A Patent is a Tool, not a Ticket
I hear too many people saying, “I’ve got this great idea. If I could just get it patented, I’d make a million dollars.” A patent isn’t a ticket into a life of luxury. It doesn’t mean squat if you don’t…
Patentable Subject Matter – Mayo v. Prometheus
An invention must be of the appropriate subject matter to be eligible for a patent. Appropriate subject matter includes, by statutory definition, a machine, article of manufacture, composition of matter, or process. For most inventions, the determination regarding whether the…
Insurance Extension Requests in Section 1(b) Trademark Applications
When an Section 1(b) intent-to-use trademark application receives a Notice of Allowance, the applicant has six months to file an acceptable statement of use to prove that the applied-for mark is being used in commerce. Applicants that fail to file…
Look For Advertising
I was in Santorini a few months ago and saw this sign. Clients frequently have trade dress aspects of their business that are worthy of protection, but they aren’t sure about how to advertise them. This sign illustrates a classic…
What to Get the Trademark Attorney in Your Life
I saw on TV the other day the perfect gift for your favorite trademark attorney or advertising executive. Test their subject matter knowledge with the LOGO board game. Spin Master, a Canadian company, has developed a game tapping into the marketing…
Patent Claims – An Analogy
Understanding patent claims is crucial when you are trying to understand what a patent is and what it can do for you as an inventor. I recently read in Mechanics of Patent Claim Drafting by John Landis a great, easy-to-comprehend…
Open Source Prosthetics Development
After listening to a fascinating interview of double-amputee Scott Rigsby on IM Talk, I began thinking about the world of prosthetics and how it relates to my career in patents. With nearly all medical devices, intellectual property protection can often…
Brand Bully Basement
Lara Pearson, operator of the brandGEEK website, has created an avenue for victims of trademark bullying. Those who feel they have been wrongly pushed around by someone exerting a little too much influence with a trademark can complain at Brand…
The Duty of Candor and Good Faith in Patent Applications
When a patent application is filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the applicant currently must sign a Declaration attesting to several things. First, that the applicant is the original and first inventor of the claimed subject matter….
Disclaimers in Trademark Office Actions
Disclaimers are a frequently raised issue by the Trademark Office. I see such rejections most often when a mark owner files the application himself and includes too much material in the mark, but they do occasionally arise when a trademark…