Intellectual Property News
June 2008 Newsletter
Timely
Filing of a Patent
When
filing a patent application, it is very important to remember
that if the patent is not filed timely, the inventor will
forever forfeit their patent rights. Patent protection
is provided in the U.S. by federal law through the United
States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and gives a
patent owner the right to exclude others from making,
using, selling, distributing or importing the patented
invention for a certain period of time. Only certain things
may be patented, and there are several requirements that
an invention must meet in order to be eligible to receive
patent protection. If you have questions about filing
for a patent, contact one of our patent attorneys for
more information. More...
Liability
for Indirect Patent Infringement
Patent
rights are created by federal law and give an inventor
the right to exclude others from making, using, selling,
offering for sale, or importing a patented invention without
the inventor's permission. Violating these rights by making,
using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the patented
invention without the inventor's permission is said to
directly infringe the patent. Under direct liability the
patent owner may be able to sue the infringer for infringing.
In addition to direct liability, patent law also provides
liability for indirect patent infringement. If you think
your patent may have been infringed upon, contact one
of our patent litigators to discuss your concerns.
More...
Establishing
& Perfecting Trademark Rights
The
legal basis for protecting trademarks derives from a combination
of state common law and federal statutory law. Actual
use of most kinds of trademarks establishes protectable
trademark rights under common law. However, if the use
is made in interstate commerce, the user may apply for
federal trademark registration in the United States Patent
and Trademark Office (USPTO). Federal registration offers
important substantive rights such as constructive notice
and prima facie evidence of ownership and validity. If
you have questions about this or any other aspect of filing
or enforcing your trademark, contact one of our trademark
attorneys for more information. More...
Infringement
for Consumer Confusion
Trademark
law seeks to proactively prevent consumer confusion; thus
it does not require proof of actual consumer confusion
in order for infringement to occur. All that is necessary
is that the trademark owner proves that a hypothetical,
"reasonably prudent" consumer would likely be
confused by the use of the same or a similar trademark
on potentially competing products. If you think your trademark
may have been infringed, contact one of our trademark
attorneys for more information. More...
Musical
Works as Copyright Subject Matter
The copyright
law of the United States provides for copyright protection
in "musical works," including any accompanying
words, which are fixed in a tangible medium of expression.
With music, both the lyrics and the musical composition
itself are copyrightable expressions. Musical works include
both original compositions and original arrangements or
improvements to earlier works. In general, the owner of
a copyright in a work has the exclusive right to make
copies, to prepare derivative works, to sell or distribute
copies, and to perform the work publicly. Anyone else
wishing to use the work must have the permission of the
author. If you have questions about filing for a
copyright, please contact one of our copyright attorneys
for more information.
More...
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