Omid Khalifeh Named As a Top 3 Patent Attorney in Los Angeles by ThreeBestRated for 2019

By: Omid Khalifeh

ThreeBestRated®, an independent, third-party business review site has announced that Omid Khalifeh, Omni Legal Group's Principal Patent Attorney, has been selected as a Top 3 Patent Attorney in Los Angeles for 2019. Launched in 2014, ThreeBestRated® is a company that reviews local businesses across the United States in order to select the top three local businesses that could be considered as the best in each city for specific business categories.

The goal of Three Best Rated is to identify top professionals, restaurants and health care providers in Los Angeles, California, as well as, other U.S. cities. The company awards professionals and businesses for delivering consistent value and quality service.

In order to identify the top businesses in a given city, Three Best Rated uses a 50-Point Inspection. This inspection is a lengthy process which includes checking the company’s history, reputation, complaints, customer satisfaction, ratings, nearness, trust, and more. From these data points Three Best Rated is able to determine which companies deliver overall excellence in their industries. Furthermore, Three Best Rated offers its services for free and companies never pay to be listed.

Three Best Rated also offers a unique focus on the best local businesses rather than large corporations with a local office presence in each city. This is because Three Best Rated believes that local businesses that are well-established in the cities they review provide better and more personalized service than large corporations.

Read more >> https://www.prweb.com/releases/omid_khalifeh_named_as_a_top_3_patent_attorney_in_los_angeles_by_threebestrated_for_2019/prweb16330446.htm

Current Engineering Issues Related to a Beta Version of a 3D Metal Printer Currently In Operation, and a Few Questions About Uses and Patents

By:  Z. Mike at ZMIKE.IP@gmail.com
May 30, 2019
The author is a patent attorney who helps clients with inventions, startups, and advice on crowdfunding sites, and currently also advises investors and investment companies in patent and trademark related matters including valuation. The author has over 28 years experience in advising companies in patents and trademarks. For further information, please email at ZMIKE.IP@gmail.com.

I enjoyed seeing the beta 3D printer make a metal object in a few minutes. More objects were printed over the next couple of hours. 

The metal is uses is a commercially valuable metal material, I was informed. I picked up the fist-sized object once it cooled, very light for its size. The engineer put it on a CNC to both finish and dial in accuracy, and with rice polishing as a last step it had a pleasing appearance. 

But, I am all about value, and can only guess at that. I think it will depend on the end uses. High-value end uses would make it more valuable. And, of course, it matters if the 3D metal printer has solved all of the expected associated problems, which I am listing below. 

I'm told that the material flow rate has to be relatively high and must permit continuous use. That's needed to get to solving the other problems. The engineer informed he that the feed system is smooth and can run 24/7 without jamming, sticking, or backflow issues. 

This allows printing of enough parts to be able to explore many aspects of metal printing with a direct wire feed, so that the problems can be addressed. 

The challenges that I have heard about so far: (a) creating a metallurgical bond between extrusions, working with and/or around oxide formation; (b) directing fine control to get high resolution, (c) creating a smooth, flat, reversibly bonding print surface, allowing for quick prototyping, giving instant results for the end user; (d) creating metal objects in real time as small as a dime or as large as a cube of five inches square; (e) use of multiple alloys, to cover a wide range of material properties attractive to engineers; and (f) post-processing parts to create impressive final objects

Read more >> http://internationalpatentservice.com/3D-Metal-Printer-Beta-Version.html

FIFTEEN GLORIOUS YEARS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY EXCELLENCE – A JOURNEY

By: Admin

The world of Intellectual Property law services is well known now as most companies and individuals understand the significance of patents, trademarks, copyrights, designs, and others. But fifteen years ago, it was a different scenario in India. This branch of law was not so well defined, and services were being offered by professionals with very little or no technology and business background. It took a visionary like Dr. Kalyan Kankanala who co-founded his firm BananaIP (formerly known as Brain League) in 2004 with an aim to provide the best of IP law services which would follow international standards.

In these 15 years, through the fortitude and sheer hard work of Dr. Kankanala and the senior partners, the company has achieved great heights and is now considered to be a pioneer in the evolution of IP laws in India through their quality services, law and policy contributions, highly cited publications, and proactive technology integration. Maximizing business value is the main motto of BananaIP, and a complete commitment from the team in different sections of IP law makes them a premier firm in the country.

The Team

The firm and its partners are recognized and ranked as leaders in the IP industry. They hold honorary positions with national and international IP committees and research centres, and their views are regularly cited by leading news organizations, journals and research publications.

Dr. Kalyan Kankanala, the managing partner of BananaIP, holds advanced degrees from the world’s leading law institutions, the National Law School of India University, Bangalore and Franklin Pierce Law Center, USA. From a small cabin at IIM Bangalore, he and his team have transformed the landscape of IP standards in India, achieving important qualitative and quantitative milestones. He is recognized among the top IP minds of India, having helped more than 600 clients achieve intellectual property and commercial success.

