Our fearless leader
A love of photography, music and surfing started me down the path of intellectual property law.
San Diego in the early 1990's was a place of creativity, entrepreneurship, and identity. There was a blossoming music scene, the action sports industry was just taking root, and underground artists and photographers were searching for recognition. I was the business mind in the middle of a movement of young entrepreneurs pursuing success by doing what they loved. However, the musicians had no idea how to protect the ownership of their songs, the photographers and artists were giving away rights in their works, and the action sports kids were losing valuable strength of their brands. I set out to hone my skills to help these creative geniuses protect just that – their creativity. Having graduated from the University of San Diego, I began working in the intellectual property department of the biggest law firm in the city. It didn’t take long to realize the flaws of BigLaw and I happily moved on to a boutique trademark law firm that treated clients the way they deserved. After years of success I was recruited by a multi-billion dollar global sporting goods company to run its legal department and manage its massive intellectual property portfolio, further honing my craft. The path I have followed has taught me many things, the most important being that success begets success. In other words, if you help others become successful, you too will succeed. All boats will rise. TrademarkSmart is the vehicle by which I can harness all of the knowledge and experience I have acquired over the last 30 years and pay it forward. All I have to do is think about those creative entrepreneurs from the 90’s and remember that we are all in it together, and together we all can succeed. And yes, I still have clients who are photographers, musicians, skateboarders and surfers.
-Mark Schollaert
Owner/Chief Trademark Officer
Professional Memberships: State Bar of California, International Trademark Association, Intellectual Property Section - American Bar Association, American Intellectual Property Law Association, Association of Corporate Counsel, Brand Protection Council -American Apparel and Footwear Association, International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition