Inc is a New York City-based media company that publishes printed issues and daily online content such as articles and videos. Inc also produces live and virtual events. Inc.com receives 33 million views every month, and Inc’s printed magazine sells to over 1 million customers per year.
Inc is best known for its annual rankings of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the United States, called the ”Inc. 500” and ”Inc. 5000”.
The Inc.com Domain
The Inc.com domain was first registered in March of 1996 and will expire in March of 2031 unless it’s renewed before this date.
While the trademark registration for inc.com was filed in 1999, the trademark registration for the company name ”Inc” was first filed with the USPTO in 1979.
Company History
Inc. was founded by Bernie Goldhirsh in Boston, publishing its’ first issue in April of 1979. Goldhirsh was an MIT-trained engineer who had also founded Sail magazine, selling Sail magazine for $10 million in 1980.
In October 1981, Inc. became the first magazine to feature Steve Jobs on its’ cover, alongside the statement ”this man has changed business forever.”
Paul W. Kellam had previously joined Goldhirsh’s company as an editor of Marine Business and became one of inc.’s first editors.
Goldhirsh’s has maintained a low profile, and consequently, Gendron, editor-in-chief from 1980 to 2002, was considered the ”public face” of the magazine. In 2000 Goldhirsh sold the magazine to German Publisher Gruner + Jahr for a reported price of over 200 Million dollars.
In 2005, Joe Mansueto, founder of MorningStar Ventures, purchased Inc. and another business title, Fast Company, for around $35 million, subsequently forming the publishing company Mansueto Ventures.
Inc. is headquartered at the World Trade Center in New York.
In December 2013, Eric Schurenberg was appointed president and editor-in-chief of Inc., replacing Bob LaPointe.
In March 2018, Schurenberg was also appointed CEO of Mansueto Ventures, leading James Ledbetter to take over as editor-in-chief of Inc.
Scott Omelianuk succeeded James Ledbetter in Early 2020.
Inc. publishes books under the imprint An Inc. Original in partnership with Greenleaf Book Group. The books are written by business experts and cater to an audience of entrepreneurs.
Inc. produces a weekly podcast called Inc. Uncensored, where Inc. Journalists discuss subjects such as startups, technology, industry trends, the current market, and more. The podcast has released hundreds of episodes over several years and won the 2016 and 2017 Best of The Web Awards for the Best Podcast, in addition to the 2018 Folio: Eddie and Ozzie Award Honorable Mention.
Inc. also received multiple Folio awards in 2017 and 2018, including honors for full-print issues, best redesign, video use, and social media use. Its 2016 feature ”The Stealthy Sales King Of Amazon” won a Best In Business Award from the Society for Advancing business writing and editing.
Inc. has partnered with Principal financial services, Iowa-based financial investment management, and insurance company to advertise ”future-proofing” advice and assistance for businesses that have survived the COVID-19 pandemic.
This gives business leaders a platform to discuss ”how to emerge from the pandemic stronger than ever”.
Other Inc Trademarks and Domains
Inc.com is part of a longstanding company, Mansueto Venture L.L.C.; let’s look at some of the related registered trademarks and domains.
Read more on trademarks and domain names.
FastCompany.com
Fast Company is a monthly American business magazine published in print and online that focuses on technology, business, and design. It publishes eight print issues per year.
Fast Company was launched in November of 1995 by Alan Webber and Bill Taylor, Two former Harvard Business Review editors, alongside publisher Mortimer Zuckerman.
Early competitors include Red Herring, Business 2.0, and The Industry Standard.
In 1997 Fast Company created an online Social network, the Company Of Friends (trademark Registered in 1999). This trademark lapsed in 2010, after a sharp decline in membership (8,000 members in 2003 down from 40,000 members initially).
Fast Company was named by the American Society of Magazine editors as a magazine of the year in 2014.
Stephanie Mehta was named Editor-in-Chief in February 2018, with her impressive resume including Vanity Fair, Bloomberg, Fortune, and The Wall Street Journal.
The domain FastCompany.com was first registered in 1995 and is due to expire in 2025 unless it is renewed before then.
The brand name Fast Company has been registered with the United States patent and trademark office since 1995, although the registration process was started in 1994.
Birthing of Giants
The Birthing of Giants program lets entrepreneurs and small business owners connect with 1,100 successful entrepreneurs and gain knowledge from their expertise and meet their goals faster. The concept was incubated in the halls of M.I.T in partnership with Inc Magazine. Several leading $100 million entrepreneurs have been supported by Birthing of giants.
”Gathering of giants” is offered for graduates to reunite at, and several free resources are provided to interested parties, such as the free e-book ”The First Habit” by Lewis Schiff.
The domain name BirthingOfGiants.com was registered in 2014 and will expire in 2022 if it isn’t renewed before then. The business trademark was registered in 1996.
The Inc. 500
According to their sales records, the Inc. 500 is a gauge of growth that ranks the fastest-growing privately held companies in the united states.
The Inc. 500 list is an elite subset of the Inc. 5000, which represents a unique look at the most successful companies within America’s most dynamic segment of the economy — independent small and mid-sized businesses. Companies such as Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, GoPro, Pandora, Timberland, Clif Bar, Patagonia, LinkedIn, Yelp, Zillow, and many other well-known names were previously on the list.
The Inc 500 trademark was initially registered in 1984.
The Inc. 100
A very similar concept to the Inc 500 – Inc. Magazine publishes a prestigious annual Inc. 100 list containing the nation’s fastest-growing companies. The list represents a unique way of looking at the most successful companies within the American Economy’s small businesses. More often than not, these are young, new businesses.
Here are some of the most recent mentions, Nexxt Gen Corporation (With 1788% growth), Buzzshift (with 1298% growth), Advance pain institute of America (with 948% of growth), and O3 Energy (with 728% of growth). It’s interesting to see how the companies fare after being listed on the Inc. 100 or other associated lists. Usually, as is the case with the companies listed previously, this heralds in great growth and all but assures company successes.
The trademark was first registered in 1984.
Wrapping Up
Inc.com is a popular online news site, and Inc. also releases several popular issues each year. They are a prestigious business name in the world of business and entrepreneurship.
In addition to this, Mansueto ventures have multiple ventures and sidelines, including FastCompany.com and information columns like the Inc 100, 500, and 5000, which predict massive growth and success for new businesses. Mansueto Ventures enjoys the exclusive rights and associated trademark protection of around 50 different service marks.
Trademark law gives trademark owners a vital framework to work within to protect their intellectual property. Still, you can only benefit from these critical legal protections by registering trademarks with the U.S. patent and trademark office. If you fail to secure your trademark rights, you have no recourse if you’re a victim of (what would otherwise be considered) trademark infringement.