Somashekar Ramakrishna, a senior partner, is an accomplished mechanical/automotive engineer with a Master’s degree in IP, commerce and technology from Franklin Pierce Law Center USA. With years of experience of working with leading US Patent Firm and United Nations Industrial Development Organization, he is a nationally recognized attorney in patent drafting for global manufacturing and automotive companies. In his own words, he acknowledges that his passion for IP law and his honest work ethics could not have found a better place than BananaIP where the core values of the company are crystal clear in the minds of like-minded professionals.

Read more >> http://www.northcarolinaheadlines.com/news/story/135907/fifteen-glorious-years-of-intellectual-property-excellence-a-journey.html

Startup Business: A Checklist

By: Michael J Foycik Jr.
May 28, 2019
The author is a patent attorney with over 28 years experience in patents and trademarks. For further information, please email at IP1lwyr@gmail.com, or call at 877-654-3336.

Starting a new business is exciting!  Here's a checklist you'll want to consider.
Trademark application or registered trademark.  Everyone needs this.
Pending patent application of any type: design, utility, or provisional (PPA).
Funding, which can include crowd funding services like Kickstarter or Indiegogo.
Copyright rights.  This includes your web site and promotional materials.
Publicity, if using crowd funding sites or if needed to attract investors.
Costs can be fairly low.  Some informal rights are permitted, and every startup is different.  Contact me with any questions at the email address below.  

Read more >> http://internationalpatentservice.com/Startup-Business.html

The Basics of Trademarks, Patents, and Copyright Protection

By: TedKBL 

Say you created a design you want to make sure no one can claim as their own. You must legally secure the rights to your work. But do you go with a patent or a trademark? It can be complicated to know the similarities and differences between these two very different types of intellectual property. Of course, you don’t need to understand all the little nuances that go into filing for a patent or registering a trademark. That’s what intellectual property attorneys are for. And if the time comes when you need to defend your work, these attorneys will have your back.

First of all, what are intellectual property attorneys?

They are lawyers that help you navigate intellectual property laws in order to safeguard your original work. They are useful when it comes time for you to legally secure rights.

Let’s use copyright protection as an example. Imagine you are a novelist who has just completed their masterpiece. Copyright protection gives the author, the copyright holder, the exclusive right to (1) reproduce the copyrighted work; (2) create derivative works from the original material; (3) distribute copies of the work; (4) perform the work publicly; and (5) display the work.

Of course, this author may want to let a third-party create derivative works. For example, if a production company approaches the author to create a television show based on the novel. In cases like this, intellectual property attorneys can also help with licensing agreements.

Read more >> 

https://www.bltg-ip.com/the-basics-of-trademarks-patents-and-copyright-protection/

Some Kickstarter Success Tips

By: Michael J Foycik Jr.
May 26, 2019
The author is a patent attorney with over 28 years experience in patents and trademarks. For further information, please email at IP1lwyr@gmail.com, or call at 877-654-3336.

If you're planning a Kickstarter campaign or other enterprise funding site, then these tips may help. 

Have IP protection. What's that? It is intellectual property. It is not necessary to have an issued patent, but for success raising capital it is important to have at least patent pending protection. Trademark protection can help too. Don't neglect copyright protection and trade secret protection, if those are appropriate for your enterprise. 

Get publicity. Use an inexpensive service that does e-press releases. Such a service can even help you write the press releases, for a small additional fee. And, try giving interviews to journals and magazines that might review your product or service. 

Line up your tech resources ahead of time, to list on the site. These services would include affordable software technical services. Your product will need technical support services, so it may be a good idea to list such a company on your site. Other software services are important, as you're well aware already: sales support software, inventory management software, and employee management software, among others. 

Need help finding services to help with any of the above? Need something affordable? Then let me know. I have first-hand experience with the above, and know what's involved.

Read more >> http://internationalpatentservice.com/Some-Kickstarter-Success-Tips.html

The United States Patent and Trademark Office Updates Hemp Mark Guidelines

By: Eric Sandy

Following the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill and the legalization of hemp in the U.S., federal agencies are beginning to line up their regulatory approach to this burgeoning industry. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is preparing its guardrails for state-sanctioned hemp programs, and, now, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has clarified how it will handle trademarks for hemp businesses.

In short, hemp businesses (including plant-touching businesses) are able to apply for trademark registration­—as long as their business falls outside the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) regulations of hemp-derived CBD as a food or beverage ingredient. The FDA oversight is part of a broad gray area still in need of clarification post-Farm Bill.

For now, many hemp businesses have a shot at claiming their mark.

“We’ve been waiting since the Farm Bill was passed on how that would impact the trademarks used in connection with these particular products and services,” said David Gold, intellectual property litigation attorney at Cole Schotz.

The USPTO, which oversees patents and trademarks, splits its approach to controlled substances in the U.S. The patents office will work with companies that are using federally controlled substances, like whole-plant cannabis (and especially THC). The trademark office, however, will not work with those companies.

