Using A Mark You Cannot Trademark-be Careful
Posted on March 22, 2008 - Filed Under Legal and Law | Leave a Comment
When coming up with a logo or mark, there are plenty of options. Sometimes, people make a choice that cannot be trademarked and this leads to problems.
When you start a business, you probably have visions of huge success. At the same time, it can be difficult to plan for it when you are sitting in your home office or garage and just getting started. Unfortunately, this is when many of the most important steps are required to be taken. One is picking a mark to identify your products or services.
Read More..>>Intellectual Property - Patent Law, Copyrights, And Trademarks
Posted on March 16, 2008 - Filed Under Legal and Law | Leave a Comment
Patent law is intended to give a temporary monopoly to the inventor to make and sell his invention. The period of the patent is limited but it keeps others from making, using, selling or importing the product. It is a license that can be sold, assigned or transferred. A patent is only good in the country where it is issued so patents must be obtained in all desired countries.
A patent is for a specific length of time. It is usually twenty years. When a patent reaches its expiration date the use of the invention is open to all interested parties. Annual renewal fees are to be paid each year during the term of the patent.
Read More..>>Patenting System - A Historic Perspective
Posted on March 14, 2008 - Filed Under Legal and Law | Leave a Comment
News items flooding from our daily information sources on patents, company law suits, intellectual property rights, and the like would make one believe that the system of patenting is quite young. On the contrary, history of patenting dates back to more than five hundred years.
Read More..>>Are You Prepared To Face The Patent Office As It Is Going To Grant Only Narrow Patents?
Posted on March 14, 2008 - Filed Under Legal and Law | Leave a Comment
Chemical and pharmaceutical companies protect their investment in research and development and the future of the companies by securing patents on their inventions. Success or failure of the company often depends on the strength of the patent or in its ability to resist competition.
Recently, the United States Patent and Trademark Office proposed changes to the way patents will be processed with a view to reduce patent Examiner’s work load. These changes could drastically limit the company’s ability to secure strong patents. Under the current practice, if the company is not happy with the Examiner’s refusal to grant a patent, the company can file one, two, or more continuation patent applications so that additional exchanges can take place between the applicant and the Examiner.
Read More..>>Intellectual Property: Patents – Drafting With Reasonable Care And Skill
Posted on March 7, 2008 - Filed Under Legal and Law | Leave a Comment
In the case of Unilin Beheer BV v Berry Floor NV & Ors, Information Management Consultancy Ltd, B&Q plc (2005), the courts ruled that the faulty drafting of a patent application did not amount to lack of reasonable care and skill.
Unilin, the claimant, applied for a patent for a floor covering and the application succeeded. Unilin then became aware of prior art which made it necessary for it to amend the patent application by reducing the scope of the main claim. Unilin also amended the body of the specification so that the text and drawings conformed to the main claim.
Read More..>>Intellectual Property Will Soon Be History
Posted on March 3, 2008 - Filed Under Legal and Law | Leave a Comment
It is not too risky to affirm that intellectual property will soon be History.
Rules designed for the paper era are not useful, enforceable and cost-economic in the
Web era.
Here are a few reasons:
1) Intellectual property is not designed for the Web times
I strongly believe that intellectual property will soon be history, not because
Anarchism will succeed over Capitalism, but because the Net Economy will find new ways
to control ownership of words and patents.
Five Key Questions About Ip Help Increase Market Value And Improve Bottom Line Results
Posted on March 1, 2008 - Filed Under Legal and Law | Leave a Comment
Intellectual assets are critical to business success in today’s global market.
If you are a CEO, CFO, GC or other business leader, asking questions about these assets will help you to bring added value to your company.
Failure to consider these issues yields adverse business consequences, including unrealized value, unnecessary expense and legal risk.
Routine attention to intellectual asset management can avoid these consequences, yet many businesses miss this opportunity simply for lack of knowledge and attention.
Intellectual Assets
What are intellectual assets? Essentially these encompass all of the intangible assets of an enterprise.
Read More..>>Intellectual Property:trade Mark Infringement - Pharmaceutical Product - Exhaustion Of Rights
Posted on March 1, 2008 - Filed Under Legal and Law | Leave a Comment
In the case of Bolton Pharmaceutical Co 100 Limited -v- Swinghope Limited and Others [2005], the claimant was the new owner of a trade mark registered in respect of a pharmaceutical product which was commonly used to treat hypertension. It acquired the product from AZ, another pharmaceutical company, in September 2004, who had previously sold its trade mark rights to a Spanish company.
The claimant acquired the trade mark in the United Kingdom, and later realised that the product was being imported into the UK by certain third parties, including the defendant, and bearing its trade mark. They had not sought the claimant’s consent and the claimant therefore commenced proceedings alleging that the defendants were illegally impinging on its market and as a result, they were causing the claimant ‘harm’. The claimant applied for summary judgment.
Read More..>>Common Pitfalls Committed In Intellectual Property Due Diligence
Posted on February 29, 2008 - Filed Under Legal and Law | Leave a Comment
1. TOO LATE TO START FILING US AND INTERNATIONAL PATENT
APPLICATIONS.
Unfortunately, for many good technology companies, it may be too late to file for patent protection. The current U.S. rule generally provides applicants with a 1-year grace period during which a patent application must be filed after certain public or private disclosure of the invention. Such disclosure may arise, for example, from a mere “offer for sale” of the technology, even if the product has not yet been built or prototyped. In comparison, the foreign rule, which applies to many industrialized jurisdictions, such as Japan and various European countries, do not give applicants the benefit of any grace period after a public disclosure has occurred. Thus, it is legally compelling for applicants to consider filing for patent protection sooner than later. Although in some situations, there may be some special exception, which still allows for late filings; it is not advisable for applicants to count on those exceptions.
Read More..>>Intellectual Property: Counterfeiting - Government Consultation
Posted on February 26, 2008 - Filed Under Legal and Law | Leave a Comment
Intellectual Property (”IP”) crime (counterfeiting and piracy as it is more widely known), has grown considerably over the past 10 years and is reported to have serious economic effects both in the UK and globally. Ineffective enforcement of intellectual property rights (”IPRs”) is a significant cost to industry in terms of damage to innovation and wealth creation.
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