You know that you should file applications to register your trademarks, but you are still some months away from launch, and you know that under U.S. law, in order to get a federal trademark registration, you must swear to and demonstrate use of your mark in commerce. How can you protect your marks to ensure that you will have the right to use them when it is time to launch?

I often encounter first-time entrepreneurs arranging their first round of outside capital. More often than not, this is the friends and family round of financing (Often called the friends, family and fools round of financing). In fact, for most non-tech startups, the friends and family of the founding team will be the sole source of outside financing.