"This does not cover a very large segment of the industry. This doesn’t cover anything that’s subject to the FDA."

- David Gold

Now that hemp is no longer listed as a Schedule-I substance, the USPTO is opening the window for trademark applications relating to hemp and hemp-derived compounds. (Hemp is legally defined as the cannabis plant containing less than 0.3-percent THC.)

“Frankly, this is exactly what we anticipated the result would be—down to the language that now needs to be included in the application,” Gold said, referring to the THC content in the company’s hemp material, for instance. The language must mirror the Farm Bill, in other words.

Applications filed after Dec. 20, 2018, will be processed under this new regime. For businesses that filed hemp-related applications before Dec. 20, 2018, “registration will be refused due to the unlawful use or lack of bona fide intent to use in lawful commerce under the CSA.” Those businesses will be told to request an amendment to their applications, which will then be filed with the post-Dec. 20 applications.

Read more >> https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/united-states-patent-trademark-office-hemp-businesses/

Quit Worrying About Competitors, And Start Making Money

By: Michael J Foycik Jr.
May 20, 2019
The author is a patent attorney with over 28 years experience in patents and trademarks. For further information, please email at IP1lwyr@gmail.com, or call at 877-654-3336.

Stop worrying! Many inventors and businesses become paralyzed by worry when trying to advance a new idea. 

What if competitors import cheap knock-offs? What if they steal your idea? What if it isn't protectable as a patent? 

Here are some factors to put your mind at ease. 

First, competitors won't spend money to copy a product unless they are sure it will make money. For anything that is new, how can they know? Probably only by seeing if you make money. That gives you a big head start. If your product is good, you can saturate the market before the first knock-off arrives. Also, this gives you time to establish your trademark or trade name, so that people asking for it by name will always get your product. 

Second, until your idea is made public, it can be protected as a trade secret, assuming you have marked everything confidential and avoided any non-confidential disclosures. Again, this provides a real head start, with the benefits noted above. 

Third, suppose your idea is so good that competitors want to immediately steal/misappropriate your idea. That can be a very good problem to have! Why? Because it means that your rights could have great value to a legitimate company, one that has power to enforce those rights for you against infringers. You see it in the news all the time: big companies investing in small companies, buying a percentage of the ownership. Big companies know how to protect their investments, and their rights. 

Fourth, your US patent application gives you one year's worth of priority, for filing of PCT or foreign applications. Can't afford foreign patent applications? See the above paragraph; if your invention is good and/or successful, it can attract investment by those with enough money to pay to get foreign rights. 

Read more >> http://internationalpatentservice.com/Quit-Worrying-About-Competitors-And-Start-Making-Money.html

STARTUPS, TAKE HEED: TWO CAUTIONARY, TRUE TALES OF PATENT LAW

By: Greg Kirsch

Tech startup companies often rely on patents and other types of intellectual property (IP) rights to help safeguard against competition, protect their investors and increase their chance of executing on their business model. 

However, in many cases there are fundamental misunderstandings among the individuals and companies who invest in startups as to how to best use IP rights. Either the wrong attributes of the startup’s products and services are protected, or IP is forgotten altogether. 

There is no better way to learn how best to protect and exploit IP than by examining the successes — and miscues — of others. Here are two stories based on the real-life experience of practicing IP law for almost three decades. 

True Story Number One: The Bad Investment

How an investor may ask IP questions, but not the right ones

About 10 years ago, I received a call from a general partner at a well-known VC firm. The firm had recently made a large investment in a startup, which we’ll call “Acme Corp.,” which had a large patent portfolio. My friend wanted me to take a quick look at the Acme patent portfolio. 

My first thought was, “Why is he calling me after the investment has closed, rather than before the investment was finalized?” Nevertheless, I told him I’d take a look. 

The patents looked interesting and appeared to cover a technology (“Technology A”) fairly well. A few days later, I called my VC friend back. I walked him through Acme’s various patents, including some of the patent claims, which specifically define the invention covered by the patent.

“Are you sure that’s what the patents cover?” he asked, completely surprised by the nature of the patent portfolio owned by the company in which his firm had just invested a large sum of money. 

The investor explained that Acme’s current business model was completely based on another technology, Technology B. They used to have products that used Technology A, but had pivoted away from that business three years prior.

Read more >> https://hypepotamus.com/community/two-cautionary-true-stories-patent-law/

Surprisingly Good Ways Of Stopping Foreign Imports Using Your US Patent

By: Michael J Foycik Jr.
May 17, 2019
The author is a patent attorney with over 28 years experience in patents and trademarks. For further information, please email at IP1lwyr@gmail.com, or call at 877-654-3336.

The number one concern of many companies with new products is how to stop foreign copies from entering the US.  The good news, this is easy for US Patent owners, and there are two ways this can operate.

