Trademark bullying, a troubling trend in intellectual property occurs when a trademark owner asserts its rights beyond reasonable bounds, often targeting smaller entities with legal threats or actions. This misuse of trademark enforcement tactics can stifle competition, deter innovation, and hinder legitimate uses of marks.

It disproportionately impacts startups. Small businesses and individuals who lack the resources to defend themselves against well-financed entities. Trademark bullying undermines the spirit of fair competition and the principle of trademark protection as a shield. Not a sword. Efforts to address trademark bullying include increased awareness, legal reforms to discourage abusive tactics, and support for affected parties through pro bono legal assistance and advocacy.

By standing against trademark bullying, we uphold the integrity of trademark law and promote a more equitable and vibrant marketplace for all. If you have more questions, I suggest consulting with an experienced trademark attorney.

There are treatises written on intellectual property valuation, and there are many different ways to do it. There, there’s a method which says, how did it change the market? What are the sales? There’s a part of it is what was the need for that product? And it, it’s quite complicated, and it’s an estimate.

Just like doing an appraisal on a piece of property. You can’t say what the exact number is, but it’s very important for companies especially, because this is part of the value of their company.

Intellectual property, be it patents, trademarks, copyrights, are property, and therefore there’s a value to them. And when you go to the bank to borrow money, or you have a merger, or you have people working for you, this becomes part of the value of your company. And an audit is where a particularly kind of accountant will be able to go in, they’re skilled in evaluating what your patent is worth, just like, for example, if they were to do an appraisal of your home, they would look at comparables.

Well, the same thing here. They look at the market. They see why, what value might be attached to your patent. Who has something like it? Has your patent changed the market? Have your sales changed because you have that particular patent? And this evaluation becomes part of the value of your business.

And an audit will try to estimate what your patent portfolio is worth.

Trademark counterfeiting is when a third party sells goods under another party’s trademark. Trademark counterfeiting is a pervasive and detrimental practice that undermines the integrity of brands and possesses significant risk to consumers and businesses alike. Counterfeit goods are often of inferior quality and may pose health and safety hazards when compared to branded products.

Beyond economic losses to legitimate businesses, counterfeiting erodes consumer trust and confidence in the marketplace. It’s a global issue that transcends borders. Combating counterfeiting requires coordinated effort with law enforcement agency, but starts with obtaining a registered trademark.

A registered trademark is the basis for starting the process of removing counterfeit goods from the market. If you have more questions, I suggest consulting with an experienced trademark attorney.

Copyrights and trademarks are both essential tools for protecting intellectual property, but they serve distinct purposes. A copyright safeguards original works of authorship, such as literary, artistic, and musical creations, providing exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, and display the work. It protects the expression of ideas, rather than the ideas themselves.

On the other hand, a trademark protects brand identity, distinguishing goods and services from those of others in the marketplace. It can include logos, slogans, and brand names serving as a symbol of quality and origin. Unlike copyrights, trademarks focus on preventing consumer confusion by ensuring that consumers can identify and differentiate between products or services bearing similar marks.

In essence, copyrights protect creative expressions while trademarks protect brand identity and consumer perception. Understanding the difference between the two is crucial for creators and businesses alike to effectively protect their intellectual property rights. If you have more questions, I suggest consulting with an experienced intellectual property attorney.

With certain products, it’s not possible to reverse engineer the product. For example, with Coca-Cola, everybody has tried, everybody knows what’s in Coca-Cola, but they don’t know how to get there. And so people come close, other people not so close, but the formula has never been revealed, and it’s gone decades and decades beyond what would have been the patent period had they chosen to get a patent on it.

If they had patented it, they would have been protected in those years for 17 years, this year, now it’s longer, 20 years from filing. But after that period, everybody would have seen the formula, and everybody would have known what it was, and it would have been really of no value to Coca-Cola.

But instead, they’ve took the trade secret route, and it’s the perfect example of what works for a trade secret.

A trade secret is quite different from a patent. A patent is a contract between you and the government, where the government says, if you tell us enough about your invention, so that your patent, after it expires, can show people how to make your invention, then for 20 years from the date of filing, we’ll help you to stop other people from copying it, from infringing that patent.

So it’s based on publication. After 18 months, your patent application is published. And of course, the patent is published once it’s allowed. Whereas trade secrets are completely different. Trade secrets are based on secrecy. They must be something that has not been disclosed to the public. It’s been kept quiet inside your, inside your company.

And what’s very important is that people need to know that it’s a trade secret. If you do divulge it to people, you need to tell them this is a trade secret. The people in your company need to know that this is a trade secret. You cannot just wake up afterwards and say, “Well, that was my trade secret.” It must be treated that way from day one.

Securing a copyright is paramount for safeguarding your creative works and ensuring that you have exclusive rights over their use and distribution. By obtaining a copyright, you establish legal proof of ownership, which is essential for protecting your intellectual property from unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or modification.

This not only allows you to control how your work is used, but also provides the potential for financial gains through licensing and royalties. Additionally, a copyright can serve as a powerful deterrent against infringement, deterring others from unlawfully exploiting your creative efforts. In today’s digital age where content can be easily shared and replicated, obtaining a copyright is a proactive step to preserve the integrity of your work and secure your rights as a creator.

If you have more questions, I suggest consulting with an experienced copyright attorney.

Ideally, your trademark is a unique word or design. But what are your options if the mark is descriptive or contains geographic terms? This is where the Supplemental Register may be an option. The Supplemental Register serves as a gateway for trademarks not yet eligible for the Principal Register’s full protection.

It offers valuable benefits including a public record of the mark and the ability to use the Register R symbol. While lacking the Principal Register’s presumptive validity, enrollment on the Supplemental Register can confer crucial advantages such as notice to potential infringers and to enhance visibility in trademark searches.

Moreover, it allows marks descriptive in the nature or lacking distinctiveness to gain recognition over time. Potentially becoming eligible for principal register status. Embracing the Supplemental Register can be a strategic move for businesses seeking to protect their trademark while navigating the complexities of trademark law.

If you have more questions, I suggest consulting with an experienced trademark attorney.

An inventor is someone who has taken part in either the concept or the reduction to practice that is the making of an invention, which is completely different than ownership. Most inventions, in fact, are not owned by the inventor. The inventor is most likely an engineer that works for a big company and he’s signed his rights right away to the company that he works for.

So ownership and inventorship are quite different things. People come to us and they say, “This is my invention. I’m here with my brother-in-law. We’re gonna own this thing together.”

And I said, “That’s fine. Who are the inventors?”

“We’ll put us both down.”

No, no, no. Who has actually done the work on the invention, the conception and the reduction to practice, the building of the idea, or actually contributed to the writing of the patent application?