Trademark Attorney | "WINTER LLP, Launches New, Easy to Use Website for Registering Trademarks, Copyrights and Filing Corporations and LLC's"

By : Sbwire.com
Source : http://www.sbwire.com 
Category : Trademark Attorney

If you are an entrepreneur, designer, inventor or manufacturer of consumer products or services; or maybe you simply have a great idea for a product or service, you have probably spent countless hours scouring the internet looking for ways to trademark your product or service. Or, perhaps you have paid 1,000’s of dollars to traditional law firms trying to protect your brands. In either case, you may have encountered some very confusing web sites or law firms offering bewildering trademark services that don’t make much sense to someone who isn’t a trademark attorney.

That’s where WINTER LLP comes into play. They are a new style of law firm dedicated to providing everyday people, as well as entrepreneurs and successful businesses alike, with the practical backing of a traditional law firm, yet with a full service easy to use ecommerce website to help you register, maintain and protect your trademarks. In today’s world, not only is branding vital to the success of your product or service, as well as the value of your business, but you simply cannot afford to let a great branding idea “out of the bag” without first protecting it from potential theft.

Trademark attorney, Todd Winter, agrees. “I have managed hundreds of trademarks in over 80 countries, and I can tell you that it is absolutely crucial to the success of your products to have the proper legal protections in place ahead of launch. But you can’t stop there. You must be hyper vigilant about maintaining those trademark protections throughout the product’s entire life cycle. If you aren’t careful, your brand might get stolen right out from underneath you. That can be a loss of catastrophic proportions to the good will value of a company. We’ve also seen cases where confusingly similar trademarks are filed in order to try and “piggy back” on the fame of a successful brand.”

What makes http://www.WINTERLLP.com for filing trademarks truly unique from all the rest is its ease of use coupled with the fact that you will get an actual attorney working on your trademark filing who will be directly available to you throughout the entire process. Winter explains. “Our model is so simple and easy to use that not only can we work with a layperson who has an amazing idea for a new brand of products and needs a fast, easy and trustworthy solution to protect it before it hits the market, but we can also easily accommodate large businesses who need expert trademark attorneys to file, maintain or protect their entire global trademark portfolio. And we do it at a fraction of the price of traditional law firms.”

To that end, http://www.WINTERLLP.com is simply designed and focuses on making the trademark process as easy as possible, for any type of user, individuals or businesses. The site is also separated into distinct segments so you can easily see the different services the firm offers. Although you can view informational videos, most of the information is presented in simple black and white, can be easily read, and is simple to navigate with a large side menu. It’s purposely kept “low tech” to facilitate accurate and successful filings.

Aside from the simple design of http://www.WINTERLLP.com, WINTER LLP trademark attorneys provide you with actual legal advice throughout the entire process. A novel concept in today’s ecommerce world. Winter states. “We didn’t want to be like traditional intellectual property law firms. And we did not want to be like the plethora of non-attorney trademark sites out there today. That’s why we decided on the combination of an ecommerce site, a flat fee structure and traditional attorney/client consultation time built right in to the price. What can be better than that? It’s the best of both worlds. For a low flat fee, they get the ease and functionality of an ecommerce site, plus they have the ability to interact with a trademark attorney to successfully complete their trademark filing quickly and accurately, the first time.”

A flat fee for trademarking is an easy and inexpensive way to trademark your product or service and get the necessary documents you need to further your pursuit of manufacturing and distributing your product or service in commerce. Instead of merely paying an attorney’s retainer and hoping the final bill doesn’t overwhelm your budget, with WINTER LLP you pay a flat fee, and you know exactly what you will get.

Source : http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/winter-llp-launches-new-easy-to-use-website-for-registering-trademarks-copyrights-and-filing-corporations-and-llcs-180375.htm

US Trademark Application | "USPTO Announces “Banner Year” for Trademarks"

By :  Jeffrey Sheldon 
Source : http://www.jdsupra.com
Category : US Trademark Application 

At Sheldon Mak & Anderson, we recognize that innovation is your competitive edge – and it needs protection. As a full-service intellectual property firm with more than two decades of experience, we provide local, regional, national, and international legal services in the following areas: patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, IP litigation, international patent and trademark prosecution, licensing, alternative dispute resolution, and green technology.

