What Can’t You Patent? **Attorney Advertising**
A patent is a form of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, selling, or importing an invention for a limited period of years. In order to get a patent, you must first file a patent application with the Patent Office in your country. In the US, […]
Protecting Intellectual Property Rights in a Franchise Agreement **Attorney Advertising**
A franchisor (or creator/developer of a business) licenses his or her techniques, intellectual property (trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and potentially patents), marketing, basic know-how, and rights to sell branded items and services to a franchisee through franchising. A typical franchisor–franchisee relationship lasts several years, during which time the franchisor provides various levels of support to […]
Spring Cleaning for your IP: 8 Steps to Take **Attorney Advertising**
Spring is here and it’s an excellent time to organize and audit your intellectual property. If it’s been a while since you’ve taken an audit of your “IP” or if you’ve never taken the time to secure your intellectual property rights at all, here are some key points to consider: Make sure you have an […]
The Easiest Way to Get Sued for Trademark Infringement **Attorney Advertising**
You may be surprised to learn that one of the easiest ways to get sued for trademark infringement is to file a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Yes… let that sink in. Merely applying to register a trademark is one of the top ways that people wind up on […]
What to Know When Seeking to Trademark a Foreign Word or Phrase **Attorney Advertising**
Coming up with a unique name for a brand, good, or service that can ultimately be trademarked is challenging. To stand out, and apart, from competitors and those who may already have intellectual property rights, some business owners will look to foreign words that aren’t commonly known or understood by English-speaking consumers to represent their […]
7 Tips for Staying in Control of Your Intellectual Property **Attorney Advertising**
Applying for a trademark, copyright, or patent is just one part of having a comprehensive plan in place for your business or brand’s intellectual property (IP). Far too many people believe that once the initial application process is over that they are fully protected and no further steps need to be taken. This is just […]
What is the difference between the different forms of intellectual property? **Attorney Advertising**
Intellectual Property is commonly referred to as “creations of the mind,” covering everything from artworks, inventions, logos, trademarks, music and software. In the world of intellectual property, however, there are different tools used to protect each aspect of one’s creations or inventions. We’ll outline the four major tools used by intellectual property attorneys—trademarks, copyrights, patents […]
Budgeting For Intellectual Property Costs **Attorney Advertising**
“What’s this going to cost?” Don’t worry; every intellectual property attorney knows that you have this question when it comes to finding out how much you’ll need to invest to protect your patents, copyrights and trademarks. The answer to this question, as you probably guessed, is not so clear cut. Every business is different and […]
Name Your Business with Intellectual Property Protections in Mind **Attorney Advertising**
Naming a new business can be fun, stressful, challenging or all of the above. In choosing a name that’s memorable and accurately reflects your brand, it’s also important to select a business name with intellectual property protections in mind. That’s because your business name could end up being your greatest asset, or your greatest liability. […]
DIY Construction is Like DIY Legal. **Attorney Advertising**
We recently put a shed in our backyard and decided to do it ourselves. My wife loves working outdoors and I enjoy putting things together and am pretty handy. But, as is true for any process you have never done before, we quickly realized there were several steps and things to do along the way that […]
