Business

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  [...]

SHOT SHOW 2018


The Health of the Industry? First, my immune system is checking in “safe” after returning from the Show. I think there was much more health consciousness and courtesy at this show than ever before as we all come to grips with the fact that the show is unmissable even for the ailing, but one we each need to survive. I’d like to thank all those who offered fist bumps or  [...]

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  [...]

How to be Truly Ready for the SHOT Show


When anyone in the gun industry gets a whiff of pumpkin pie, their gut tightens a bit because they know how much work they have to do to get ready for the SHOT Show. It’s that time of year. The calendar may say there’s a couple of months, but with Christmas and all the pre-SHOT chores there isn’t much time at all. You probably had your rooms booked right after the  [...]

NASGW Down SHOT Up


The Impeccably-Tailored Kelly McMillan Boldly Sports Cutting-Edge Mismatched Sneakers in San Antonio. It’s like they gather the industry and put on a convention just for yours truly. The NASGW Expo is a special favorite industry gathering. I “discovered” it only in more recent years, and have grown quite fond of it. It seems to include just about everyone I hope to  [...]

Why My Client Thanked Me When I Told Him His Baby Was Ugly


Because I’m constantly advising clients having branding challenges to read this old newsletter article, I decided to break my rule against reruns. Based on the feedback I have gotten, this may be one of the most valuable articles I have written in a long time. I hope you think it’s a “keeper” even the second time around. Guess who kept Daddy too busy to write a  [...]