenty one, until
I knew, you know, if I wasn't to be there
or not. But twenty twenty something very odd happened COVID
and so you know, at the time, my landlord was
(22:29):
not checking on me to see if I was good
or anything. She still wanted her rent payment, and I
was like, you know what, this is the time I
need to be an owner, right And I bought my
house July twenty twenty when the interest rate was like
three point something, and.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
I bought my house. Darn COVID too. Yes it was.
My entertate is three point twenty five percent. Yes, And the.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
Thing is now my house has appreciated almost double its value,
so why like but but now think about it. The
community I lived in before I bought the house is
the same to rent a house. There is the same
payment as my mortgage.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
So it like when it goes back, you have to
go back to ownership.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
It's so very yeah, I agree with that.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
I will say the first house I bought when COVID hit,
I own my house right and that's the house I
was living in until I bought this other one. And
I felt very secure knowing that if God forbid something
should happen, I have a place to live exactly, you know,
so I didn't have to worry about paying rent. My
mortgage was paid already. I had a two family house,
so I had a tenant, so I know that could
(23:30):
support me if all else fails. I always think about that.
And my house is worth double what I pay for
it already, so it is I don't agree with that.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
Don't buy a house now now.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
I don't feel like you should buy a house anywhere
and there are certain situations where it's not always a
great thing, and it's not a great investment, as with
any investment, but there's way more ways that you can
do your due diligence and get into a great situation.
And another thing I learned, and just from hearing you
talk about that too, is your first house doesn't have
to be your dream house, last house. It should be
(24:00):
a good investment. It should be what you can't afford.
It shouldn't be something that's gonna break you, but it
should also be something that you know, this was, you know,
something that later on I can sell this, make money
off of it and get what I really want.
Speaker 3 (24:13):
Yeah, absolutely absolutely, And everybody ain't meant to be.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
An owner, right, everything's different.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Yeah, Now it might be best to rent because the
stress of home ownership is a real thing.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Yeah for sure. But the thing is I just dressed.
The entrepreneurship is a real thing.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
It's so very real, so very well, and I don't
think a lot of people talk about it enough. But
also too, you know, I just thought it was just
a bad taste in my mouth to hear you know,
this person who's supposed to be a thought leader telling
all these black people not to buy a home, and
I'm like.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Wait, I feel like I feel like I know who
you're talking about, because yeah, yeah, but we don't need to.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
I'm not honor, but but just know, like like sometimes
and that's too important too. Who are you listening to?
Who are you consuming? Who are you getting your information from? Right,
not that I was gonna listen to, but imagine all
those people that did listen to.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
These people that person, and then they also spread that
to their community, like what I heard from this person
and they know what they're talking about.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Because they they on boats.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Yeah all right, well listen. I want to thank you
so much Rosina J. Pearce for coming and joining us.
You know, make sure y'all check it out. Where can
people find you?
Speaker 3 (25:15):
So they can find me on Instagram it's the best
platform for me, which is the best lawyer, but I
understand everybody is not on Instagram, So you can also
find me at our website at securethebrand dot com. And
if anybody have any questions about trademarks, they can book
a thirty I'm sorry, a fifteen minute consultation for thirty
dollars with our firm and we'll explain the trademark process
(25:37):
to them.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
That's right, thirty dollars to make sure that your business
doesn't get no season desist and that you start things
on a nice stable foundation.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
Right now, we'll just say this real quoie because people
call and be like Angela said, those thirty dollars. The
trademark process is fifteen hundred. That's the call. Yes, but
we'll give people say, oh, it was only thirty and
that's a good.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
Way to get started.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
To understand what you need to do and then understand
the that's involved with it too and the different levels
of that. So I think that's important. Yes, absolutely, all right, Well,
thank you so much again. Secure their brand dot com.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
Make sure you check it out.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
And I appreciate you, and you know, congratulations to everything
you have going on. You have such an amazing story
to see where you are today and how you made
it to this level even though there were obstacles in
your way, so you thoughts, but it wasn't.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
Thank you so much, Thank you so so much for
having me. I'm so happy this can you too, all right?
