Intellectual Property

Patent Protections: Wright or Wrong?

May 20 2021

Were the famous brothers patent trolls? Or just entrepreneurs trying to be compensated for their hard work and ingenuity? The 115th Anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ first issued patent, U.S. 821,393 entitled “Flying Machine” is upon us. Orville and Wilbur … →

Posted in Intellectual Property

Spinning Out of Control: Peloton’s Attempts to Cancel a Trademark Bully

Mar 10 2021

Have you attended a spin class at your local gym or health club? Or are you immersed in the more timely, sanitary home-spinning craze? Have you related either of these activities to a company called Mad Dogg Athletics, Inc.?   Likely not. However, Mad Dogg owns several US trademark registrations, including Registration No. … →

Posted in Intellectual Property, Legal Watch

How Scammers Target Your Employees to Steal Your Trade Secrets

Feb 25 2021

Employee Training and Education Is Key To Avoiding Online Scams What are Trade Secrets? For confidential information to be classified as a trade secret, it must not be generally known (i.e. it is only known and used by you) or … →

Posted in Intellectual Property, Legal Watch

5 Tips — Protecting The Photographer’s Copyrights Online

Nov 23 2020

Photographers are especially vulnerable to theft of their work. Unfortunately, artists of all types have their work wrongfully copied and used without their consent on a regular basis, and in this age of Internet and Instagram, photographers can be especially … →

Posted in Intellectual Property, Legal Watch

Copyright Registration For Blogs and Social Media Posts Just Got Easier

Sep 11 2020

U.S. Copyright Office Issues New Rule for “Group Registration of Short Online Literary Works” (GRTX) Are you a prodigious blogger?  Are you an influencer?  Do your social media posts garner lots of “likes”? This is because your content is great, … →

Posted in Intellectual Property

Read the Terms of Service on Social Media Sites

Apr 29 2020

By Posting to A Social Media Site, You Agree to the Terms of Service While social media was prevalent before the COVID-19 crisis, it is even more vital now as our only means of interacting with friends/family, current customers, and … →

Posted in COVID-19 Updates, Intellectual Property, Legal Watch

Blackbeard, Copyright Fair Use, and the COVID-19 Crisis

Apr 07 2020

ARRRRRR!! There was an important US Supreme Court case Allen vs. Cooper (no. 18-877) decided on March 23, 2020. It struck down the Copyright Remedy Clarification Act (CRCA) which allowed copyright owners to sue States for copyright infringement (using another’s … →

Posted in COVID-19 Updates, Intellectual Property, Legal Watch

USPTO extends filing deadlines

Apr 02 2020

USPTO Extends Certain Responsive Filing Deadlines to June 1, 2020. Responsive filings due between and inclusive of March 27 and May 31, 2020 are extended to June 1, 2020. The new notices supersede the previously posted: “Notice of Waiver of … →

Posted in COVID-19 Updates, Intellectual Property, Legal Watch

Intellectual Property Goals For 2020

Jan 07 2020

Do You Have 2020 IP Vision? If you own a business, you use intellectual property (IP), whether it is your own or someone else’s. Your 2020 IP goals should include: 1) determine what IP you own and how/if you are properly … →

Posted in Intellectual Property, Legal Watch

Data Privacy Issues For Emerging Businesses

Aug 02 2019

Start-ups and emerging businesses need a detailed privacy policy and data privacy plan in place from the outset. Data Privacy Issues Basics: Data privacy is the relationship between the collection and dissemination of data, along with the determination of what … →

Posted in Intellectual Property, Legal Watch