Intellectual Property News

October 2009 Newsletter

Patenting Useful Inventions
Under the Patent Act, a patent may be obtained for "any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof." The requirement that the subject of a patent be new is referred to as the novelty requirement; the requirement that the subject of a patent be useful is referred to as the utility requirement. If you have an invention and would like to determine if is patentable, call or email to schedule a meeting with one of our patent attorneys. More...

Patent Applications: Written Description
One of the most important aspects of the patent application is the written description requirement. Under the written description requirement, the applicant must provide a clear description of what is being claimed for patent protection. It is what the inventor hopes to receive in exchange for what the disclosure. The written description requirement may be satisfied by describing several elements, or claims. The claims define the boundaries of what is to be protected by a patent, and, in a patent infringement action, the analysis of whether a patent has been infringed will begin with a construction of the claims to determine what is protected by the patent. In addition, the written description of the invention serves the main objective of patent law by placing into the realm of public knowledge the new ideas embodied by the invention. If you feel you have rights that are being infringed, you should consider scheduling a meeting with one of our patent attorneys. More...

Trademark Priority
In the United States, subject to one exception, trademark rights arise from use in commerce, regardless of whether or not the mark is registered. The first user of a mark generally takes priority over all subsequent users with respect to use of the mark in that market. To help determine if a Mark is available for protection or to help register your Mark, please contact one of our Trademark Attorneys. More...

Passing Off under Trademark Law
In "passing off," a seller associates another party's mark with a good or service. The law of passing off concerns unfair competition more generally in situations where there does not need to be a registered trademark or any other intellectual property right. Where a second business does something so that the public is misled into thinking that the activity is associated with a first business and as a result the first business suffers some damage, then it may be possible for the first business to sue the second business for passing off. One area where passing off might apply is where a second person uses an unregistered trademark normally used by a first person and in so doing passes off, or represents, goods or services in such away that the public is deceived into thinking the goods or services are being offered by the first person. This area of law arises out of the common law rather than statute. If you have questions about this or any other aspect of trademark protection, contact one of our trademark attorneys for more information. More...

Copyrighting Collective Works
The Copyright Act defines a "collective work" as an assemblage into a collective whole of a number of individual contributions, each of which constitutes a separate and independent work, and gives as examples periodicals, anthologies, and encyclopedias. A collective work is also referred to as a "compilation." Under the Copyright Act, copyright in a collective work is distinguished from copyright in a contribution to the collective work. An author of a collective work has a copyright only in the material that he or she contributes to the collective work. The authors of the individual contributions to the collective work continue to hold the copyrights in those works. Contact a copyright specialists at The Intellectual Property Center for more information. More...

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