Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights

What are they and do you need one or all of them? Here are some brief definitions and information:

What is a Patent?
The standard legal definition is "A right to sue." It's an investment vehicle in terms of being a marketing document or a bargaining chip. Basically, if you apply for and are assigned an actual patent, you simply have the right to sue someone who produces or claims any rights to your intellectual property.

There are two types of Patents; Utility and Design.

• Utility: New composition, manufacture, or method. Inventing or recreating how something functions or works.
• Design: Just that, something that already exists and you are creating a new look.

What is a Trademark?
A name, phrase, or logo. A trademark is an indicator of the source of something. You can use a trademark for goods or services (TM or SM). Once your trademark have been accepted and registered, you would use the circle-R in place of the TM or SM.

There are some basic requirements for obtaining a trademark. The name must be sufficiently new - this often requires a preliminary search with the USPTO. It can't be confusingly similar and not descriptive.

What is a Copyright?
An automatic right to duplication. A copyright occurs when a work of art is created. With formal registration, others can't copy the work.

Copyright requirements are minimal. You can post your work as copyrighted by just marking it with the circle-C, the year it was created, and owner. You can also note, "All rights reserved." You do need to register your work with the USPTO to be able to actually go after someone for copyright infringements.

Interesting note; you can copyright an invention as a work of art and this is beneficial in preventing knock-offs from other countries trying to import them into the US.

In a nutshell:

• Patent - Product
• Trademark - Name
• Copyright - Writings

Excerpted from the works of The Luther Law Firm. http://www.thelutherlawfirm.com/

Catch 'Ya Friday!

Hi guys,

I've got a summer bug. I don't know where it came from, but the sooner it's gone, the happier I'll be. I have so much to share with all of you. On Friday, I'll pick back up with the legal stuff with regard to patents, trademarks, and copyrights. For now, I'm stay'n close to the littlest room in the house!

I'm Tired and Inspired!

Welcome to a new week!

I'm pooped! I had the most amazing weekend and now I'm both inspired and exhausted. This weekend was the Mind to Market seminar in Oakland with Amilya Antonetti. In a nutshell, this was an intensive weekend of segmented education on everything from taking action on a good idea; from how the retail stores really accept new products (how much that costs to even be considered), to finding money to get started, legal stuff regarding patents, trademarks, copyrights, and accounting. Should you be a sole proprietor? A C-corp? An S-corp? A LLC? And then when you figure that out, is your product something you need to brand? Talk about an esoteric topic! Marketing, Public Relations, Creating the Perfect Pitch or better yet, knowing not to pitch and how to build a great working relationship instead. There was even a class on being open to changing the way you think about everything!

I felt like I went into the weekend with lots to learn, but also well on my way. Yeah, right! I not only have so much more to think about, re-think, undo, do differently, and some stuff I'm not going to do at all. It's hard to believe that I could be happy having my glove world picked up, taken apart, shaken vigorously, and all the pieces handed back to me. All the way home in the car, I felt like quitting. As I got home and thought about telling Dave, "Oh well, it was a fun little adventure, now I'm getting a regular job." all I could do was go to bed. Today, I'm still tired, but I'm ready to get back to work. To use the new tools and information to create this dream. So now it's back to the drawing board with all new, better quality paper, paint, tools, and a big dose of, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I know I can."

I'm Off to See the Wizard(s)!

This is my M2M (Mind to Market) weekend in Oakland. Go back to the August 7th post where I told you all about it. When I come home on Sunday night, I will give you a full update for Monday's post.

Do you have an idea? Is there something you need that you can't find? What about something you use that could be better? These are all the simmering of a roaring boil! Go! Start! Do it!

Will the Olympics Improve IP Protection in China?

Guest Writer, By Peter Skoutelas and Barbara Luther

With the Olympic Games beginning in China, we found the following information. China has historically had a culture of sharing and copying any new creation. This poses many issues with intellectual property protection and enforcement. China is working on changing this culture, which may benefit you.

Barbara J. Luther, Esq.

Change is in the wind for the protection of intellectual property rights in China-due in no small part to the Olympic Games in Beijing. To protect government owned Olympic Intellectual Property rights, the Chinese have started a program to educate the public on counterfeits.

Olympic Intellectual Property rights include Olympic symbol exclusive rights, trademark rights, and copyrights. All Beijing Olympic licensed products are authorized to be sold by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, or BOCOG. In November 2005, the BOCOG licensing program was launched. The program included 70 manufacturing and 80 retail companies. During the games, there will be approximately 10,000 licensed stores throughout China. These stores sell, among others, pins, stationary, toys, bags, arts and crafts, daily use products, audio and video products, sport utilities, food and more. In all, the products incorporate 600 designs, spanning 11 categories of licensed products. It would be no surprise to learn that thousands of vendors in China are actively selling from unauthorized commercial use of the Olympic Symbols. The products they’re selling illegally depict the Olympic Symbols along with Fuwa, the Beijing Olympic mascots. The Chinese government has started to realize the amount of money they stand to lose, after witnessing the 2004 Athens Games generate $61.5 million in revenues from the sale of licensed Olympics merchandise.

