Category Archives: Intellectual Property
Obtaining ® For Your Trademark – Classification is Crucial – New Trademark Guidelines Regarding Service Mark Classification
By: Sharon Adams Every trademark application must identify the exact mark, and the goods or services that are associated with the mark. The Trademark Examination Guide (released in August 2014) makes clear that improper classification of the goods or services may result in rejection of the trademark application. The Guidelines […]
PATENT PENDING — what it is and how to obtain
By: Sharon Adams A product may be labeled as “patent pending” once a patent application has been filed, and until a patent is issued or the application is abandoned. This includes all types of patent applications, including provisional applications. Filing the application is all that is required. If a patent application is abandoned for any […]
Is Bitcoin in Your Wallet?
By: Daniel Richardson Although virtual currencies are not new they have rapidly evolved in recent years and their use is entering the financial mainstream. Bitcoin is the most widely used of the virtual currencies and is accepted by over 10,000 online retailers including Overstock.com and Expedia.com. So, what is Bitcoin? Is it currency, property, a […]
License to Extort Stopped
by: Andrew K Jacobson One characteristic of mobsters is the threat of something bad happening if you don’t do what the mobster wants you to do. It is even an unforgettable part of The Godfather: when the Hollywood studio head wouldn’t let Johnny, Don Corleone’s godson, star in a movie, he wakes up with the […]
What Season Is It? It’s Duck Season!
By: Andrew K Jacobson Look at the picture: what is it? A duck? A rabbit? Both? Depending on what hunting season it happens to be, a lot can depend on the answer. The same is true in copyright. Cable companies rebroadcast transmissions to their customers from broadcasters. Originally, the Supreme Court ruled that was acceptable, […]
What Flavor is your NDA?
By Andrew Jacobson Ah, the conundrums of a child’s summer: butterscotch, or strawberry? Mint chocolate chip, or triple fudge? Cone or cup? Businesses have their less-tasty choices, but they are still there: what flavor is your non-disclosure agreement? There are almost as many options for NDAs as there are at your local ice-cream store. […]
DESIGN PATENTS — The IP Solution for Many Small Businesses
By: Sharon Adams The U. S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently commemorated the issuance of the 700,000th design patent for a “Hand-Held Learning Apparatus” currently assigned to the Emeryville, California-based LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. A design patent often is an excellent intellectual property solution for many small businesses, especially businesses selling a product. If the […]
Trade Secrets Done Right
A recent San Mateo County case, Altavion v. Konica Minolta Systems Laboratory, Inc. , shows how a plaintiff can identify trade secrets with reasonable particularity on the way to winning a $4.8 million trade secret misappropriation case.
“Who Gave You Permission to Make That?” The Intellectual Property Implications of 3D Printing.
Although 3D printing has been around since the early 1980s, recent improvements and price decreases of 3D printing technology has made it available to an increasing number of businesses and consumers. Advances in the technology have allowed designers to 3D print designs virtually impossible to make just a few years ago, from an assortment of materials ranging from plastic to living cells. The price barrier to 3D printing has finally lowered to a point where regular consumers have begun entering the marketplace and companies such as Stratasys and 3D Systems have begun making relatively inexpensive lines of 3D “desktop” printers targeted at consumers. 3D printing, much like the PC in the early 1980s, is poised to make the leap from the domain of big businesses, researchers, and hobbyists to everyday consumers and small businesses.
Where Exceptional Becomes Normal
by: Andrew K Jacobson Garrison Keillor’s fictional Lake Wobegon is famous as the place “where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.” Exceptional gets defined down when it applies to everyone. Last month, the US Supreme Court has defined down the term exceptional regarding patent […]
