In the countries where marijuana has been made legal, there are regulations to ensure that all cannabis-related products are regulated and protected. The emerging market for marijuana is poised for entrepreneurial businesses and activities, which should certify that their investment is satisfactorily protected. Some of the proven products that you can use to protect your weed include plastic joint tube. As such, an entrepreneur who is keen on venturing into cannabis products/services should consider obtaining plant breeder rights, patents, trademarks, or trade secret protection. Let us examine these aspects below;
Plant Breeder Rights
Plant breeder’s rights (PBR) are part of Intellectual Property protection, which allows businesses to protect new plant varieties in a similar way a patent protects an invention. PBR certificate is given for new marijuana varieties, enabling the holder to have a right to claim compensation in case the protected type is utilized without authorization. It provides the holder with ultimate rights over the production, sale, reproduction, stocking, export, import, and conditioning of the propagated material. The protected species of cannabis sativa is now 20 years of existence.
Trademarks
Goods and services related to recreational use can be registered as trademarks. These include dried cannabis, medicinal marijuana for pain relief, and live cannabis plants. The registration is to grant the owner exclusive use of the mark in line with registered goods and services. It enables the owner to enforce rights that will prevent the competitor from using a confusingly similar trademark.
Other non-traditional marks such as scents, textures, holograms, and tastes are now allowed to be registered with the cannabis goods and services association. This is to the owners’ advantage since scents and flavors are the primary distinguishing factors of marijuana products. When coming up with the brand name or logo, you may need to review regulations related to marketing and advertisement of cannabis products. For instance, the rules limit the mark’s frequency on the packaging, the color scheme of the brand, the size of the logo text, and the potential impact of the mark on minors.
Trade-Secret
Trade secrets are defined as treasured business information that obtains its value from being kept as a secret. Trade secrets can be dabbed as secret ingredients. There might be no particular regulations to protect such mysteries, but it is the business’s absolute role to put possible measures to safeguard its business information.
Recipes for cannabis edibles and nurturing new cannabis strains can be positioned as trade secrets that require protection. Besides, private information such as client database, supplier contacts, and market research should also be protected as a trade secret. To maintain the privacy of data, one should defend the transactions via confidentiality agreements. Among others, these are some of the ways one can protect weed products, and more research can be done to give more insight.