Speaker 1 (26:28):
It is way up happy wealth Wednesday. Well,
What's up? Its way up?
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Put Angela Yee on a wealth Wednesday, and I have
a special guest, somebody who I actually met at the
podcast summit, and we've been trying to figure out how
we're going to make this happen. I told you we
would because this is valuable information. But we have trademark
and business attorney Rosina J. Pears Esquire here with us today.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Thank you so much for having me. Thank you for
making it happen.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
I'm happy it took a while, but the timing was amazing.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Yes, nothing but perfect time. You know, sometimes we want
things to happen in an odd time, but God is always.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Right on time. I got to ask you, Rosina, how
did you get that name? It's actually my grandmother's name.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Really, yes, And I really didn't think I knew anyone
with that name besides her until I got older and
I met someone else who has a different spelling but
pronounce it the same way.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
All right, Well, it's beautiful.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Thank you actually, And so when we talk about trademarking, right,
this is something that is really important as far as
protecting your brand, but some people don't understand like how
to go about it, why it's necessary, what the steps
are to take it. We've seen a lot of trademark
cases happen, especially in this entertainment business.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
I mean in every business, but in fashion and entertainment.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
So talk about why it's so important to trademark when
you have your own brand.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
You know, Angela I always asks people, will you build
a house on land you don't own? And what's your
build a house on?
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Nope?
Speaker 3 (01:29):
So everyone always says no. But then I say, well,
in turn, why do we build these businesses in these
brands if we don't own them? And it's really the
same equivalent because so often we see people who are
building a nice business, great business, great marketing, great product packaging,
all to have it torn down by a cease and
desist letter because they did not do the proper steps.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
You know, when you.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
File your trademark through the USPTO, you get a different
set of ownership rights to the brand name, so that
you can make sure what you're building is protected, and
not only just protecting it so no one else can
tear it down, but also protecting it from copycatters and
counterfeitters and people who can.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Benefit because they can cause confusion. It could be the
logo too, right, You trademark a logo and somebody might
have a logo similar to yours, or a name that's
similar to yours, or sometimes the exact same name. We
see this just happened with Tesla, and there was another
company that was called Tesla. I think they're currently doing
a lawsuit with that. Another one that's in the news
(02:30):
right now is Pharrell versus Pink Okay. He has a
company I guess it's called p dot I n C okay.
And then she felt there would be some confusion because
she's pink. So I don't know how that's gonna go,
because sometimes I can't tell what's gonna work and what's
not gonna work.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
Yeah, So the good thing about trademark law is it's
not about what's the same, but what can be deemed
confusionly similar? Right, And so will there be confusion is
the big question? And so you know, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
How it is for real. Do you know how he's
using the word pink.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
I think it's in some entertainment capacity. While you're talking
about it, and I'll talk about some other wins, I
look it up. What are some cases that you've seen
where something maybe has you know, just give us an
example where somebody had a brand and it really like
caused their brand to go away because if a season
desists or having to like start all over again.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Well, so basically there's a lot, there's a lot of
give us an example so people could understand. So actually
there's one where you know, even Caesar from Black Ink, right,
he has his issues where he tries to file his
trademark himself. He started his tattooing business and sometimes a
lot of people don't understand that there's forty five different
(03:43):
classes under trademark, right. So yeah, so Caesar when he
filed his application, he filed it for tattooing services, and
so when he had his dog fighting issue and was
fired from the show, he couldn't understand that because he
thought he owned the name and he owned you know,
the name black Ink. Well, when he did his deal,
(04:03):
they actually Viacom actually filed the trademark wow to register
it for entertainment services. So that's when it becomes very important.