Source : http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/uspto-announces-banner-year-for-tradem-31938/

Trademark Application | "The international trade mark system – what is in it for New Zealand businesses?"

By : Chris Ross 
Source : http://www.lexology.com 
Category : Trademark Application 

New Zealand implemented the long awaited International Trade Mark (ITM) registration system, also known as the Madrid Protocol, heralding the most significant development on the trade mark scene for years.  New Zealand finally joins 86 other member countries in the ITM system, including most major trading partners, and no doubt membership will continue to grow.

The ITM system will provide export focused businesses with an alternative route for securing trade mark protection in overseas markets in a cost effective and efficient manner.  It will also enable owners of ITM’s to maintain and manage their trade mark portfolio with greater ease and at lower cost.

The ITM system allows for a single trade mark application to be filed through the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) based in Geneva, rather than filing separate applications in each jurisdiction where protection is sought. The ITM application designates individual jurisdictions where protection is required, and once WIPO has accepted the application it passes details of the application to the designated national trade mark offices without the need for foreign trade mark attorney involvement and associated cost.

Each designated national trade mark office then examines the application against their national requirements for grant of registered trade mark protection, and if it complies, WIPO is notified and protection is granted in that jurisdiction to the same extent as if the trade mark had been registered nationally. It is also possible to designate new jurisdictions where registration under an ITM is required – an important feature as membership of the ITM system grows.

However, the potential benefits of the ITM system will not necessarily apply to all New Zealand businesses looking to take advantage of it.  For example, significant cost savings are only likely where a business is looking to protect its trade mark in a number of jurisdictions, and if trade mark protection is required in only a handful of jurisdictions, it may be more cost effective to seek national protection in each jurisdiction of interest. Obtaining good strategic advice from trade mark professionals will be crucial.

The ITM system is also not without its “fish hooks”. If the application encounters problems during the national examination phase in the designated jurisdiction, it will be necessary to appoint a local trade mark attorney to deal with those issues and therefore earlier cost savings may quickly be lost. Pre-filing trade mark availability searches will continue to play a vital role in selection of a new trade mark, and assessing whether the ITM or national route is the best way of securing protection.

Furthermore, each ITM registration must be based on a New Zealand home trade mark application or registration. Critically the ITM registration and each national designation will be dependent on the home registration for a period of 5 years. This means that any changes affecting the home registration over this period will automatically be reflected in the ITM and national designations. This vulnerability is tempered to some extent by being able to convert ITM designations into national registrations, but again earlier cost savings may quickly disappear if conversion is necessary to avoid losing protection.

Smaller New Zealand businesses focused on the domestic market may also be impacted by the ITM system. It is expected that the number of requests for registered trade mark protection in New Zealand will increase markedly following implementation of the ITM system in New Zealand, as was the case in Australia where almost 5500 applications were received in the first year (2001-02) peaking at more than 22000 in 2007-08. If steps have not been taken by smaller businesses to secure their trade marks through registration in New Zealand, this will leave the door open for foreign businesses to acquire potentially conflicting rights.

The full impact that the ITM registration system will have in New Zealand remains to be seen. However, it is certainly a positive step towards further integration of the New Zealand economy in the global market for goods and services, a step New Zealand exporting businesses should welcome.

Source : http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=2c0fe91e-3001-46a8-8503-d619b283a82f

How To Trademark | "GLOBAL PROTECTION OF YOUR TRADEMARK"

By : Erik S. Syverson 
Source : www.melodika.ne
Category : How To Trademark 

A trademark can be a symbol, phrase, word or design. If your company's brand can be extended to other countries, you may want to consider filing a trademark outside of the U.S. to protect your rights to the particular brand.