The most surprising way is using the US Customs Service to block suspected infringers.  To do this, you will need an order from the Customs Service.  Once you have that, Customs does the real work.  The catch here is, the US company will have to prove it makes the goods itself in the US.  So, two foreign companies cannot easily avail themselves of this privilege.

Customs can confiscate infringing goods, and may even turn over those goods to the US patent owner.  If specific infringers can be pointed out to Customs, which is often the case, those infringers  can be targeted by Customs.

The second way is more obvious: using the US Patent rights.  There is an easy way to do this, and a harder way.  The easier way is sending a copy of the US Patent to retailers and other companies selling the infringing product; most will quickly deal with the situation, usually by simply removing the infringing products.  After all, retailers do not want trouble, and can avoid it by fleeing from patent disputes.  The author has seen this several times, and it is surprisingly effective. 

The aforementioned harder way is the filing of a patent infringement suit.  This can be cost effective, assuming the infringer offers a quick settlement.  An infringer might do this to avoid the legal expense and legal risk of defending.  However, if the health of an infringing company depends on that infringing product, a quick settlement may still occur but there is also a chance of a big legal fight.

Read more >> http://internationalpatentservice.com/Surprisingly-Good-Ways-Of-Stopping-Foreign-Imports-Using-Your-US-Patent.html

Understanding Soft Intellectual Property

By: Brette Sember, Esq.

Intellectual property is any work or idea created either by the human mind or by a computer, including copyrights, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. Although "soft intellectual property" is sometimes used to refer to any intellectual property that is not a patent, the term is not fully accepted in the legal community.

Categories of Intellectual Property

Intellectual property is protected according to the type of work:

> Copyrights are used to protect fixed creative works such as books, articles, photos, computer software, plays, and music.

> Patents are used to protect inventions.

> Trademarks are used to protect brand names, slogans, and logos.

> The Uniform Trade Secrets Act protects trade secrets, which are confidential information used in business that can create a competitive edge in the marketplace. This can include formulas, methods, or techniques used to create a product.

Defining Soft Intellectual Property

The term "soft intellectual property" is sometimes used to refer to intellectual property other than patents , including copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. It can also be used to describe other assets that are harder to categorize, such as general knowledge about a product or confidential information held by a company. The distinction may have arisen because patents often apply to tangible items, such as machinery, products, and other physical inventions. Some of the more common types of soft intellectual property include books, white papers, company logos, and trade secrets.

Typically used only by laypeople, soft intellectual property is not a well-accepted legal term, although it is sometimes used in contracts or agreements. For example, a contract selling a company's intellectual property rights might include "soft" property. However, for clarity, it is best to use specific legal terminology about the items that are being managed or sold. For example, the contract might mention that items in the sale include copyrights, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. Using the exact, correct terminology for the intellectual property in question makes it easier to manage and may also make it easier to sell, should you ever wish to.

Read more >> https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/understanding-soft-intellectual-property

Right Or Wrong Patent Attorney - Why Your Invention Matters

By: Michael J Foycik Jr.
May 15, 2019
The author is a patent attorney with over 28 years experience in patents and trademarks. For further information, please email at IP1lwyr@gmail.com, or call at 877-654-3336.

Is there a good way to tell when you have the wrong patent attorney?  There are factors worth considering. 

Does your patent attorney not seem to listen?  Or, not seem to care about your objections and concerns?  Does your patent attorney make themselves available to answer questions?  These are red flags, especially if things are not going well otherwise.

Does the patent attorney's first draft make sense for your invention?  Most inventors rightfully expect to see writing that is as good as or better than their own.  Do you have to explain things several times?  Are you uncomfortable with how the claims sound?  These too can be red flags, when other things are not going well either.

Has your patent attorney filed continuation after continuation without making progress?  Or, have they filed RCE (“Request for Continuing Examination”) after RCE without making progress?  Or, have they filed about Appeal after Appeal, without success?  These could be red flags too.

This is not to say “good” or “bad” - rather it is to say “right skills for the right job.”  Even a very good and reputable patent attorney may sometimes find themselves out of their element, and look bad as a result.  That shouldn't matter though – good results should matter.  A different attorney, better suited for a particular effort, may well get different results. 

While the above-noted issues can be bad signs, they might not tell the whole story.  Even though the above situations exist, can that patent attorney really still be the “right” one  for that job?  Possibly so – if it is just a case of simple bad luck, pursuit of a weak invention, sure.  Or, it could be part of a strategy to maintain patent pending status for strategic reasons despite a weak invention. 

One of the biggest problems in the patent field is that the law of chemical patent claim practice is completely different from the law of mechanical/electrical patent claim practice.  Claim drafting can be drastically different, in my experience. 

Read more >> http://internationalpatentservice.com/Right-Or-Wrong-Patent-Attorney-Why-Your-Invention-Matters.html

More Patent Trolls Are Targeting Startups. Here's What You Can Do.

