Patent Trademark 2

Small business owners learn many lessons the hard way - through
the school of hard knocks. I recently experienced my own tough
lesson concerning the importance trademarking my business name.
Like many solo-entrepreneurs on a tight budget, the thought of
trademarking my business name was not high on my priority list.
Had I placed more importance on it, I might have saved myself
some anxious moments, not to mention a few hundred dollars in
attorney fees!

As a member of a couple different virtual assistant membership
organizations, I often look with interest at other VA’s business
names and website URL’s. One day I noticed a new member
announcement for one of the groups and saw a listing for VA
Office Solutions. Now this one hit a little too close to

home for me - after all, my business name is VA Office Solution. I also noticed that she had a domain name to match.

Continue Reading »

Technology patents stifle innovation. You may have heard this, and the arguments surrounding it, since the first software patents were issued. Until now, however, the average individual in the United States has not noticed really noticed the reach that intellectual property law protection has in their everyday lives. After all, one does not miss innovation that has been crushed prior to the product’s shipment into the supply chain. The “wouldn’t it be nice if we had something like this” thought doesn’t normally result in a search for that item just to find that someone tried to develop it but was stopped either by being threatened with the high cost of patent infringement, threats of never

ending lawsuits based on copyright or other claims, or even threats of federal legislation that will leave their product useless.

Continue Reading »

After you ve applied for your trademark, there will be a waiting period of approximately 18 months before your name is actually registered with the United States Patent & Trademark Office (herein referred to as the USPTO). Until then, it will be listed as “Pending.” Sometimes there are hold-ups; the USPTO may not allow you to use the name you ve chosen to apply for because there is a similar name already trademarked. In this case, you will receive an “office action”, which is a notification from the USPTO. If you do receive an office action, it might be due to the USPTO simply needing more information in order to complete your trademark application. However, it also

may be because your name is blocked by another name, which is the worst case scenario, and another reason why it is incredibly important to purchase comprehensive research before you file for your name!

Continue Reading »

Focus of an Intellectual Property Audit
Each intellectual property audit should focus on four key areas. First, the attorney performing the audit needs to identify all the intellectual property assets within the organization being audited. Second, the attorney must identify any problems that exist with the intellectual property ownership. Third, the attorney must identify any defects in title or enforceability of the organization s intellectual property. Finally, the attorney must identify any unprotected intellectual property assets.

Continue Reading »

While some individuals choose to hire attorneys to walk them through the process of applying for a trademark, others choose to use a trademark research firm, which can cost thousands of dollars less. It is important to remember when hiring someone to do your research that they not only search through Federal and State trademark records for name similarities, but also Common-Law listings.

Many people are under the impression that they can perform their own comprehensive search utilizing the help of search engines, in addition to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (herein referred to as the USPTO). While it is a good idea to become familiar with the USPTO website, individuals sometimes believe that the

data they collect from this website is truly representative of the trademarked names which are currently being used. The USPTO s website is never a thorough way to search the name you re hoping to trademark! The website is not updated regularly, and in addition to this, you can ONLY search Federal trademark records on the USPTO, NOT State trademark records OR Common-Law records!

Continue Reading »