With the growth of online trade and social media, businesses have become increasingly global. As a result, it is important for a company to control its brand on an international level. However, protecting brands in the global market can be difficult.

In the U.S., trademark rights are based on use. Specifically, if you use a trademark without registering it, this action creates rights to brand. To register your trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, you must show actual or planned use of the specific brand. If you do not plan to use the name, the Trademark Office will not permit registration.

Conversely, trademark rights in many other countries are based on filing. In other words, if you are starting a brand in the U.S. and plan to extend it globally, you have to register your brand abroad. If you do not, another person can control your U.S. brand in another country.

Many businesses register their brands in major countries around the world. It is also helpful to register your brand in any country where your company is engaged in business. You should file your trademark in the U.S., and then register it in countries that are important to your business. This can be done through the country's Patent and Trademark Office; however, it may help to have an attorney facilitate the process.

If you are interested in filing your trademark in various outside countries, you have additional options. For example, you can apply for international registration, which is a multicountry filing application that encompasses 86 countries. The bundle includes the most industrial nations in the world. To do this, you file your trademark in the U.S. and subsequently extend the filing to international jurisdictions. There is a filing fee in each country; however, overall, this option is relatively inexpensive and administratively easy.

Filing for global trademarks can be crucial to your business. If you allow others to register your brands abroad, you risk diminishing it and limiting your chances of global expansion. Therefore, if you are considering filing a trademark, you may want to consult with an experienced trademark attorney. A lawyer can help you protect your rights to a specific brand.

Source : http://www.melodika.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=479044&Itemid=55

US Trademark Attorney | "Patent Attorney Improves Visibility With Solar Powered SEO"

By : Marketwatch.com
Source : http://www.marketwatch.com
Category : Trademark Attorney 

SolarCure's Solar Powered SEO Program, Combining Solar Energy With Online Marketing, Helps New Jersey Patent Attorney Ezra Sutton's Internet Visibility 

Ezra Sutton and Associates, a New Jersey patent attorney specializing in patent law, trademark law, copyright law, intellectual property law, licensing, and related matters, recently announced its affiliation with SolarCure, a company specializing in Solar Powered SEO(TM) and Solar-Panel adoption. Ezra Sutton and Associates has sponsored part of a solar-panel which will be installed on VFW Post 6061 in Colonia, New Jersey. As a component of the sponsorship program, SolarCure announced this association with an internationally distributed press release enhanced for optimum search engine visibility. Shortly after the publishing of the law firm's news story, Ezra Sutton and Associates' online presence increased dramatically.

Ezra Sutton and Associates' Initial Results Distributed by Marketwire, Ezra Sutton P.A. Grows Business by Energizing VFW with Solar Power was featured on over 180 general news portals, financial news websites, specialty law sites, leading social networks and the press release's overall reach extended to millions of impressions. Additional credibility for the New Jersey law firm has also been aided with exposure through ABC News, CBS Market Wire, Google News, Yahoo! News and Bing News portals. Coupled with basic SEO practices, Ezra Sutton and Associates' domain jumped from Google's page twenty to page eight for the keyword phrase "patent attorney New Jersey." Further sustainable growth is projected as SolarCure's Solar Powered SEO(TM) program progresses.

How Solar Powered SEO(TM) and Solar-Panel Adoption Works Generous organizations sponsor a solar panel by purchasing a panel or a portion of one through SolarCure's Adopt-A-Solar-Panel program. The panel is designed and installed for a specific non-profit organization. The non-profit organization will use energy generated through solar panels and the money saved through decreased energy bills can be put to better use towards their mission.

The sponsor will also receive nationwide publicity of their sponsorship through SolarCure's expertly written online press releases. Each press release is enhanced for search engine optimization (SEO), which has been proven to increase Internet traffic, improve search engine listings and bring other benefits when associated with green branding. Such brands greatly appeal to consumers who are becoming more aware of the need to protect the environment. This unique selling point may additionally boost corporate image and public awareness. All-in-all, SolarCure's Adopt-a-Solar-Panel Program assists both non-profit organizations and area sponsors in a unique manner designed to create a "win-win-win" situation for those involved -- the sponsor, the non-profit, and the environment.

