Intellectual Property Blog

• Claiming Color as Part of a Trademark

  Posted by David Breiner | in Intellectual Property Blog on Thursday, September 19, 2019

  BrownWinick Intellectual Property attorney David Breiner highlights trademarks and claiming color as a protected feature.

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• Bankrupt with Bygone Rights: Supreme Court Tackles Tough Trademark Issue

  Posted by Jordan Meggison-Decker | in Intellectual Property Blog on Thursday, August 22, 2019

  In a recent Supreme Court case that bridged the areas of law between intellectual property, contracts, and bankruptcy, trademark licensees came away with a win.

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• Principal Trademark Registration vs. Supplemental Trademark Registration

  Posted in Intellectual Property Blog on Thursday, November 8, 2018

  Prosecuting a trademark at the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) is one of the most strict administrative proceedings in the world. The USPTO is very active in examining applications and is constantly policing the trademark registers.

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• How to Raise Money for Your Business - Part 2: Micro-Loans

  Posted in Intellectual Property Blog on Wednesday, September 19, 2018

  This blog post is on micro-loans and other low interest loan options. Of all the funding options, micro-loans are easier to obtain than grants and more abundant than grants. They are also easier to obtain than bank financing. Micro-loans are a small business's best friend and are often available with zero or low interest paybacks.

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• How to Raise Money for Your Business - Part 1: Grants & Programs

  Posted in Intellectual Property Blog on Monday, August 20, 2018

  Financial concerns are the biggest for any entrepreneur, startup, or fortune 500 company. Grants are free money - everyone wants free money.

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• Marijuana is Coming (even to Iowa)

  Posted in Intellectual Property Blog on Friday, July 13, 2018

  As marijuana continues to trend toward the mainstream, states are adopting and reaping the benefits of legalizing the leaf.

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• Protect Your Brand Like Ivanka Trump

  Posted in Intellectual Property Blog on Friday, June 8, 2018

  Why register a trademark in foreign countries? Ms. Trump clearly knows. China, the land of 1.4 billion people, is a huge market for any business person who can penetrate it.

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• Amazon Brand Registry Program

  Posted in Intellectual Property Blog on Wednesday, May 30, 2018

  If you sell on Amazon or want to sell on Amazon, you should take advantage of Amazon's revised Brand Registry program. The Brand Registry program is a powerful tool to keep others from listing items on Amazon using your brand.

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• Go Ahead and Challenge That Patent....Anyone!

  Posted in Intellectual Property Blog on Thursday, May 3, 2018

  Post grant proceedings survive the gavel of the Supreme Court. On April 24, 2018, the Supreme Court issued two decisions upholding the validity of post grant proceedings ("PGPs").

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• Beware of the Copyright Troll!!!

  Posted by David Breiner | in Intellectual Property Blog on Friday, April 20, 2018

  For the last five years many people have received letters alleging they infringed another party's copyrights. The story for these people is almost always the same.

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• Tight Limits on Where Patent Lawsuits May Be Filed

  Posted by Michael Dee | in Intellectual Property Blog on Thursday, June 1, 2017

  On May 22, 2017, the United States Supreme Court unanimously, and drastically, limited the rules for where patent infringement lawsuits may be filed.

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• Every Business Needs to Actively Manage Its Intellectual Property

  Posted by Jordan Meggison-Decker | in Intellectual Property Blog on Friday, March 24, 2017

  EVERY BUSINESS HAS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (even if you don't think your business does)!

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• Is My Software Patentable?

  Posted by David Breiner | in Intellectual Property Blog on Friday, March 3, 2017

  Predicting whether or not software is patentable is not an easy task. This is primarily due to a rather vague test for patentability set forth by the United States Supreme Court in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int'l.

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• Return of Textbook Case Allows Supreme Court to Clarify Standards in Awarding Attorney's Fees in Copyright Cases

  Posted by David Breiner | in Intellectual Property Blog on Friday, October 14, 2016

  In June, the Supreme Court once again issued a ruling involving textbook giant John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ("Wiley") and Supap Kirtsaeng ("Kirtsaeng") a student who earned a considerable profit by purchasing Wiley's textbooks from his native Thailand and reselling them on eBay.

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• Patent Pirates Beware: Enhanced Damages after Halo

  Posted by David Breiner | in Intellectual Property Blog on Thursday, August 18, 2016

  In June 2016, the Supreme Court decided Halo Electronics, Inc. v. Pulse Electronics, Inc. and fired a broadside attack at persons who purposefully infringe upon a valid patent (so-called "patent pirates").

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• What is a Patent Claim? How to Quickly Interpret the Meaning of a Claim

  Posted by Christopher Proskey | in Intellectual Property Blog on Friday, October 23, 2015

  Claims are by far the most important part of a patent application. Claims define what is patented.

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• Senator Grassley's PATENT Act Aims at Curbing Abusive Patent Litigation

  Posted by David Breiner | in Intellectual Property Blog on Thursday, June 4, 2015

  Abusive patent litigation costs American consumers and businesses billions of dollars each year.

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• Trade Secrets and Patents

  Posted by David Breiner | in Intellectual Property Blog on Wednesday, November 12, 2014

  How one can go about protecting their invention may depend on several factors, however, the two most common methods of protection exploit patent and/or trade secret law.

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• Don't Gamble With Your Business . . . Tips on Running a Lawful Prize Promotion

  Posted by Brian McCormac | in Intellectual Property Blog on Thursday, September 18, 2014

  Unlawful promotions can damage your brand, hurt your business and expose you to substantial legal liability.

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• Software Patents, Abstract Ideas, and Alice Corp.

  Posted by David Breiner | in Intellectual Property Blog on Sunday, August 31, 2014

  For patent practitioners, there is little guidance from the courts to help us determine exactly what constitutes an abstract idea.

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