As a consequence, IP protection activity by the Chinese government has picked up recently and is proceeding along multiple fronts. Enforcement has included investigations by the authorities uncovering over 1,500 cases of violations
involving Beijing Olympic slogans, logos, and other trademarks. As a result,BOCOG, together with the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department, are determined to crack-down on unlicensed vendors who are pirating CDs, DVDs, and counterfeit Olympic products. Public education, including an anti-counterfeiting hotline promoted everywhere from TV to bumper stickers, has made the protection of Olympic IP a community cause. With the public tuned in, the authorities have begun receiving much needed help in cracking down on illegal goods bearing Olympic trademarks.

The Olympics Games bring the countries of the world together, to compete, to showcase their pride, and to enrich us all with their culture. Beijing 2008 will be an important test for the Chinese to lay to rest allegations and concerns from other countries. The Chinese government has had a sophisticated awareness of these issues for some time and has been quietly, patiently, laying the foundation for effective detection, adjudication, and application of legal remedies in protecting intellectual property rights. Finally, this is their chance to enforce respect of Intellectual Property rights and encourage acknowledgement of the unique products of others.

What do we recommend for protecting your Intellectual Property in China? Because the Chinese government is educating its citizens to reject fakes and is applying IP law against infringers, we are more optimistic for coverage. Keep in mind also that the rapid growth of the Chinese economy, combined with improvements in the IP enforcement regime, will in the coming years compound the value of patents, trademarks, and copyrights covering Chinese territory.
Finally, one thing is certain: if you don’t file in China, you’ll have no Chinese intellectual property rights to protect!

Call us to discuss your particular situation.
The Luther Law Firm, PLC © 2008 All Rights Reserved
10575 N 114th Street, Suite 103 Scottsdale, AZ 85259
Phone 480.344.7745 Fax 480.344.7748
www.TheLutherLawFirm.com bjl@thelutherlawfirm.com

The Luther Law Firm makes available this information for general informational purposes only. This information is not intended as legal advice. Moreover, no attorney-client relationship is created through your receipt or use of this information. Do not act upon them without first seeking legal counsel. Further, the information is general and may not apply to particular factual or

Still on Patents

There is so much to talk about and consider on this topic, you could probably blog on this subject alone!

So what did you come up with? Will you patent or not? I learned something else on this in terms of getting your product to market. Let's just assume you have a good idea and you choose not to get a patent. I'm certain you plan to put out a product that's the highest quality, best you can produce. In your plans, provide for a product that's a little less in terms of quality, make some minor changes, maybe not so many color choices, and produce and sell it for less. Yes! Knock yourself off! You heard me right, don't leave it to the Asians (meaning China), or even Wal Mart, make a less superior product, get it in the discount stores and collect your money for both the high and low end of your market!

The reality is, someone will do what you are doing. They will do it quickly, and they will have markets who will sell for them even though they may not have the rights to your intellectual property. You know that your patent is only as strong as your wallet is thick to protect it. My thoughts are do it first, do it best, do it twice, and have people think of you as the original. That way, even when someone is asking for the generic, they will ask for a "Coke." See what I'm saying?

Let's Take a Break!

So in reading back through the last couple of weeks, it feels to me like my posts have all be very matter of fact. I guess I want to share as much with you as I can, and it's hard to do that in a chit-chatty sort of way.

I went to a meeting Wednesday evening for a group called Parent Innovators. This is a group of women who are at all stages of ideas, development, licensing, manufacturing, and sales. The thing I thought was so wonderful about these women is that they're taking action to make their lives better. What more can I say? So many women, and people in general, want more out of life, but they're not willing to do the hard work. I hear all day long about people who don't have time or money, or both! Whatever you think, you're right!

There were two women at this meeting who are single moms (maybe more, but two I'm sure of), that want to take control of their lives, their finances, and do what they love. I applaud them. That's the point I'm getting to, if you find something that's born from your creative energy, you'll love to work on it. Making the extra hours in the day happen will be what you look forward to, instead of one more thing on your to-do list. I have sometimes thought, how can there be anything out there left to invent? In fact, there are so many things you could create to make life easier, fix a problem, fill a need, or even just do something better than it's currently being done.

So, chime in with some questions. Tell me what you think of what I'm learning & sharing and if its interesting and of use to you. I can't wait until the day that I'm really the expert, and can share what I know to empower men and women to make the time to chase their dreams. It's certainly not the easy road, but I suspect the most rewarding!