Source : 
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/patent-attorney-improves-visibility-with-solar-powered-seo-2012-11-13

Trademark Attorney | "Former Google attorney is the head of the US Patent Office's Silicon Valley branch"

By : Bryan Bishop
Source : http://www.theverge.com
Category : Trademark Attorney 

Back in July the United States Patent and Trademark Office announced that it would be opening three new branches and former Google attorney Michelle K. Lee is heading up the Silicon Valley office. Google's former deputy general counsel and head of patent strategy, Lee spent nine years with the company before leaving earlier this year. According to Reuters, Lee confirmed she had accepted the position during a conference today at Santa Clara University.

Lee officially started her new position on November 5th, but prior to that had been serving on the USPTO's Patent Public Advisory Committee a group focused on evaluating the office's performance and policies. During her time at Google, she frequently voiced concerns about the state of the modern patent system and the need for reform, stating in one blog post that "Low-quality patents and escalating legal costs are currently hurting the ability of U.S. companies to compete globally." While the opening of the Silicon Valley branch itself seemed a step towards addressing the concerns many in the tech community have about the patent system, the fact that it will be headed up by someone with such a clear focus on reform sends a very promising signal.

Source : http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/16/3656542/former-google-attorney-head-us-patent-office-silicon-valley-branch

US Trademark Application | "Illinois Intellectual Property Law Firm Announces Tips for Trademarked Companies"

By : PRLEAP.COM  
Source : http://www.prleap.com 
Category : Trademark Attorney

Remien Law, the Chicago intellectual property experts, have announced tips for trademarked companies who have encountered possible trademark infringement online. These tips are geared specifically towards aiding companies who have found their federally registered trademarks used without their permission by another party in an unauthorized domain name. Remien Law offers several options for legal recourse that can be used to take back control of a trademark.

This comes as good news to companies of all sizes seeking to maintain the integrity of their federally registered trademarks on the internet and beyond. Remien recommends either utilizing federal court litigation or UDRP (Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy) to resolve one's trademark domain name dispute. According to Remien Law, federal laws have relatively recently been updated to address web-based trademark infringement concerns, such as the ACPA (Anticybersquatting Piracy Act). UDRP (Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy) can cost far less and takes less time to resolve the domain name dispute, which is ideal for small to mid-size companies who lack the resources to pursue costly federal court litigation.

Remien Law is a highly sought after Chicago intellectual property rights law firm practicing in intellectual property protection services and various corporate services. They specialize in trademark licensing, copyright clearances and licensing, intellectual property litigation, domain name disputes, advertising and social media trademark clearance, international trademark protection and enforcement, corporate agreements and transactional services, and more. As a favorite among businesses seeking Chicago trademark attorneys, Remien Law is fully dedicated to their clients. Domain name disputes are a regular part of their ongoing commitment to helping businesses of all sizes protect their intellectual property.

Source : http://www.prleap.com/pr/192985/

Trademark Attorney | "Law Offices of Gene Bolmarcich Launches Trademarks A To ® - Online Trademark Registration Service"

By : PRLEAP.COM  
Source : http://www.prleap.com 
Category : Trademark Attorney

The Law Offices of Gene Bolmarcich, Esq. is solo practice law firm specializing in a full spectrum of trademark related matters for a global clientele. I am proud to announce www.trademarksa2r.com - "Trademarks A To ®" - a flat fee trademark registration web-based service where all work is done by flat fee trademark attorney Gene Bolmarcich, with over 20 years experience prosecuting trademarks. Unlike every other attorney offering similar services for a flat fee, I include all of the work necessary to obtain a trademark registration with the USPTO. Every other site excludes from their flat fee so-called "substantive office action responses", and in some cases other work involved in filing evidence, affidavits and certain required documents that require significant work.

www.trademarksa2r.com is unique in that the $499 flat fee is guaranteed to be the limit on what a client will pay to obtain a registration. All other attorney based online services charge by the hour for the various types of substantive work involved in trademark prosecution.