By: Nathaniel Borenstein

Startups aren't typically founded by lawyers, so patent law isn't usually a front line issue for them. But I've come to realize that patent protection is at best No. 11 on the top 10 list of things for startups to focus on -- something they generally understand is important, but not quite important enough. Part of that is because the headlines focus on big lawsuits lobbed at big companies, which creates a false sense of security. As an inventor and a computer scientist with 25-plus years of practical experience, I'd like to think I've navigated the murky, complicated world of patents and come out on the other side wiser and more informed. And, as such, there is something I want entrepreneurs, inventors and early-stage businesses to know. Yes, you are a potential target for patent trolls, and yes, there is something you can do about it. Today.

Related: If Your Startup Really Is Disruptive, Expect to be Sued By a Patent Troll.

Here's what everyone thinks they know.

It is generally understood patent trolls are typically "shell" companies that do no real business but simply pursue a business strategy of suing businesses over their patents. They typically sue for a large amount of money but settle for an amount they estimate will cost the victims less than a court fight. They do no good for anyone in the world but themselves, and they can be extremely costly (in time and money) to their victims. Too many people believe patent trolls are only after big names -- big companies with big wallets. The smaller suits, the ones aimed at startups and mid-sized businesses, might not make headlines, but they do untold damage.

Startups are targets for trolls, and grow more so over time.

Startups are often targets for trolls, but many entrepreneurs are unaware of this reality. With so many things to think about -- building a product, hiring a staff, fundraising, marketing, sales -- protecting against patent trolls is not likely to be high on a founder's list of priorities, but it should still be a consideration. A company gets hit with a suit and has to respond, but by then, it's too late. The mere presence of the suit is itself a drain on limited resources, to the tune of several million dollars that startups can't afford. This is why being proactive is essential.

Read more >> https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/310648

Tips for Highly Effective Invention Promoting and Marketing for Inventors

By: Michael J Foycik Jr. 
December 20, 2013
The author is a patent attorney with over 28 years experience in patents and trademarks. For further information, please email at IP1lwyr@gmail.com, or call at 877-654-3336.

If you're an inventor, then you have seen ads for invention marketing companies.  Here are a few tips for a highly effective strategy that is also cost-effective.

Tip 1:  Do the patent part separately from the marketing part.  The patent costs can be quite affordable, especially is you shop around.  You are more likely to get the personal service and advice you really need, and that can lead to a better patent product. 

Tip 2:  Focus on companies most likely to need your invention.  Avoid broadcast invention submissions to large companies, because that can be costly in time and effort.  There will be too many corporate forms for the inventor to sign before those companies will even accept the submission, and some of those forms do not protect the inventor's rights.  Large companies like to buy rights to products that are already on the shelves somewhere, to make sure no one looks bad when buying the invention rights. 

Tip 3:   Marketing isn't just to companies – it is also to investors.  Really, isn't that what selling an invention is all about?  A company buying an invention is very much like an investor.  Let investors know about your invention; they have money and often also have expertise and contacts.  Investors may well wish to use their contacts and expertise to help you succeed – they are betting on you. 

Read more >> http://internationalpatentservice.com/Tips-for-Highly-Effective-Invention-Promoting-and-Marketing-for-Inventors.html

United States: A Trademark Is Not A Copyright Or A Patent

By: William M. Borchard

Although trademarks, copyrights, patents, and trade secrets all concern intangible property rights and overlap to some extent, they differ from each other significantly. If you know the attributes of each, you can take full advantage of them to weave a fabric of intellectual property protection. And the failure to get appropriate protection is an invitation to pirate. Competent legal advice often is advisable because all four areas of law are changing, especially as applied to new technology. It may help to distinguish them by remembering that:

> Trademarks protect source identifications (marks of trade);

> Copyrights protect original creative expressions;

> Patents protect new and useful inventions; and

> Trade Secrets protect valuable secret information.

This pamphlet summarizes the principal attributes of these various types of protection.

WHAT IS A TRADEMARK?

A trademark is a brand name, logo or package design, or a combination of them, used by a manufacturer or merchant to identify its goods or services and to distinguish them from others. Trademarks include brand names identifying goods (Dole for canned pineapple) and trade dress consisting of the graphics, color or shape of packaging or, after sufficient use, of goods (Coca-Cola Bottle for a soft drink); service marks identifying services (McDonald's for a restaurant service); certification marks identifying goods or services meeting specified qualifications (Woolmark for apparel made of 100% wool); and collective marks identifying goods, services or members of a collective organization (The International Game Fish Association for a game fishing organization). The same legal principles generally apply to all of these terms, often simply called "marks."

How to obtain trademark rights.

You need not register a trademark to have protectible exclusive rights in it and reserving a corporate name in one or more states is irrelevant to trademark rights. Simply by using a mark on or in connection with goods, or by displaying the mark in the sale or advertising of services, you can automatically acquire trademark rights in the geographic areas of use and natural expansion.

