(And, the Hilarious Lawyer Letter I Never Got to Send) One of the things I love best about my work is working for creative inventors and firearms business owners. One of the things I love least is dealing with some of the “other” lawyers out there. The saga begins when one of my oldest and favorite clients had me file a trademark application to secure the trademark [...]
It’s a story I have told for years: I had lunch with a new client. He has some great technology, and a strong foundation for a new business. And I faced the too-frequent dilemma when confronted by a lousy trademark he wanted to adopt. Do I tell him my actual opinion, or do I salute and earn the reward of helping him register a weak brand name that will impair the [...]
Most people aren’t afraid to invest in what they need, but few people want to learn later that they overpaid, or didn’t get a good value. So even though it’s the first time I’ve been asked the question, I can understand why a careful entrepreneur would ask it. He’s simply asking: “Please tell me why I’m not a sucker to pay you what seems like ten times what [...]
As we approach the SHOT Show, it’s important to get your legal ducks in a row, to be sure you aren’t losing valuable rights, or weakening the rights you already have. Time is short so action may be urgent, but the action needed may be simpler, faster, and cheaper than you think. Pre-SHOT Patent Advice Preserve your patent rights. The best NDA is a pending patent [...]
TWO FAMILIAR WAYS TO PROTECT PRODUCT DESIGNS, PLUS A THIRD WAY YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF AND CAN UNDOUBTEDLY AFFORD. Everyone wants a patent. It’s perfectly logical to want to protect a new product. Technical innovations help set you apart in a crowded marketplace and a patent prevents anyone else from offering your innovation for 20 years. But let’s be honest, [...]
How My Crazy Trademark Strategy Revealed Tesla’s Woke Lawyers. I believe in covering your bases, and leaving yourself a backup. When filing a trademark application for my own business I’ve been known to file two in advance, and let the trademark examiners make my final choice. That’s how I ended up with “Hybrid” as the brand that conveys my patent-pending [...]
