Arizona Intellectual Property Laws

Trade Secret

I’m going to answer the question, what is a trade secret? A trade secret is simply anything that is valuable in a business and is kept secret. Even after you file a patent application, the ideas in there are not published. So they actually fall within the trade secret category. It does overlap with some things, but it is valuable and it’s protected by contracts. I’m Wayne Carroll with Inspired Ideas Solutions Law Firm.

By: Wayne Carroll

Preliminary Patent

I’m going to answer the question: “what is a preliminary patent?” So in the United States, there’s something called a provisional patent application. It’s not a patent. It’s an application which is a holding place for you to preserve your right in an invention. It must be followed-up with a full patent application. So there isn’t actually anything that’s a preliminary patent, but there is an application process that has a provisional and then a non-provisional. To find out more, contact me. I’m Wayne Carroll at Inspired Idea Solution Law Firm.

By: Wayne Carroll

Trademark Infringement

What happens if you unknowingly use someone else’s trademark? It still can be trademark infringement and you can still have liability for confusing the public. Trademark law is about helping the public make more efficient decisions by not being confused as to the source. If you get a federally registered trademark, it covers the entire nation, whether or not you’re using it all over the nation. But if you don’t get a federally registered trademark, your rights to your trademark are limited to the area in which you are using it. It can be a problem and it can be trademark infringement if you are using somebody else’s trademark even without knowing it. If you receive a cease and desist letter from another trademark holder, I recommend that you contact a knowledgeable trademark attorney. I’m Wayne Carroll with Inspired Idea Solutions Law Firm. To find out more, give me a call.

By: Wayne Carroll

What is a Trademark

What is a trademark? A trademark is the exclusive right to use a term or a symbol in connection with your goods or what you’re selling. It is designed to connect that symbol to your company so that people know where to go to get more of the good stuff you’re delivering. You want to make sure that that is yours exclusive and that people don’t get confused by seeing somebody else’s symbol, thinking maybe that’s you, maybe that’s not you. So make sure you have a good distinctive trademark. For more questions, please contact me. I’m Wayne Carroll, Inspired Idea Solutions Law Firm.

By: Wayne Carroll

Provisional vs. Non-Provisional Patent Applications

I am Wayne Carroll with Inspired Idea Solutions Law Firm. We help entrepreneurs make a profit without giving their best ideas to the competition. What is the difference between a provisional application and a non-provisional application for patent? The main differences are one, expiration. Two, examination. Three, claims. And four is fees. So the expiration.

1. Expiration

Provisional applications expired at exactly 12 months without ever becoming a patent. The non-provisional application does not expire automatically and can be granted and become a patent.

2. Examination

The second is examination. Provisional applications are not examined by the patent office for patentability. This means that a poorly written provisional application and a high quality provisional application will look the same to the patent office, because they don’t look at it. Non-provisional applications are examined. If the patent is poorly written there will be multiple problems with the patent.

3. Legal Claims

The third thing is the claims. Provisional applications do not require legal claims. Non-provisional applications require at least one legal claim stating precisely what the inventor’s claim as their new novel and use for invention.

4. Filing Fees

And the fourth difference is the fees. Provisional applications have a lower filing fee. The provisional patent application filing fee is not credited towards the non-provisional filing fee. The provisional filing fee is an additional cost that allows for extra time before filing the non-provisional application. At Inspired Idea Solutions Law Firm we help clients to determine if filing the provisional application is the right strategy to protect their inventions.

By: Wayne Carroll

Intellectual Property Explained

I’m often asked, What is intellectual property? Actually, I think most attorneys, even some patent attorneys get this wrong. Most attorneys think it’s patents, copyright, and trademarks, but it’s not. Intellectual property is your ideas, your inventions. The idea itself is the property.  Your brand, that’s the property. And your content that you write, those things are intellectual property. The patents, copyright, and trademarks, are how you protect them. Like the deed protects a house, the house is the property; the deed is what protects it. I’m Wayne Carroll with Inspired Ideas Solutions Law Firm.