You can stake out nationwide trademark rights by applying to register the mark in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. (One reason why people confuse trademarks with patents seems to be that both are handled by the same office, but the trademark and patent operations are completely separate.)

Read more >> http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/x/804904/Trademark/A+Trademark+Is+Not+A+Copyright+Or+A+Patent

Responding to a Rejection in a Patent Application

By: Michael J Foycik Jr. 
November 15, 2013
The author is a patent attorney with over 28 years experience in patents and trademarks. For further information, please email at IP1lwyr@gmail.com, or call at 877-654-3336.

Rejected? Want to know more about what to do? Read on!

When a utility patent application is filed, examination on the merits follows in due course. The examination process involves a search of the prior art, and a decision by the patent examiner on allowability. The first such decision is supplied to the applicant by an official first Office Action on the merits. The great majority of first Office Actions involve a rejection of some or all of the claims.

But, this is not the end of the process, but the beginning! A Response should be filed.

What should go into the Response? The applicant, along with their patent attorney's help, should define what is different over the applied prior art reference(s). Then, suitable claim amendments should be made to clarify and/or emphasize those differences.

And, suitable remarks should be provided in the Response which explain the differences over the applied prior art reference. The remarks ideally will also point out how the amendments to the claims clarify and emphasize those differences.

Sometimes, there are other types of rejections and objections. These may be based on claim format, claim contents, objections to drawings or text, and so on. These can be handled in a similar way to that noted above.

Read more >> http://internationalpatentservice.com/Responding-to-a-Rejection-in-a-Patent-Application.html

Protecting the Integrity of your Business and Intellectual Property

By: Steve Cartwright

You’ve done your research and perfected your business plan. That wondrous document secured your funding and all your plans have come to fruition. You’re now a small business owner. As you hang out your shingle and proclaim yourself open for business, consider this sobering fact: there is another professional of sorts, right next door to you (literally or virtually, which means this person could be anywhere), who has hung out a shingle, as well. And this “professional” is an expert thief, looking for unwary business owners such as you to victimize.

How do you protect your business and your intellectual property?

One of the first things a small business owner can do to protect himself is register company logos, patents and/or documents with the correct authorities. A business logo or brand statement can be filed as a trademark, with an application to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A trademark represents the goods your company supplies and keeps your business distinct from others. A patent can be filed within the same office, and permits the right to prevent other entities from developing and benefiting from your inventions.

A copyright is a bit of a different creature. At the point of creation and in concrete form, you already own the copyright to a specific document. A copyright application can be filed with the United States Copyright Office, a subsidiary of the Library of Congress. However, most business owners who would like to secure official copyrights to written materials, such as writers, often do not have the funds to apply for a copyright for all the works they have authored. As a result, many small business owners simply utilize a copyright statement on the document, indicated with a copyright symbol (©), along with the date of creation. Many times, the presence of this statement will suffice to warn predators away. If the copyright is encroached upon, the positive results of pursuing legal action may be greatly improved by filing the copyright form within the first five years of creation.

Another way to monitor usage of intellectual property, likely unorthodox, is to utilize Internet search engines to look for mentions of your company’s name and works. This is not a suggestion for ego boosting, but rather an inexpensive tool to help locate possible instances of the online piracy of works. Many file sharing sites will respond to written requests by owners or legal representatives to remove works from said site. Of course, the work may find its way onto other sites or even back onto the same site at a different time. However, the online piracy of intellectual property also a flip side: it can have the unintended effect of serving as free promotion for the author.

Every small business should have legal counsel at its disposal. The cost to retain attorneys varies greatly; however, the investment is a necessary and invaluable one for a small business owner. Also, if you employ other individuals or are required to share company ideas and knowledge with contractors, utilize a confidentiality statement in your business dealings. This document, signed before divulging information, serves to protect the business’ interests by binding the signer to confidentiality.

Read more >> https://website-designs.com/website-security/protecting-the-integrity-of-your-business-and-intellectual-property/

New Lower Official Patent Fees Coming January 1, 2014 - Great News For Inventors

By: Michael J Foycik Jr. 
October 24, 2013
The author is a patent attorney with over 28 years experience in patents and trademarks. For further information, please email at IP1lwyr@gmail.com, or call at 877-654-3336.

Finally some very good news for inventors about government patent fees. Some of the new lower fees have been put into place. Other impressive fee reductions are on the way.

The micro entity fee schedule has already been implemented. For example, filing a new Utility patent application costs as low as $400. A Provisional Patent Application, or PPA, costs as little as $65. The previous fees, in effect earlier this year, were much higher.

Other fee reductions are even more impressive, and are scheduled to go into effect beginning on January 1, 2014. These include the Utility patent issue fee, reduced from the small entity fee of $980 currently to just $480 (small entity) or $240 (micro entity). Assignments will be recorded at no charge in that new fee schedule; currently the government fee is $40.

