On December 23rd, I ducked away from the family fun and checked my Facebook page only to find some firearms industry news with trademarks at the heart of the issue. Y’all know how I love trademarks, and will tell you that they might just be the most valuable asset of your company. But there are limits. And I believe those limits were embarrassingly exceeded in a PR [...]
Capturing the Future in a Can They call it the “Hearing Protection Act.” Not only is it an exciting possibility to expand gun rights, but it’s a fantastic illustration of how you should ready your business for revolutionary changes. It’s not unusual to see tantalizing proposals for legislation that promises to expand our gun rights. They usually go nowhere. [...]
The biggest legal news in the Intellectual Property Law world this month was the ruling that the owners of the rights to the song “Happy Birthday” could no longer collect royalties. The judge found that they owned not the rights to the composition itself, but only to an underlying arrangement. I recall hearing that Johnny Carson (Jay Leno’s predecessor for you kids [...]
Good news! You might qualify for reduced patent fees under new patent laws, thanks to a “gift” from Congress to small inventors. The bad news is that it might be too risky to enjoy the benefit. In a change in the patent laws, Congress created a “Micro Entity” status that provides reduced fees for the smallest inventors and start-up companies. Before, there were [...]