By: Wayne Carroll

Protecting Intellectual Property

What steps can a start-up take to protect intellectual property? The most important would be to understand the difference between what is going to be protected by a patent, what’s protected by a trademark, and what’s protected by copyright.

By understanding these things, that a patent is going to protect inventions and new ideas, that confidentiality is very important in getting a patent application on file. I recommend filing multiple provisional patent applications for a start-up. It’s research, understanding what other people are doing with the term and copyright, making sure you put the copyright symbol on the things that you produce.

Those are the main things. There is many more. Go ahead and contact me if you have more questions about how to protect your intellectual property. I’m Wayne Carroll with Inspired Ideas Solutions Law Firm.

By: Wayne Carroll

Brand & Trademark Availability

In this video I’m going to answer the question: “how do I know if a brand name or a trademark is available?” Many people think that because they are able to register a name with the Secretary of State or the Corporation Commission in their state that the name is available as a brand or trademark.

Trademark Registration

A trademark is not the same as registering your business. A trademark is a word or symbol that distinguishes and identifies your business as the source of what you sell. In order to establish a trademark nationwide you must do more than merrily claim it or claim the domain name. You must register with the United States Patent & Trademark Office and use the trademark. When you apply for a trademark, the trademark office will do a search to determine if you meet the requirements for a trademark. There are two main things that they look for and these are the same things that you should look for to determine if your selected brand name is available.

Trademark Availability

First, does your trademark distinguish your brand from other brands already in use? And second, can your trademark identify your brand as a brand? To distinguish your brand, the trademark must be significantly different than other brands in use. If your trademark is similar to the way other trademarks look, sound, or create a similar impression as other trademarks, the trademark is not likely available and your application may be rejected. The prior trademarks need to be used for related products or services to what you are selling but “related” is a broad term. And your application can be rejected based on someone selling very different merchandise.

The trademark office primarily searches in the databases of current trademarks in the United States. But a trademark is not truly available if someone else is using the trademark even without a registration. If they are using the trademark prior to your use, they have at least some rights that can block you from using the trademark.

If your chosen brand name cannot distinguish your brand from others, then it’s not available. So, this is the second requirement to get a brand that you can protect with exclusive rights it must also be able to identify your brand as a brand. Your trademark must be more than generic terms for what you are selling. The trademark also cannot be merrily descriptive of your goods.

For example, crispy may be descriptive for bacon and low fat may be descriptive for yogurt. The strongest trademarks have no elements of descriptiveness in the brand name. For example Xerox or Kodak. At Inspired Ideas Solutions Law Firm we perform high quality trademark searches to determine if your chosen trademark is available not just in the trademark office database but based on registrations from all 50 states, business publications, and other databases. We help you make the determination of whether to invest time and money into building a brand around a trademark. That brand can serve your business for years to come.

By: Wayne Carroll

Phoenix Patent Lawyer

The reason I became an IP attorney, is I was working as an engineer, and searching for what the next career step would be. And I was introduced to a patent attorney, and I loved the idea of working with inventors, of working on the new ideas in the cutting edge technology. I just fell in love with the idea, and been pursuing it ever since.

So some background about me and my experience. I’ve been a patent attorney since 2005. I decided to become a patent attorney long before that. And in 2003, I took what’s called the patent bar, and passed that. That was during law school. I chose a law school that gave me a great number of courses on intellectual property. I was able to earn recognition for completing a concentration in intellectual property.  And I earn that with distinctions. Did very well in my intellectual property classes because I’m passionate about it.

One thing that makes me different, is that I am an entrepreneur. I am running a business, I’m studying entrepreneurship, I’m studying the books, the E-Myth, Think and Grow Rich, those other books that every entrepreneur needs to read. I’m reading those and applying those to my business. I understand the struggles of starting a business, growing a business. I like working with inventors and entrepreneurs, because they have an energy and a vision for how they’re going to improve the world. They teach other people how to make their lives better. Sometimes it’s just by putting out a product, sometimes it’s how to do something better in their lives. But that’s really why I love working with entrepreneurs and inventors, is they’re seeking to make a positive change in the world, and I love that energy and attitude.

By: Wayne Carroll