Trademarks A To ® is provided via an easy to navigate and informative website on trademark law including an entertaining and informative blog. Clients initiate their trademark application by completing a simple form and paying the flat fee, which includes i) unlimited attorney consultation time, ii) comprehensive trademark searches (unlimited knock-out searches and up to two full comprehensive searches), iii) three classes of goods and services (as opposed to one, which is the competitive norm) and iv) all required prosecution and monitoring of the application to registration.

Visit www.trademarksa2r.com for more information and to see an exclusive chart that compares most major trademark registration services provided by attorneys and see why Trademarks A To ® is the lowest guaranteed flat fee trademark registration service on the Internet.

Source : http://www.prleap.com/pr/192751/

US Trademark Application | "Microsoft patent spies on consumers to enforce DRM"

By : Charlie Osborne 
Source : http://www.zdnet.com
Category : Trademark Attorney 

A new patent application filed by Microsoft and granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office details a content distribution system which uses cameras to detect whether or not you've been paying for your content.

The patent, US20120278904, works as a surveillance mechanism, inbuilt within devices including television sets, computers, smartphones and tablets in order to enforce digital rights management (DRM). In other words, if you're streaming content without a license, it can be detected -- and your media stream cut off.

The patent summary reads:

"A content presentation system and method allowing content providers to regulate the presentation of content on a per-user-view basis. Content is distributed an associated license option on the number of individual consumers or viewers allowed to consume the content. Consumers are presented with a content selection and a choice of licenses allowing consumption of the content.

The users consuming the content on a display device are monitored so that if the number of user-views licensed is exceeded, remedial action may be taken."

Although an infrared camera may not be the only method of detection, and technology including Microsoft's Kinect, controllers and "facial recognition techniques" could be used, the patent continues by stating that DRM can further be enforced by "determining at least a number of users within a display area of a display device for a duration of the presentation exceeding a threshold." In other words, if a license only covers one individual viewing and you're watching a film with friends or family, content simply won't play.

The patent also mentions that age and identity can be detected in relation to whether a viewer is authorized to see particular content. The technology can also enforce time frames that users are allowed to see media.

The technology is designed to work with streamed content, downloaded material and media stored in either removable or irremovable storage systems. These include "RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, DVD or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices."

From a DRM perspective, the patent is rather smart, and makes sense in order to prevent consumers from exploiting the terms of their content licenses. However, when technology in the home can detect how many people are present, their ages and potentially store their facial profiles, if this is made commercial, it's unlikely the latest privacy intrusion will go down well with the general public.

Source : http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-patent-spies-on-consumers-to-enforce-drm-7000007102/

Trademark Application | "Google Assigned Patent for Collaborative Online Spreadsheet Application"

By : Targeted News Service
Source : http://www.equities.com
Category : Trademark Attorney

Google, Mountain View, Calif., has been assigned a patent (8,307,119) developed by four co-inventors for a "collaborative online spreadsheet application." The co-inventors are Jonathan Rochelle, Chester, N.J., Micah Lemonik, New York, Farzad Khosrowshahi, Pleasantville, N.Y., and John Stephen Danaher, Brooklyn, N.Y. The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A distributed spreadsheet application executes at a server and a client in a network. The networked spreadsheet application can generally be used without requiring a user to install any specific spreadsheet software prior to using the application. In one implementation, the spreadsheet application may include a client engine that executes within browser programs of a plurality of client computing devices and server logic. The server logic may be configured to distribute the client engines to the plurality of client computing devices of the spreadsheet application when requested through the browser programs of each of the plurality of client computing devices. The server logic synchronizes a single spreadsheet document that is simultaneously open at the plurality of client computing devices."

