Intellectual Property Advice

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER – HOW TO KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR INFRINGERS


When you own property rights like patents or trademarks, you have the right to stop infringers.  But only if you know they exist. Often an infringer will be operating below your radar and will come to your attention only late in the game, when the infringer is entrenched and reluctant to back off. How can we detect infringers as quickly as possible, so that their response  [...]

THE LOVE SHOW??


On approach to NASGW No, it’s nothing to worry spouses of those of us who visit several industry gatherings per year.  But, there’s something special about NASGW.  I always used to say it’s the show they put on just for me, so I can meet with 100 clients in one practical venue, plus see other friends.  But something kept coming up in Pittsburgh last month when I  [...]

“SNOOPING INTO YOUR COMPETITORS’ BUSINESS PLANS”


(What Their Trademark Filings Reveal) Read on to see how this resolutely ties in to trademarks Every month on behalf of my clients, and to keep tabs on the industry, I personally search and review every trademark in the industry.  I like to know who’s filing what, and even who’s doing the filing.  I can sometimes get a peek behind the curtain when a major company  [...]

How To Preserve Your Patent Rights – Even Before You Can Afford To


My “Lifeboat” Patent Strategy Re-Explained Sometimes a topic is important enough to revisit after a few years.  This one reexamines the frequent question of how to “extend” a provisional patent application beyond its natural 12-month life. My readers all know that the smart start for a small inventor or a new company with an invention to protect is a  [...]

Pop Goes The Weasel


How to Beat the Weaselly Arguments From Your Competitor’s Patent Attorney... The “Keep Alive” Strategy Revealed Some Lawyers are Cuter than Others There’s nothing quite as sweet as when your patent application earns its “Notice of Allowance” and is about to become a patent. It means your invention was truly novel, and your patent attorney did a good job. In  [...]

Steel Spines Required


After the Mandalay Massacre* I must salute my friends and clients who produce innovative products that help guns go “bang” faster and better. It’s indisputable that select fire weapons are of great military usefulness, and even if these are effectively banned to the people the Second Amendment should be considered to protect bump-fire stocks, rotary trigger, and binary  [...]