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Some Thankful Reflections About 2020

By Steve Baird® on December 31, 2020
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We can all think of and relive a multitude of reasons over the past year to embrace Dean’s timely #Flush2020 billboard ad as we prepare to ring in the New Year.

We also can look for silver linings before we bid farewell to 2020, some glimmers of hope and thankful reflections to provide fuel for 2021, here are some of mine:

  • Quality-time with our daughter when she studied remotely and still thrived;
  • Trading my commuting time for coffee and conversation with my soul-mate;
  • Two college graduations in our home and gainful employment that followed;
  • Quiet times meditating in the hot tub under the stars with falling snow;
  • Opportunities of escaping to enjoy the beauties of Northern Minnesota;
  • Good health for family and close friends in the midst of a global pandemic;

 

  • Enhancing my home office without knowing what was about to happen;
  • Visits to a dozen GT offices before knowing what was about to happen;
  • Engaging walks around the lake with colleagues, mentees, and clients;
  • Close collaboration with many incredible GT colleagues across the globe;
  • Amazing technology support from Greenberg Traurig’s IT Department;
  • Trading the previous faceless phone calls with more face-to-face video calls;

 

  • Bountiful, new and meaningful work in the midst of a global pandemic;
  • Opportunities to speak virtually and share insights with smart colleagues;
  • So many brand new client relationships both locally and from a distance;
  • Incredible teamwork both locally and across the entire global GT platform;
  • Fun and humor we were able to share in the midst of a global pandemic;

 

  • Daniel Snyder’s NFL franchise finally dropping its indefensible name;
  • The Cleveland Indians decision to rebrand and change its name too;
  • A trusted brand that survived a curtain call, despite a new meaning;
  • Passage of the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020, so stay tuned;
  • Vaccines, putting us one step closer to banging the Wuhan gong; and
  • Once again, all that I expressed thankfulness for in November 2019.

What are you thankful for about 2020 that gives you hope toward a better 2021?

Photo of Steve Baird® Steve Baird®

View my professional biography

Just so you know, I’m all about brands and the law, both professionally and personally. I regularly annoy family and friends in retail stores by focusing on product labels—not to buy the product, but to read the fine print…

View my professional biography

Just so you know, I’m all about brands and the law, both professionally and personally. I regularly annoy family and friends in retail stores by focusing on product labels—not to buy the product, but to read the fine print and ask, “Who owns these brands” and “Did they really register those marks?” To understand the depth of my passion for brands and helping clients achieve their business goals, legally, you must understand that my interest in business and branding goes back to the late 1960s. The very first brand I recall profiting from was Jiffy®. Even before being old enough to deliver papers for the Iowa City Press Citizen, between episodes of Bewitched®, I would bake cupcakes and walk my finished product door-to-door, sampling along the way, of course, throughout our Kimball Road neighborhood, mostly selling them to husbands whose wives didn’t bake enough (probably watching Bewitched®), according to them at least. One hundred percent profit margins are easy when you can use the necessary equipment and raw materials directly from Mom’s kitchen. Mass producing “hot pads” (pot holders, not real estate) and selling them door-to-door was another favorite childhood business venture at the ripe age of six. Graduating to lawn-mowing age worked well with my paper routes because I could easily see who needed help cutting their grass and, in some cases, avoiding neighborhood ridicule. Yes, you’re right, Dad loaned me his Lawn-Boy® mower on weekends, rent-free, and even bought the gasoline (Dad was not brand loyal at all with gasoline, so I have no brand memory there). Another pure profit opportunity. Let’s just say that Mom and Dad were generous, unsecured investors in my development and future. Thanks Mom and Dad, I now understand the meaning of overhead and capital improvements! I bucked a lot of family tradition and jokes to become a lawyer and a trademark guru. There is not one lawyer in the family tree, as far as my sister knows (and she would know). Nearly everyone is, or was, a teacher of some kind. That must be where my passion for educating others about the legal implications of branding comes from. Basically, I have been speaking about the legal implications of branding since the early 90s, after permitting my pharmacist’s license to expire (after being a victim of an armed robbery where Dilaudid® was on the top of the gunman’s list of desired controlled substances), and shortly after working for an 86 year old federal judge whose chambers had a nice view of the White House in Washington, D.C. While I’d like to say that the movie My Cousin Vinny inspired me to become a lawyer, it was released two years after I graduated from law school. So, really, I guess it just inspired me to be a better lawyer and leader. For now, you can call me a “thought-leader” in the trademark world, and the thankful leader of a very talented group of creative and insightful lawyers and staff who are dedicated to putting our intellectual property clients in the best possible position to achieve their business goals. When I’m not in the office, “cracking the whip,” making sure others in the group keep their bios on this blog short and sweet, working (which isn’t to say I’m not still thinking about my clients’ businesses), or soaking it up in the hot-tub with my soul-mate, I am a dedicated family man – a.k.a. the chauffeur. Until they reach the driving age, I’ll continue to shuttle my four wonderful kids around to their athletic and other events, at which you can find me cheering in the stands.

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  • Posted in:
    Intellectual Property
  • Blog:
    DuetsBlog
  • Organization:
    Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A.
  • Article: View Original Source

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