And then there's another young lady. She had an issue
back in the day where she actually i think is
based here in New York for a skin and esthetician company,
and she filed her trademark for her esthetician services, and
(04:25):
then Kim Kardashian, who has a lot more money, filed
the same name but all these other different classes. And
so it's like it can cause reverse confusion because Kim
has the bigger brand, so people would think, oh my god,
like she took Kim Kardashian brand, but it was her
brands and they were able to, you know, work something out.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
It's like bad look for Kim Kardashian to do something
like that too when it gets a tene press is
that and you're proaching somebody else's.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
But and the thing is, that's why it's so important
that everybody does research before they file brands and adopt brands,
because I don't know if Kim knew about the Young
Lady here.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
In New York first.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Sometimes it's innocent, yeah, Sometimes it's innocent, right, And sometimes
people don't know, Like Lebron James has an issue right
now with a trademark and it's more than an athlete,
and there was an actual trademark for the registration for
more than an athlete, and it looks like the nonprofit
organization filed the trademark application themselves, right, And so then
(05:23):
what happens is there's a part in the process. The
government may approve the trademark and then anyone in the
public has thirty days to oppose it. Well, Lebron James
came and filed that similar trademark and all these other
different classes, and the Trademark Office approved it. And so
now this nonprofit organization filed a lawsuit against Lebron James
(05:45):
for thirty three million dollars saying.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
That their brand name.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
But then the question becomes, does your registration actually support
your thirty three million dollar claim?
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Right? Right? So it's you know, it's so, that's so
you need a lawyer.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Yes, this is a lot it is And imagine a
lot of times when you start a business sometimes you
may not know how well it's gonna do. You don't
and if you haven't taken those proper precautions, Like you said,
you're not gonna build a house on lands you don't own.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
So you have to make.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Sure that as part of starting your business you are
protecting your brand and.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Also just doing the research first, right, Like doing the
research when we go buy a house or a rebind land,
we do a title search first to make sure that
there's no Leans on the house or anything like that.
And before you adopt your brand name, you definitely want
to make sure that you have done a clearance search
for the words so that you don't get into issues
where someone is now suing you because they're saying your
(06:39):
brand is confusingly similar. And sometimes when people will go
to the USPTO dot gov and they'll just search the
name and nothing comes back, and they'll be like, oh,
I'm good, right, but no, but then if it calls likely,
so somebody you could go search Starbucks and say I'm
gonna open up a coffee company because starbecks right, and
Starbucks is definitely gonna come and say no, this can
(07:00):
cause confusion shut the brand down, right. So it's very
important that you understand the nuances because you know, anyone
can file the trademark application, but it's about is it
gonna have protection and then once you get registration, is
it gonna be able to be strong enough to enforce
your rights in case you having a friendship and you've.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Worked with some amazing people too, like Angela Simons, Yeah,
twist us arrogates. That's good that people are knowing that
I need a professional what are some of the first
steps you would tell somebody they need to do.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
The first step I would tell someone is develop a
unique name.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Right.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
A lot of times people like to just pick a
name to like easily call people to their brand name,
right or so like say you know beauty industry or
beauty studios.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Right.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
That's common because there might be other companies who want
to use the word beauty studios because it's descriptive to
the services.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Right.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
So first make sure that you're developing a unique name.
The most unique names are gonna be the best type
of names to get registered and then also protect from
any infringers. Right, So think about like nanke, Exon Mobile, right, Kodak, right, Disney.
Those words have no meaning to it. So first and foremost,
(08:16):
when you hear those names, you really think about those companies.
But then also too, their competitor has no excuse to
use those names its real words exactly to infringe on
their brand.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
So first, just start with a unique name.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
You know, when I was coming up with a name
for this show, that was hard right way up with
angela ye, and somebody told me, I don't know if
this is two or not, but they're like, whatever you
do don't google it, because then people can see you're
googling something and then try to snatch that from you.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
So I believe that.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
You know, so domain names are very important when you're
starting a brand. You definitely want to make sure if
you're gonna start searching that name, especially in a domain
like search engine where you're going to buy that name.
I believe that there are some cyber squatters out here.
They can have tracking device to see what name people
(09:06):
are searching. So if you are gonna say, hey, I
want to search way up with angela yee, and you
search it, somebody's gonna grab it, well, I would just
say maybe if it comes back and the domain name
is twenty dollars, you just buy it.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
I just had to do that for my building in Midtown.
