Intellectual Property News

March 2007 Newsletter

Continuing the patent application process
In general a complete or non-provisional patent application covering a single invention is filed, reviewed by an examiner and either allowed or rejected. However, in some cases it may be desirable to file a continuation patent. A continuation patent application generally does not add any new information about the invention to be patented (referred to as the "disclosures"); rather, a continuation application typically broadens the "claims" of the application, which are the aspects of the invention for which patent protection is sought. The need for a continuation application often arises when a patent application is rejected because the claims are overly broad and seek protection for aspects of an invention that may not be patented for one reason or another. In such a case, the patent applicant will narrow the claims of the original patent in order to satisfy the patent examiner and then refine the broader claims in the continuation application. The advantage of a continuation application is that it takes the priority date that was established by the original ("parent") application and still give the inventor a chance to obtain patent protection. If you think you would like to discuss the requirements of a continuation application, please contact one of our experienced patent attorneys. More...

Deciding to Patent Trade Secrets?
By enacting patent laws and providing patent protection to inventors, the U.S. Congress made the decision to encourage the disclosure of new inventions by helping inventors protect their invention. The inventor of matter eligible for patent protection must, therefore, elect whether to avail himself or herself of such protection, accepting the disclosure obligations, or decide to keep the information secret, relying upon the protection extending to trade secrets under common law and certain statutes. Depending on the situation, one or the other may be an obvious choice, in other situations the choice may not be as easy. For instance, if the discovery is to be embodied in a product that will be sold, patent protection may be the better choice. If you have questions about whether to patent something or leave it as a trade secret, contact one of our attorneys to help explain the benefits of both. More...

Protecting Trademarks under Common Law
Trademark rights arise in the United States from the actual use of the mark. Thus, if a product is sold under a brand name, common law trademark rights have been created. This is especially true once consumers view the brand name as an indicator the product's source. Common law marks are marks protected because they have been adopted and used, and the public recognizes the products or services identified by the mark as coming from a particular source. The term "common law" indicates that the trademark rights that are developed through use are not governed by statute. Instead, common law trademark rights have been developed under a judicially created scheme of rights governed by state law. If you have a question about your common law trademark rights, contact one of our trademark attorneys to discuss protecting or enforcing your trademark rights. More...

Protecting Trademarks Abroad
With the advent of a global economy, foreign trademark protection is important. The need to obtain, maintain, and enforce trademark rights on a multilateral basis is becoming imperative because many United States companies look to markets beyond the borders of the United States. Unfortunately, obtaining and maintaining trademark rights abroad is often a time-consuming, costly, and complicated process. Further, the enforcement of such rights in some countries is virtually nonexistent. In addition, obtaining international protection based upon your United States trademark may have some time limitations. If you are interested in obtaining international trademark protection, contact one of our Trademark attorney's to schedule an appointment More...

Copyright Protection in General
Copyright protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed. If you have questions about whether something is or is not protected under the Copyright laws of the United States, contact one of our attorneys to review your rights under the copyright laws. More...

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