Small Business IP Protection and Management: Intellectual Property Law

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Intellectual Property Law

Small Business IP Protection and Management

Covers the intellectual property needs of small businesses and individual inventors which may not be met through typical legal channels. Subjects include: intellectual property related matters including prosecution of domestic and foreign patent matters, trademarks, copyrights, internet and web site related matters, and technology law.

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Last Entry: August 20, 2009 at 10:18:14

New USPTO Beta Web Site

Posted on August 20, 2009
The USPTO has revealed a new streamlined web site. For a look at the beta vesion of the USPTO web site click here.

How do I get a patent?

Posted on February 07, 2009
One of the most asked questions we hear is "How do I get a patent?". Although we have posted this before, below is an overview of the important steps in beginning the patent process. The first step: One of the...

IP Audit Information

Posted on February 05, 2009
Here is an article of interest on IP Audits.

Small Business IP Protection Web Site - USPTO

Posted on January 30, 2009
The U.S. Government maintains a web site aimed at helping businesses protect intellectual property from overseas piracy and counterfeiting. The Department of Commerce?s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) maintains the site ? StopFakes.gov/smallbusiness -- dedicated to small businesses...

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World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) - IP Assistance

Posted on January 18, 2009
WIPO has published several guides to assist small and medium-sixed enterprises with intellectual property matters. A patent guide is available called "Inventing the Future: An Introduction to Patents for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises" which details how patents can be used...

Help with Exporting Goods and Services

Posted on December 26, 2008
If you own a small business and are considering exporting U.S. products or services, a great place to start is the BUYUSA.GOV web site for the U.S. Commercial Service of the United States Department of Commerce. The U.S. Commercial Service...

Trademark and Copyright Law Regarding Book Titles

Posted on December 15, 2008
A question that is periodically asked of us is whether or not book titles are covered under copyright law. In general, the title of the book itself is not entitled to copyright protection. Copyright laws protect an original work of...

How to Market an Invention

Posted on December 12, 2008
A common problem confronting small businesses and individual inventors is that of determining whether a market exists for an invention. A common approach for many is to succumb to the advertisements of so called invention promotion companies. While some of...

Importance of Protecting Intellectual Property

Posted on December 11, 2008
Protecting intellectual property for any business entity is important. Preventing another company from copying important equipment, products, or processes; protecting trademarks which could be the single most valuable asset for a company; etc., are extremely important...

March Madness Protection

Posted on December 04, 2008
Is "March Madness" considered a trademark? The short answer is yes. There is actually a class of registered trademarks owned by the March Madness Athletic Association. Who is that you ask? The MMAA is actually a holding company formed by...

Book Titles - Covered by Copyright Law?

Posted on November 12, 2008
A question that is periodically asked of us is whether or not book titles are covered under copyright law. In general, the title of the book itself is not entitled to copyright protection. Copyright laws protect an original work of...

China Patent Rights

Posted on July 03, 2008
Patent filings in China continue to rise, as reported in a recent article in the Financial Times (7/3, Waldmeir). Enforcement of patent rights still remains an issue. However, with the rise in filings, coupled with a few pending court cases,...

Independent Inventor Conference

Posted on June 27, 2008
Registration is now open for the 13th annual Independent Inventors Conference. The conference will be held at the USPTO in Alexandria, Virginia August 8-9. Additionally, a pre-conference workshop will be offered the evening of August 7 for anyone interested in...

China Intellectual Property Infringement

Posted on April 16, 2008
China is boasting a 23% increase in convictions for intellectual property infringement. Industry Week reports that 4,322 people were fined or sentenced to jail last year.

March Madness Trademark

Posted on February 29, 2008
It is that time of year again. The time when the number of hits to this blawg increases for people trying to find out if "March Madness" is a registered trademark. Click here to find the answer.

Harold McMaster Inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame

Posted on February 19, 2008
Link

Decrease in Patents Issued

Posted on January 03, 2008
The number of patents issued in the U.S. in 2007 dropped from the previous year according to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune. There has been a downward trend in recent years. According to the article, only 51 percent...

Independent Inventors - On-line Chat

Posted on December 09, 2007
An on-line chat for independent inventors will be held on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 from 2:00 to 3:00 PM by the USPTO. To enter the chat, inventors can click here. The purpose of the chat is to answer questions individual...

Impact of KSR v. Teleflex

Posted on July 24, 2007
There has been a substantial amount of commentary on the KSR v. Teleflex decision. The impact of the decision was expected to be far reaching. Currently, the USPTO is in the process of training Examiners for examining cases in view...

First Patent Issued in Toledo

Posted on July 01, 2007
What is the first patent to issue to a Toledo inventor? A preliminary search shows U.S. Pat. No. 10,606 issued March 7, 1854 to Chauncey D. Woodruff for an Improved Mode of Suspending Eaves-Troughs. Is it possible that it took...

Funding a New Business

Posted on June 15, 2007
For entrepreneurs struggling to fund a new business, there are some alternatives. Top 25 Alternatives to Venture Capital provides a list of funding alternatives that can be explored.

Toledo Patents

Posted on June 11, 2007
Here is a listing of patents from the Toledo Blade which were issued in the Toledo area in May 2007.

March Madness Trademark

Posted on March 12, 2007
It is amazing the number of search hits this blawg gets for March Madness as a trademark this time of year. In order to keep up with the demand, below is a post from a couple of years ago that...

Getting a patent - has it gotten harder?

Posted on February 13, 2007
For the past few years, it has certainly seemed more difficult to obtain a patent. Even the not so solidly based rejections have required appeal, Examiner interviews, or RCE's at an alarming rate. Interestingly, there is proof of this trend,...

Fraser Martin & Miller LLC adds new member

Posted on January 24, 2007
William J. Clemens, Esq. will join our firm as a member effective February 1, 2007. Mr. Clemens, an electrical engineer and attorney, has over 30 years of experience counseling and representing clients in connection with U.S. and foreign patents, trademarks...

Patent Searching using Google

Posted on December 27, 2006
Jake Ward has a review of Google's patent search tool available at AnticipateThis.com. It is worth checking out. According to the comments, one of the nice features is that full text searches can be conducted prior to 1976, something that...