Marijuana distributors are already lining up to pick brand names for their buds once sales become legal in 2018.

Though cannabis is legal for recreational or medicinal use in 28 states, it remains illegal under federal law. As a result, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will not register trademarks for marijuana retailers or for products that contain cannabis.

While copyright and intellectual property has been debated in the music and movie industries for decades, it’s starting to pick up in the cannabis industry.

While a Silicon Valley company can legally protect its most valuable technology with federal patents, cannabis companies cannot secure their core products as long as the federal government continues to classify marijuana as an illegal drug on par with heroin — one with “no accepted medical use.”

The players are investing in sharp packaging, refined logos, retail design and the talent to build on their progress.