We had to come up with a name for the building. Yeah,
and so I was like, I went and saw that
there was nobody that owned the website yeah, and so
I just bought it right away. It was like twenty
dollars yeah, and I was like, let me just grab this,
you know, as a and then I told everybody, this is.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
What we're gonna call it.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
But even coming up with this name, when you look
on Instagram and you're trying to see if there's a
page for it. You know, somebody might see that and
snatch it up, and then you'll be very upset to
not be able to have that.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
So what I say first and foremost is do the
search right to make sure that the domain and then
hire an attorney right to go through the trademark process
and search it there, because again you might be able
to have that domain but safe. For instance, if you
did justice, do it right, and the domain name is
available right, and now you want to do justice, do
(10:08):
it and you want to put a pair on there
and jymps and you know, and JYMP shoes and sneakers,
we say JYMP shoes from Chicago. But if you want
to put that on there, Nike is gonna have a
problem with that, and they're still going to shut that
website now. And don't make the mistake of spending thousands
of dollars on a domain name and you haven't cleared
the rights to the name right right.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
I know people who have bought.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Domain names for twenty five thousand dollars only to get
a ceasent desist letter where they had to shut down
their whole website because it was infringing on someone else's brung.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
What a waste of money?
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Yes, you know recently we saw those mischief like Timberland boots.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Did you see those?
Speaker 2 (10:47):
And they're like these sneakers. Remember when everybody's wearing those
big red sneakers. They look like cartoons years. But then
they did the Timberland ones and I was like, how
are they able to do this? I'm gonna show you
what these look like? And I was like, how are
they because I know Simbelin did initially have an issue
with it, but somehow they were still able to get
away with this.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
But I just want you to see it.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
So and sometimes companies have the weigh their options like
do we let this go or do we actually follow
a trademark lawsuit? Like who is really gonna wear these things?
How far are they going to go?
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Mischief? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Okay, oh yeah, I think Timberland should.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Do something about that. When you said the big red boots,
I was like.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
Who they did those first? But then they did these
Timberland ones the same company. Yeah, but I feel like
they didn't make a lot of them.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Maybe and that's why also too, Now their argument can
be that that's just the standard construction boot, right, as
long as.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
They're another construction boots that look like yeah yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
So as long as they're not using the Timberlin logo
right and putting them on the boots, they're really not
infringing on Timberland's brand, you get what I'm saying. So
it's just so that's why it's important though, as business
owners and brand owners that we do on our name,
our logo, and our slogans because people will try to
use them in different ways. Now, that to me just
looked like a construction boot. But the moment they attached
(12:04):
to Timblan logo on and now Timbland has a trailer tree.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Oh did they put a tree? Oh?
Speaker 3 (12:09):
I was gonna say now, because that could be a
likelihood of confusion, right, don't give them no ideas.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Actually, I want to ask you what made you to
say I want to be a trademark and business attorney.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
So I am from the West Side of Chicago and
there is a lot of things that go on and
I knew I wanted to be an attorney since I
was five years old. Been exposed to the criminal justice system.
You know, my father went to prison my brothers were
in prison all at one time, and so I just
wanted to do something more impactful, more different.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
My father, he came home.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
He really wanted me to do criminal law because he
knew half the judges at the county jail.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
And I was like, right. I was like, no, Daddy,
I'm not and he was like and and really.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
Like four years after being a lawyer, my father will
still call me like, such and such a jail. Can
you go get do go see what they charging them
with it? And I'm like, Daddy, that's not what I do.
But it's not my scholar. But we're gonna call somebody
else to help such and such. But I knew I
wanted to do something as it related to business and
international business, and I thought I wanted to travel a lot,
(13:15):
see the world and.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Not being selfish.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
But I finished law school and I studied intellectual property
a whole time in law school, and I love just
working with you know, brands, and then coming out and
seeing them in the world and just knowing I had
a part of that. But I finished law school and
not having any job offers, I thought I was gonna
work at a big corporation or a big law firm
had no job offers. And it was a professor who
(13:40):
told me, he said, you know what do you I said,
I don't have any jobs. You know, I got three
kids at home. Just did you know past the bart
the first time? What am I gonna do?