Read more >> http://internationalpatentservice.com/Great-News-For-Inventors.html

How to protect your Intellectual Property as a startup or scale up

By: Chloe Mckenna

It's so easy to overlook your intellectual property when you're a startup. Even companies who've been in business for a while but are scaling up can easily forget just how important it is to protect yourself and your business. So, how do you even begin to go about protecting it and what's involved?

Your intellectual property is one of your most valuable assets. Not only does it give your company its true value, but it also helps create brand recognition and sets you apart from your competitors. Without it, you can't differentiate yourself from the rest. So that's why business owners are realising just how valuable it is and taking steps to protect it.

So it's no surprise that legal claims made over the last 12 months by small to medium enterprises have risen significantly by 68%. If you're new to business and have no clue how to even register your intellectual property, read on to find out.

Determine what your intellectual property is

First, you'll want to separate the wheat from the chaff. Analyse and review the product or services you're offering. This could range from your brand kit (logo's and taglines) to physical products or unique services. Once you do this, it makes it much easier to see what's valuable in your business and how you can develop it further.

Submit your application to register a trademark or patent

After analysing your intellectual property and finding out what's most valuable and represents you as a brand you can then start to think about getting a trademark or patent to protect your business. If you don't want any other company using your brand name, logo or even numbers that are specific to your brand you can get a trademark through the Intellectual Property Office, using the UK government website.

You'll have to choose which class you want your trademark under. Once submitted, the public has a set amount of time to contest your application, and if no one comes forward, the trademark is all yours. Once you have the trademark, you can update all your branding with the TM logo, so other people know that it's protected. This means you can take legal action against any person or business who uses your brand without prior consent from you.

Patents are a little different. This helps protect inventions that don't exist or have never been thought of before. The process is a little more complicated than a trademark, and you'll want to be crystal clear on what you're trying to protect.

Read more >> https://www.capalona.co.uk/news/how-to-protect-your-intellectual-property-as-a-startup-or-scale-up/

Worry - Free Foreign Patent Rights - Things You Should Know

By: Michael J Foycik Jr. 
October 11, 2013
The author is a patent attorney with over 28 years experience in patents and trademarks. For further information, please email at IP1lwyr@gmail.com, or call at 877-654-3336.

Foreign filing – it may be one of the biggest choices facing anyone with an invention or a pending patent application. What if your invention is so successful that foreign copying becomes a problem? Here are some things you should know.

First, the right to file in foreign countries – that is, foreign priority rights – can be valuable. And not just to you, but to anyone wanting to purchase/license those rights.

Second, foreign filing is expensive. It is so expensive, many companies have to target selected countries. It would be best to file for patent protection in countries where the product is doing well.

Third, there's a way to delay your foreign filing. A US utility patent application provides a one year grace period for PCT filing (Patent Cooperation Treaty filing) as well as in most countries.

Fourth, a PCT application provides typically 30 to 32 months additional time in which to designate individual countries. Thus, the PCT application is very useful even though by itself it cannot confer specific patent rights in specific countries.

Fifth, if your product is successful, yet not so successful that you can spend freely on foreign priority rights, there is room for optimism. Many corporations would be happy to invest in a successful product in order to acquire foreign rights. Specifically, such corporations would be willing to pay the foreign patent costs in exchange for foreign marketing rights.

Read more >> http://internationalpatentservice.com/Worry-Free-Foreign-Patent-Rights.html

Legal Aspects For A Startup In India – Every Entrepreneur must know

By: Smevebqu

The startup is a business enterprise with a brand new innovative idea which is attached within the society for instant growing business and to offer new services. Each startup should be aware of specific legal aspects.

A startup enterprise is an entrepreneurial challenge that is commonly a newly developed, fast-developing commercial enterprise that proposes to satisfy a marketplace demanded by developing or offering a revolutionary product, method or service. A startup can be an employer, including a small commercial enterprise, a partnership or an organization created for fast enterprise development.

With the beginning of a Startup comes hand in hand the illegal debt. A Startup commonly Startup in a partnership which does now not recognize the strict and sophisticated corporate lifestyle in them. But the prison obligation of a Startup is the same as that of an organization. One is meant to take his legal responsibilities significantly.

Basic Legal Aspects to be kept in thoughts while starting a Startup:

1. The name of the Startup requires to be legal and now not breaking other legal rights.

The Name you thought on your Startup requires to no longer violate the rights of an already surviving enterprise.  For this persistence, one can take the help of specialized or trained Startup lawyer. You may not need to fall inside the pit of criminal disputes at the inception of the commercial enterprise. Search to the following level and conduct a no-warfare, unfastened trademark search to match if your call is available to be used and not a certified trademark.

2. Collect all of the data associated with the employment Laws

Proper data on employment legal guidelines permits one to understand the legal rights and liabilities in numerous complicated situations. It is necessary to apprehend the law before taking law in hands. Startups were exempted from inspection by way of hard work inspectors for up to a few years in the event that they provide self-assertion for compliance with the nine hard work laws. Startups may be inspected on the basis of a written complaint filed for violation challenge to the approval of as a minimum 1 level senior to the Inspecting Officer.