Source : http://www.equities.com/news/headline-story?dt=2012-11-08&val=687713&cat=tech

Trademark Attorney | "Lessons In Growing A Brand: The Chinese Are Coming"

By : Cheryl Conner
Source : http://www.forbes.com 
Category : Trademark Attorney

A prominent trademark attorney in Salt Lake City, Nicholas D. Wells, provided me with some interesting information recently about the power of brands. Economists can argue about when China’s GDP will surpass the U.S.  But for marketing types, Wells points out, the clearest indication of China’s growing economic power is not its raw GDP or import figures.  It is the strength of the brands Chinese companies are building.

Developing countries follow a pattern, Wells says.  They start out making products for others who outsource to take advantage of low-cost labor.  Those products are branded with the names of the outsourcing companies.  Familiar names like Reebok and Apple move their production from place to place to benefit from low costs: First Korea and Singapore, then China; now Vietnam.

When Reebok makes a shoe in Vietnam for $1 and sells it for $75, for example, the difference in value can nearly entirely be summed up as the “brand.”  Customers pay for the perceived value of the intellectual property Reebok has created. People don’t want shoes; they want Reeboks.  Or Nikes or Pumas or Adidas.

For companies like Apple, part of their value is created by technology (think patents).  But even for these companies, much of the perceived value is the brand.  (Remember, patents last 20 years, but brands last forever.)

Commodities must compete on price.  Strong brands yield higher profits.  Those profits, when reinvested, create new technologies, new products, and higher standards of living in the countries where the brands are owned.

Korea is no longer a capital of low-cost labor.  Now it’s the capital of Samsung and Hyundai.  The profits from selling Samsung-branded smartphones and tablets and microwaves stay in Korea, where they lead to new technologies, new products, and higher standards of living.

For several decades, China’s billion-plus population was a premier source of cheap labor.  Now that’s changing.  Why?  It’s simple — because China is developing its own brands.  Chinese companies reap higher profits, keep them in-country, and use them to create higher levels of technological innovation, education, industrial productivity, and economic power.

In every economy, this pattern starts with the major infrastructure players.  Major brands like China Mobile, Baidu, Wu Liang Ye, Suning, Pingan, and Bank of China are each valued at billions of dollars, yet most Americans have never heard of them.  But the next stage of this pattern continues as a huge number of smaller businesses develop loyal customer followings based on their brands and eventually become market leaders.  These small companies contribute to an economy’s strength and resilience.

Interestingly, in virtually every country Wells has studied, the number of applications for U.S. trademarks by companies from a given country tracks the volume of U.S. imports from that country.

U.S. imports from South Korea and U.S. trademark applications from South Korean companies both started near zero in 1970.  Both have followed a steady track upwards since then.

Singapore, another of the “Asian Tigers,” followed a similar track.

Brazil is interesting because a doubling of the number of annual U.S. trademark applications in 2000 anticipated a sharp five-year rise in U.S. imports from Brazil.

But the most interesting findings are from China.  U.S. imports from China have been growing steadily for decades.  But in the last 10 years, both U.S. imports from China and trademark applications from Chinese companies have turned sharply upward, with the number of trademark applications filed each year increasing ten-fold—1000%—between 2002 and 2011, while imports in 2012 will exceed $400 billion.

Thousands of smaller Chinese companies understand the power of brands.  They protect their brands in the U.S. in anticipation of reaping the profits and growth that used to be reserved for U.S. companies alone.

Entrepreneurs and brand-builders, be aware: The day is fast approaching that many Chinese brands will be as well-known to American consumers as Toyota, Samsung, Philips, and Gucci today.

Smart marketers are fully aware of the degree to which strong brands can influence strong profits. For example, America’s NASCAR is one of North America’s most highly regarded and widely recognized brands, even for consumers who have never watched or attended a NASCAR-sponsored event. More than 400 U.S. companies currently increase their profitability through formal affiliation with the NASCAR brand. Strong brands are worth big dollars.

The U.S. clearly “gets it”. And clearly, China is also now coming on strong.

Source : http://www.forbes.com/sites/cherylsnappconner/2012/11/08/lessons-in-growing-a-brand-the-chinese-are-coming/