Mistake No. 1 -
Not Obtaining an Obligation to Assign Inventions From Employees and Contractor -
Example: Employee/contractor agreements do not: (a) assign rights to you in inventions made for you; (b) require the...more
I. Considerations When Selecting a Patent Attorney.
A. The Goal -
The goal is to obtain a patent with valuable, broad claim scope. You want a patent potentially worth millions - not a worthless piece of paper...more
1. Broad Claim Scope is Key. Merely getting a patent is not the goal. The goal is to maximize the scope of meaningful patent protection to which your invention is entitled. Put yourself in a competitor’s shoes - how would you...more
8/29/2016
/ Abstract Ideas ,
Claim Construction ,
Foreign Patent Applications ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Portfolios ,
Patent Trolls ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Prior Art ,
USPTO
Competition is increasing daily. Competitors are quick to copy and customers are looking for the best price. Brand name and personal relationships still carry some weight, but not as much as in years past. One way for U.S....more
Utility patents constitute about 90% of the patents in the United States. Design patents and plant patents, which are not discussed here, comprise the other 10%. Utility patents protect the functional aspects of a machine,...more
I. History -
There are two generally accepted origins of trademarks: pottery marks and the branding of livestock, both of which are believed to date to about 6,000 B.C. Marks on pottery or bricks first served the...more
Britain has the longest known continuous patent system. British patents can be traced to the 15th Century, when the British Crown began granting exclusive rights, called “Letters Patent,” to certain manufacturers and traders....more
Today’s economic world is fraught with uncertainty. Companies come and go in the blink of an eye. Employment is a gamble instead of a sure thing, even for experienced and talented workers. There is no solid ground. You...more
Protection Mechanisms in the United States.
After selecting your mark, the next step is to decide how to protect it. In the United States, there are three basic types of trademark protection: (1) common-law, (2) state...more
What a Trademark is and What it Does.
A trademark is any word, name, symbol, or device, or combination thereof, used to identify and distinguish the goods (i.e., products) of one supplier from those of others. A...more
I. Determining the Strength of Your Mark.
The strength, or scope, of a trademark as used in the marketplace is determined by a multi-factored analysis called the likelihood of confusion test, and the scope can differ...more