Intellectual Property

Description

A Registered Trademark protects names, terms and symbols that are used to identify the source of goods and/or services

A Moo Duk Kwan®Certified Studio is a business entitythat has fulfilled certain requirements of the United States Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan Federation® to qualify for a Studio Certification License and has been authorized to engage in the commercial instruction of the intellectual property comprising the Soo Bahk Do® martial art system and has been licensed to legally employ certain trademarks and service marks for that purpose.

A Registered Trademark protects names, terms and symbols that are used to identify the source of goods and/or services on the market. In other words, a trademark enables a consumer to distinguish one company's offerings from another's. Trademarks include brand names such as “Coca-Cola” and images such as Nike's famous “swoosh.” Owners of federally registered trademarks can sue for trademark infringement in federal court and prevent the importation of foreign goods that display the trademark

Registered trademarks assure the public consumer of the consistent quality and standards they can expect from the products and services associated with and/or bearing registered trademarks.

Registered trademarks displayed in relation to, or affixed to, products and services, identify the source for the products and services and only the registered trademark owner regulates quality and consistency to their standards.

Martial art instructors and martial art schools who are legitimately using registered trademarks have entered into a license agreement with the trademark owner to abide by and maintain the expectations, standards and all other quality assurance measures specified by the trademark owner for their products and services as delivered through licensees.

A license agreement with the trademark owner may also specify any other applicable terms and conditions related to the arrangement that exists between the licensee and the trademark owner including, but not limited to, any restrictions, customized terms, special conditions, licensing fees, royalties, etc.

Registered trademark owners may implement their licensing agreements with licensees in various manners, but one attribute that is common to virtually all such agreements is that the trademark owner generally maintains and publishes an official list of all licensees with whom they have an active agreement.

Registered trademark owners often provide a searchable list of their authorized licensees on the web (like this one), so that consumers are assured that those locations are upholding the standards of quality established and controlled by the trademark owner.

Registered trademark owners may frequently authorize new licensees and may frequently terminate existing licensees, so checking a trademark owner's official list of current licensees is an important due diligence step when verifying whether or not a particular martial art school or martial art instructor has the legal permission of the trademark owner to display and use the registered trademarks they may be employing.

The Martial Art Fraud website provides information intended to help you proactively 1) recognize and identify circumstances with a high potential for you to become a victim of fraud, 2) verify factual evidence of fraud and 3) report evidence of fraud to appropriate agencies and authorities. Disclaimer