Patents are a type of intellectual property that cover inventions. Well, that is a simplistic view of patents.
In reality there are 3 types of patents: utility, design and plant. Most people think of utility patents, which covers a new or improved product, process, or machine. Design patents protects...
No. Just, no.
Searching the USPTO database is a very important step when you are trying to clear your brand for use. Finding a direct hit in this database could be damning.
But what is a “direct hit?” Are direct hits always damning? What about those “indirect hits?”
When most people think of intellectual property, they think of patents, trademarks and copyrights. They think of registrations, lawsuits, licenses. These concepts are not wrong, but they treat each company as a commodity as opposed to as the unique businesses they are.
The types of intellectual property that matter...
What are you looking for? Searching on Google can reveal so much information, and Google searches can certainly be a useful tool for uncovering useful material that can inform you about your brand rights, but do you know where to find this data and what to do with it?
I’ve had a number...
A recent news story used a word I had never heard before: Moke. Being a lover of new words, I had to read more. I got even more excited when I learned the story involved a trademark battle.
Apparently a “Moke” is a low-speed, open-air electric vehicle. Two different dealers of these vehicles...
I often say that intellectual property law is not intuitive. This is painfully obvious when it comes to creating a brand.
Here's the rub:
- in the world of copyright law, independent creation is a full defense; however
- in the world of trademark law, independent creation is irrelevant.
Fun Fact: Trademark law came into existence as a form of consumer protection.
Medieval consumers came to rely on the marks that were assigned to artisans by the guilds (i.e., “trade marks”). The original laws punished people who copied these “marks,” thereby trying to confuse consumers into buying their goods. “Likelihood...
Meriam Webster defines “Precarious” as “dependent on chance circumstances, unknown conditions, or uncertain developments; characterized by a lack of security or stability that threatens with danger.”
The phrase “but I didn’t know” is the reason I started my firm. I heard this phrase so many times from small companies when...
This month marks the 20th anniversary of my first job in the world of trademark. I worked as a law clerk in a large firm during my final year in law school. I was hooked from the beginning.
Looking back, there’s so much I didn’t know as I entered...
Did you know that you can be sued based on the brand you use?
WOuld you trust me to do your marketing? Of course not! So why would your trust your marketing firm or brand agent to do a legal search. A brand agent will conduct marketing research...