3. Trademark Protection for the name of the organization, the name needs to be ‘Trademarkable’

Trademark method a mark capable of being represented graphically and that’s capable of distinguishing the goods or offerings of 1 man or woman from those of others and may consist of the form of products, their packaging, and the aggregate of colors.

Read more >> https://www.smeventure.com/legal-aspects-for-a-startup-in-india-every-entrepreneur-must-know/

New Technologies Worth Investing In

By: Michael J Foycik Jr. 
October 2, 2013
The author is a patent attorney with over 28 years experience in patents and trademarks. For further information, please email at IP1lwyr@gmail.com, or call at 877-654-3336.

You want to find the hot new technologies, and invest in them.  Smart!

When a techology gets “old” there are too many companies in it, driving down profits.  And, people get tired of new product announcements in old technologies.  For example, when was the last time you got excited about an ad for tires?  Yet there was a time when many people would get excited about such an ad.

So, what's hot?  What has an open field ahead of it?  What has room for growth?  It really is possible to answer those questions, if you know how.  Here are a few tips.

First tip: find a field that has not been updated lately.  If it is in the news every day, though, chances are it is very updated.  For example, solar power is updated.  Cell phones too, and cameras, and televisions sets.

So what hasn't been updated?  What has a real future?  Easy!

Tip one: look at change.  For example, natural gas has dropped in price, and vast reserves have been discovered.  This means a sharp downward trend in natural gas prices.  What products will benefit?  We know that natural gas is even safe in the home, so anything goes.  Good fields for investment therefore will be anything that uses natural gas, yet hasn't been widely sold and has few competitors in the field.  If only we could discover what those products are!

It turns out that we CAN find those products.  Specifically, you CAN find what new things use natural gas, which companies are making them, and many other worthwhile details.  Here's how, so keep reading.

You can locate those products and the companies of interest, using patents as your guide.  That's not too hard – you can search on any patent site and limit your search to just the current year and a specific search term.  Easy!  And, issued patents often show the Assignee, i.e. the company that owns it.

Read more >> http://internationalpatentservice.com/New-Technologies-Worth-Investing-In.html

5 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MISTAKES THAT COULD COST YOUR BUSINESS MORE THAN JUST MONEY

By: Kelley Keller

Every business has intellectual property that has the potential to become extremely valuable, but if you don’t protect it from the very beginning, you could face big problems down the road. Not only could you end up in legal trouble, but you could also lose opportunities to expand your brand into new verticals, industries, and locations!

Unfortunately, I see it happen all the time. Entrepreneurs and business owners neglect investing the time and money into putting the right safeguards in place to effectively protect their intellectual property. Instead, they focus on short-term gains. After all, if they’re not making money, they can’t keep their doors open!

It’s not surprising that things like intellectual property protection, which doesn’t bring in new revenue immediately, is dropped to the bottom of the priority list, but trust me, this is a big mistake that is more than likely to come back and cause big problems later.

Here are five intellectual property mistakes that entrepreneurs often make which you should avoid at all costs because the long-term damage could cost you your entire business!

1. PICKING THE WRONG NAME FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Don’t settle on a business name until you’re certain that you can use it now and in the future. In other words, you need to do a comprehensive trademark search to ensure the business name you want to use doesn’t conflict with any existing trademarks.

You also need to make sure the name can scale with your business, so think long-term. How might your business grow in the future? Pick a name that won’t conflict with other trademarks today or in the future. In other words, pick a name that will stand the test of time.

2. USING A DOMAIN NAME WITHOUT MAKING SURE IT DOESN’T CONFLICT WITH EXISTING TRADEMARKS

Just because you can register a domain name doesn’t mean that you can use it to promote or sell your products and services. If someone else owns the trademark rights to the name used in your domain name, and your use of the name could cause confusion in consumers’ minds as to what company is actually selling the products and services you’re offering, then you could be accused of trademark infringement.

If you are, in fact, infringing on someone else’s trademark by using their registered mark in your domain name, then all of the money and time you’ve invested into building awareness of that domain and traffic to your website will be thrown out the window (unless you can strike up some kind of co-existence or licensing agreement with the trademark owner).

3. FAILING TO GET THE LEGAL RIGHTS TO YOUR LOGO

Did you know that paying for logos, illustrations, images, or other graphic designs does not necessarily mean that you own the copyright to them?  While paying for the service is important, you must also be sure that the designer has assigned the copyrights rights to you in writing.  Many design services include an assignment of rights in their terms of use, but not all of them do.  And, many independent graphic designers do not transfer rights in their contracts, so be sure you follow up with a proper agreement.

Read more >> http://kelleykeller.com/5-intellectual-property-mistakes-that-could-cost-your-business-more-than-just-money/