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Okay, that is not easy. We're just talking about that,
especially with three kids. Yeah, and she was an infant
at the time. So I was having a lot of
amazing yes.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
But but so then I fell into a depression because
I was even on my law review, my intellectual property
law review at school, and you know, it was only
two black people on there, me and the other guy,
and everybody else that didn't look like us all had
job offers. You know. It's like when when you're finishing
law school, it's like, you know, being drafted to the
pros or whatever.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
And we didn't have any job offers.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
And I was like, dang, if I could you know,
just I really want to do intellectual property law. And
talking to this professor after passing the bar, you have
to take a professional responsibility course, and I say, God
makes no mistakes because he is the one who planned
to see and he said, you know, what do you
want to do? I said, I want to do intellectual
property and he said, well, you will go a long
way serving and underserved.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
And I said, well, I don't want to do criminal
law because I just.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Thought about like no real quick and I was like,
I want to do that, and he was like, no,
who is underserved in your practice area? And I said
small business owners? And he said, you will go a
long way serving now. And I'll tell you fast forward
eleven years later. You know, I was looking at those
big corporate jobs because I'm like, oh my god, this
is how much I can make. Never make that much money,
but you know, building my own business, have done that
(15:10):
and sometimes in a month, you know times, but also
too Now my firm is ranked above all of those
law firms that I applied.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
For, out of the top fifty firms, and these are
already the top fifty firms in the US.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
In the US out over twenty eight thousand.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Yes, trademark law firms. You're in the top fifteen of
those top fifty.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
So I'm ranked top fifteen out of trademark lawyers in
the country, which is over thirty three thousand trademark lawyers
in the country.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
But the firm that I built and started, and I
have an amazing team. I have three other lawyers that
work for the team. We're in the top one percent.
So we were numbers already.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Y See, guy, I had a plan for I had
a plan.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
I have to stop asking him why and just say
what's next, because I say to that because I you know,
I really wanted to work at these law firms. And
I say, people's rejection is God's protection because he knew
he had a bigger plan from my life, and you know,
I was trying to get under their name, and he
had put me a book.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Sometimes when your back is against the wall, that's when
you fight the hardest and really make it happen.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
So I love that. Yeah, I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
And even just your spirit and energy because like I said,
I met you and then we were talking about like
making this happen, and I was like, we got to
make sure at some point that we get you up
here on the show to talk about this because you
live in Atlanta.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Now, I do, okay, I do, all right.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
And so the other thing I wanted to ask you
about with some of the brands that you've helped, because
this is a critical piece of Like we just talked
about protecting a brand, helping a brand to grow and scale.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
How does it feel for you when you know you've.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Been part of that process and you get to see
the success of other people.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
It's amazing. We always tell our clients, your success is
our success.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
Right.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
We have over five thousand clients that we represent in
five thousand brands that we're helping at the creation.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
Of their brand.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
You know, I have a client, she was a young entrepreneur,
started her business at sixteen. Her and her mom were
homeless at the time. Wow, you know they you know,
got an award from Joe Biden. They've been featured on
Shark Tank. The products is now like in targeting things.
But then they had some issues just recently where you know,
a lot of us want to get in retail spaces
(17:20):
and things like that, but what we don't know is
it can become taxing.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Tell me about it. We had some products and target
and whole foods. Your coffee company coffee uplifts people and
it costs money and to be able.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
To mind that on the shelves and then you gotta sell,
you gotta sell.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
And so they you know, they were having an issue
where Target called them and said, look, the products is
not moving us fast enough and if we have to
ship it.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
Back, we have to charge that. Yeah, right, chargebacks.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
And the crazy thing is they shared their story that
the deal we thought they got on Shark Tank did
not go through, did not happen, and so you know,
I was just like, Okay, what can I do. I'm
gonna post this on my social media everybody in Texas
because I.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Have clients all across the country.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
Everybody in Texas just go buy a bottle of the sauce, right,
and the brand is Siana Sauce.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Shout out to Siana Sauce and her mom. They do
great work.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
And you know, the news came out the next day
just to support them. People were ordering off of their
website and things like that. And so that's what helps
me and make me feel good about amazing that we
do when we help our clients promote, you know, their brands.
And you know, people always ask, well, what's the difference
between you and the other companies online? Right?
Speaker 1 (18:30):
You know the ones that there's really not a lawyer
and they're.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Just going online and doing it and filling it out.
But you're not going to get that individual guidance and help.
And like you said, there's so many different things I
didn't even know until you came up here and talk
to me about it today, where I'm like, I better
make sure.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
Yeah, And you know it's so crazy to be a client.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
So I have a lot of clients in the beauty
industry because I was a licensed cosmotologist before I became
a lawyer.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
And I did it all girl, it's we three kids.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
I had to do something to take them kids.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Yea, yeah, but so and I finished high school with
my cosmetology license because I knew I was going to
go to college and things like that. And where I'm from,
as long as you finished high school, that's good enough
for everybody. Like you graduate high school, that's good. But
I knew I wanted to be a lawyer. But basically
what I was saying was I have a lot of
clients in a beauty space. And you know the difference
(19:25):
between me being someone's attorney or our law firm representing them.
I can connect my clients to people. I mean, and
just so happened one of my neighbors. He has helped
other big brands, beauty brands like my Yeo Organics Kaleidoscope, right.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
He helped connect.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
They both in part of the show My spotches the
show and me we already had for Kaleidoscope.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
We've had her up here too. Yeah, absolutely, so.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Do and he helped them with their manufacturing and product
production like that.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
And so he's my neighbor.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
He lives right in my community, right, and so now
I'm connecting him with my clients so they can do
the same thing as well.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Listen, y'all, she don't live in a house. She live
in a community. Okay, we got to get to that point,
but you worked really hard to get there, and we
got to celebrate that.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Yeah, absolutely, to be able to go home to your house,
yeah and be like we did this, Yeah, you know.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
I Yeah, I was looking and it's so crazy because
my house now was not my first house that I
bought in Chicago.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
But I was like, oh my god, this is growth.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
And then I know it's growth because I feel a
little guilty because I want this other house now and
I always see it.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
I always see it on Instagram.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
It got the pool in the backyard with the waterfall
coming out, so it's like, oh, I got still so
much further to go. But that's just you know, I
feel like it's the spirit of God challenging me to
my greatness.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Right.
Speaker 3 (20:49):
And it's like sometimes people say, well, you shouldn't wrap
things and material things and things like that, but no,
like you deserve.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Yeah, so if you work hard, you should not feel
guilty for the things that you are but to do
because you also are doing a lot to help other
people exactly, so why not do things for yourself?
Speaker 3 (21:04):
And I feel like it's a disservice to God if
we don't be great, if we don't operate in our excellence, right,
and so if we just sit and be comfortable and
we settle, how has that given him his true glory? Right?
Because you know, by giving him glory, people get to
see the great things He have done for you in
your life. So if I just sit back and be
comfortable in my nice house in my.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Community, when I know I can get this really really,
you're not the way.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
It could be a great investment because the hope is
that will appreciate value.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
And there you go. It has. It definitely has.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
And it's so crazy because it just takes me back
because I know you're into real estate too, and I
remember there was a time where someone was telling, you know,
the black community, we shouldn't buy houses. And I know
this is not a real estate talk, but that just
goes back to the importance of ownership, right, even through
trademarks real estates.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
When you look.
Speaker 3 (21:55):
At the top wealthy people in this country, they're not
wealthy because as a burger shakes and fries. They're wealthy
because of their real estate portfolio and their intellectual property portfolio.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
And why this ins.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
Thoughts and why this person was out telling people mostly
up that looked like us, we should not buy homes.
I actually moved to Georgia twenty seventeen. I said I
would buy a house there until twenty twenty one, until
I knew, you know, if I wasn't to be there
or not. But twenty twenty something very odd happened COVID
and so you know, at the time, my landlord was
(22:29):
not checking on me to see if I was good
or anything. She still wanted her rent payment, and I
was like, you know what, this is the time I
need to be an owner, right And I bought my
house July twenty twenty when the interest rate was like
three point something, and.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
I bought my house. Darn COVID too. Yes it was.
