LAWCHEK®
& Lawsonline™
Personal Legal Sourcebooks
"LAWCHEK® Intellectual Property"
This is not a substitute for legal advice. An attorney must be consulted. "This
work is protected under the copyright laws of the United States. No
reproduction, use, or disclosure of this work shall be |
How do I acquire intellectual property assets? |
Patent.
Patents are granted based on the filing of a patent application
meeting the requirements of patentability before the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office.
However, several steps should be taken prior to filing a patent
application to maximize patent rights.
First, employees should be required to sign an employment
agreement with an invention assignment clause.
Second, inventors should keep records so that inventors
can prove the date of invention, if necessary.
Third, a patent application should be filed early in the
commercialization of a product.
Most foreign patent rights are forfeited if a public disclosure
or sale occurs prior to filing a U.S. patent application.
U.S. patent rights are forfeited if a patent application is not
filed within one year of the first public use, sale, offer to sell or
public disclosure of the invention in this country.
Fourth, patented products should always be appropriately
marked to maximize damages from any patent infringement.
Trademark.
Some trademark rights are acquired automatically through use of
the mark in commerce.
More substantive rights and wider geographic rights are obtained
by registering the trademark, preferably through a federal registration.
The more distinctive the mark, the greater the rights acquired
through use.
Selection of a distinctive mark is an important step in
maximizing trademark rights.
Prior to federal registration, a trademark owner should place a TM
symbol ("bug") next to a trademark or an SM symbol
next to a service mark.
There are no requirements for use of the
TM and SM bugs, and use of these bugs
notifies the public that trademark rights are being claimed in the name.
After federal registration, a trademark owner should place an ®
bug next to the mark.
A trademark can be deemed to be abandoned (lost) if the owner of
a trademark stops using the mark, improperly licenses the mark,
improperly transfers the mark, or improperly uses the mark and fails to
prosecute infringers so as to render the mark generic.
Accordingly, policing one's own use and the use of similar marks
by others is an important step in maximizing trademark rights and value.
Copyright.
A person automatically acquires federal copyright protection as
soon as an original work is written, recorded or otherwise "fixed
in any tangible medium of expression."
17 U.S.C. §102(a).
To maximize copyright rights, the copyright owner should place a
copyright notice, such as "© 1996 by LAWCHEK, LTD." on all
publicly distributed copies.
Additionally, for works that are published, the copyright should
be registered, preferably within three months of the first publication.
Trade
Secret.
Trade secret rights are acquired by taking reasonable steps to
keep information secret.
Absolute secrecy is not required, but the information must not be
publicly accessible.
Trade secret information is usually misappropriated by persons
who properly receive the information and then improperly disclose or use
the information.
Reasonable steps should be taken to avoid such disclosure or use.
|
This is not a substitute for legal
advice. An
attorney must be consulted.
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