Differences Between Copyrights, Patents and Trademarks
Trademarks vs. Copyright vs. Patent These three areas of the law are vastly different, yet there is overlap between them. In some instances, more than one of these may apply to the product or item that you wish to make and/or sell. In this text our intellectual property attorneys will explain how these are different […]
Trademark Definition, What It Protects, Symbols, Example
The Definition of a Trademark A trademark functions as an indicator of source for a good or a service. That is, it can be a word, a logo, a slogan, a sound, a color, product packaging, or a product configuration that, when attached to a good or service, allows for a consumer to identify the […]
Can I Sell My Trademark or License It to Someone Else?
Yes. Generally, a Federal Trademark Registration can be licensed or can be sold to someone else. By way of example, a trademark registration can be licensed to another party on an exclusive or a non-exclusive basis. And, such licenses can be complete, or can be restricted. For example, there may be a restriction on goods […]
What Are Common Law Trademark Rights and State Registration of Trademarks?
A common law trademark is another name for an unregistered trademark. A person has common law trademark rights when they start to use a trademark in connection with the sale of any goods or services. While these are rights which essentially happen automatically with the starting of use in connection with sales, common law rights […]
How long will it take for a Federal Trademark Application to mature into a Federal Trademark Registration?
Currently, the USPTO process for a trademark application takes between 9 and 20 months, however, results in the examination phase may alter this timeline.
What is the Benefit of Federal Trademark Registration in the United States?
Benefits of a US Federal Trademark Registration If trademark rights accrue through use, and you have started to use a trademark in association with certain goods and services, then you are fully covered, right? Wrong. Use alone is not the best practice for establishing trademark rights. Nor, is the filing of one or more State […]
Can you trademark something that already exists, but is not being used?
How to Use a Previously Trademarked Product If a similar mark is currently Federally Registered, all hope is not lost. And there are a number of different factual situations, and a number of different legal considerations. For example, it may be that the mark that is Federally Registered is slightly different or for unrelated goods […]
Can I Obtain a Patent but keep my Invention Confidential at Least During the Patent Application Process and Possibly Beyond?
The Meaning of a Patent Publication Prior to the 2000’s, patent applications in the United States were maintained in secrecy unless and until they issued as patents. Starting in the early 2000’s the United States started to publish all US patent applications 18 months after the filing date. These are known as patent publications. The […]
How Do Patents Encourage Innovation and Why do we need Patents?
Incentives for Innovators to Share their Patent Ideas Patents grant time limited monopolies in exchange for an inventor providing the details of the invention to the public. The inventor is given an incentive (the monopoly) in exchange for sharing innovation. Such public providing of the details of an invention spearheads further innovation by others that […]
