FREDERICTON– A Fredericton entrepreneur got more than just potential customers after attending a trade show recently– he also learned an important lesson about copyright trademarks.

Ryan Jacobson, the founder of the Yanky, a handkerchief designed for golfers and runners, found himself on the receiving end of a cease-and-desist letter from the lawyers of PGA pro-golfer John Daly.

It happened at the Professional Golfers Association’s merchandise show in January in Orlando, Florida, where golf-related businesses worldwide gather to show off their wares to the industry.

The issue all started with a simple sign.

“I had some signage made here in Fredericton that I brought with me for my trade show booth,” says Jacobson. “One of them had a tagline that golfers often say. It’s an understood term, it’s called ‘Grip It and Rip It.’ Which basically means just grip your club and swing as hard as you can and hope for the best.

“It was just a common term that I wanted to use because it would relate to the audience, but it’s not something I’m attached to.”

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The trade show went well. Jacobson says he received more than 80 qualified leads, made lots individual product sales and even got a featured interview on the Golf Channel. But a few days after he got back, he received an email.

“I get this message and it’s from a law firm,” says Jacobson. “It said, ‘Dear Mr. Jacobson, we represent PGA golfer John Daly…’ “

The letter went on to say that Jacobson had committed copyright infringement by using ‘Grip It and Rip It’ on a sign, which Daly had the sole rights to use. It said he had to stop using that phrase in his marketing materials or he would face further action.

Jacobson decided to talk to a lawyer.

“Basically the advice I was given was, ‘go back to them, apologize, and tell them that you’ll never use it again,’ ” says Jacobson. “‘Only one sign was ever printed and you’re going to cut it up and throw it in the garbage.'”

Which is what he did. Jacobson says the response from the law firm was a lot more pleasant this time.

“I did that and received a really nice, very softened personal reply from them, saying they totally understand,” he says. “I explained that I have three trademarks myself that are subsequent to approval, and I wouldn’t want people to use my stuff.”

After a few more back and forths, he decided to take the opportunity to secure a new customer. He figured perhaps John Daly could use a Yanky himself.

“I said ‘while I have you here, I would love to send an apology note to John Daly. I would love to send him one of my shirts and one of my products’ and they said ‘yeah, he would love that.’ ” said Jacobson. “So I now have his address and I’m going to ship that off to him here later this week.”

Though things worked out in the end, Jacobson says he learned an important lesson many new and small businesses should know: Do your research.

“If you’re going to be in a space with that much attention potentially put on you, I really think you need to slow down and do your homework and make sure you do things right,” he said.

The incident aside, business has been going well for Yanky Sports. Since the summer, Jacobson says the company has grown and is now carried in 20 retail stores, including its first U.S. retailer in Florida. He says the next step with the company is to scale more quickly. Since he still works a day job, Jacobson is looking to attract outside investment.

He recently auditioned before Dragons’ Den producers, but won’t know if he’ll be on the show until sometime next month. He is also getting ready to pitch other potential investors too.

“I’m looking to attract investment so I can scale a lot more quickly. I’m finding that my time is limited right now. I need additional human resources. I need reps, I need help with sourcing materials, some help on the e-commerce side, social media, those types of things. The typical business stuff that you need to ramp this thing up,” says Jacobson.

“Because I truly believe this can be a global brand built right here in New Brunswick, but it’s hard to do that off the corner of my desk and only when I have time do it. So I need help and help needs money, so that’s what I’m looking at now.”