My entertate is three point twenty five percent. Yes, And the.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
Thing is now my house has appreciated almost double its value,
so why like but but now think about it. The
community I lived in before I bought the house is
the same to rent a house. There is the same
payment as my mortgage.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
So it like when it goes back, you have to
go back to ownership.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
It's so very yeah, I agree with that.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
I will say the first house I bought when COVID hit,
I own my house right and that's the house I
was living in until I bought this other one. And
I felt very secure knowing that if God forbid something
should happen, I have a place to live exactly, you know,
so I didn't have to worry about paying rent. My
mortgage was paid already. I had a two family house,
so I had a tenant, so I know that could
(23:30):
support me if all else fails. I always think about that.
And my house is worth double what I pay for
it already, so it is I don't agree with that.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
Don't buy a house now now.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
I don't feel like you should buy a house anywhere
and there are certain situations where it's not always a
great thing, and it's not a great investment, as with
any investment, but there's way more ways that you can
do your due diligence and get into a great situation.
And another thing I learned, and just from hearing you
talk about that too, is your first house doesn't have
to be your dream house, last house. It should be
(24:00):
a good investment. It should be what you can't afford.
It shouldn't be something that's gonna break you, but it
should also be something that you know, this was, you know,
something that later on I can sell this, make money
off of it and get what I really want.
Speaker 3 (24:13):
Yeah, absolutely absolutely, And everybody ain't meant to be.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
An owner, right, everything's different.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Yeah, Now it might be best to rent because the
stress of home ownership is a real thing.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Yeah for sure. But the thing is I just dressed.
The entrepreneurship is a real thing.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
It's so very real, so very well, and I don't
think a lot of people talk about it enough. But
also too, you know, I just thought it was just
a bad taste in my mouth to hear you know,
this person who's supposed to be a thought leader telling
all these black people not to buy a home, and
I'm like.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Wait, I feel like I feel like I know who
you're talking about, because yeah, yeah, but we don't need to.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
I'm not honor, but but just know, like like sometimes
and that's too important too. Who are you listening to?
Who are you consuming? Who are you getting your information from? Right,
not that I was gonna listen to, but imagine all
those people that did listen to.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
These people that person, and then they also spread that
to their community, like what I heard from this person
and they know what they're talking about.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Because they they on boats.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Yeah all right, well listen. I want to thank you
so much Rosina J. Pearce for coming and joining us.
You know, make sure y'all check it out. Where can
people find you?
Speaker 3 (25:15):
So they can find me on Instagram it's the best
platform for me, which is the best lawyer, but I
understand everybody is not on Instagram, So you can also
find me at our website at securethebrand dot com. And
if anybody have any questions about trademarks, they can book
a thirty I'm sorry, a fifteen minute consultation for thirty
dollars with our firm and we'll explain the trademark process
(25:37):
to them.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
That's right, thirty dollars to make sure that your business
doesn't get no season desist and that you start things
on a nice stable foundation.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
Right now, we'll just say this real quoie because people
call and be like Angela said, those thirty dollars. The
trademark process is fifteen hundred. That's the call. Yes, but
we'll give people say, oh, it was only thirty and
that's a good.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
Way to get started.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
To understand what you need to do and then understand
the that's involved with it too and the different levels
of that. So I think that's important. Yes, absolutely, all right, Well,
thank you so much again. Secure their brand dot com.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
Make sure you check it out.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
And I appreciate you, and you know, congratulations to everything
you have going on. You have such an amazing story
to see where you are today and how you made
it to this level even though there were obstacles in
your way, so you thoughts, but it wasn't.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
Thank you so much, Thank you so so much for
having me. I'm so happy this can you too, all right?
Speaker 1 (26:28):
It is way up happy wealth Wednesday. Well,
Way Up With Angela Yee News
Host
Angela Yee
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