On November 1, 2023, the US Supreme Court will hear a trademark case that pits 1st Amendment Law against Trademark law and NIL rights. The case involves a challenge to a provision of the Lanham Act that prohibits the registration of trademarks of a person without their consent.
Patent Priority Filing a patent is required to not only obtain priority over later inventors but also to prevent patent rights from being lost as a result of the Patent On Sale Bar Doctrine. Patent rights are based on priority. Generally, patent rights go to the first inventor. However, as a result of the American Read more about File Patent Applications Quickly to avoid On Sale Bar[…]
Learning about a Patent One of the most common questions we get is, “What does a patent actually do?” To understand what a patent does, it helps to first understand what a patent doesn’t do. A patent doesn’t give a patent owner the right to make, use or practice their invention. A patent give the Read more about What Does a Patent Actually do?[…]
Trademarking Domain Names In a win for a business owner, the Supreme Court recently held that a company’s website which used a .com ending was protectable as a trademark, reversing the decision of the trademark office. Booking.com had attempted to register its domain, Booking.com and the USPTO rejected the application claiming it was generic. The Read more about Trademark Office looses Challenge, Website Owner Gets Trademark[…]
Inventions by Computers Computers are now capable of helping with many of our daily and routine tasks. Computers are also being used to solve some of our most difficult and complex problems. In some cases this is done without human interaction as part of an artificial intelligence system. Recently, the USPTO said these computers are Read more about Patent Applications Limited to Human Inventors, not SkyNet[…]
Patent maintenance fees are mandatory fees that must be paid to the Patent Office to keep a utility patent alive. If you have questions about your patent, please contact the IPCenter.
Cost of a Patent One of the first questions from inventors is how much does a patent cost. The answer, unfortunately varies. You can file your own patent for as little as a few hundred dollars. However, because of the complexity and potential value most people prefer to have a patent attorney file a patent Read more about How Much does a Patent Cost[…]
Based on the trademark issues when Washington decided to change their football team’s name, you should follow the following 5 steps when choosing a new trademark.
A strong intellectual property strategy can provide long-term success. However, there are many misunderstandings about the patent process which can contribute to a weak intellectual property strategy.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that previously rejected trademark registrations which were refused as being immoral or scandalous violates the First Amendment.