Michael Justus, Washington, DC Intellectual Property associate, spoke with American Marketing Association's Marketing News regarding how to register a trademark and protect it in the global marketplace. Michael explained that securing a trademark should be one of the first steps in the development of new products or services. "As soon as marketers come up with a new brand, product name or logo, that's the time to get legal involved," said Michael. "If you wait too long in the process, fall in love with the brand and take steps to launch it and create your collateral, and then go to legal and find out that the mark is already taken, it's a waste of resources." He went on to recommend having legal counsel search for trademark conflicts globally. "There are horror stories of people who launched big, global brands and then found out that they couldn't get the rights to them. It's a huge headache," Michael said. "Millions of dollars end up having to be paid to try to buy rights from people in foreign countries." ("Securing Safeguards," February 2015)