Arizona Intellectual Property Laws

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

What is a copyright?

Copyright protects content. You produce content when you take pictures, when you write your own ideas on a website, when you design even the look and feel of a website. Some of the most well known copyrighted content are movies, novels. Those things can be protected and when they are highly valuable, I recommend a registration of those trademarks. To find out more, contact me. I’m Wayne Carroll with Inspired Idea Solutions Law Firm.

By: Wayne Carroll

Hi, I’m Maria Speth with Jaburg and Wilk. My area of practice is Intellectual Property and Internet Law.

Can a website copy terms of use or a privacy policy from a similar website?

A lot of websites figure they’ll just copy from another website that does a similar type of function or provides a similar service to what they provide. The problem with that is two-fold. Number one, it is actually copyright infringement. It’s not okay to copy somebody else’s terms and conditions and it can be copyright infringement. Number two, it might not really be as suited to your needs as you might think it is. That website might perform a similar function that you perform, but they might not do everything the same way. And you might not want your rules to be exactly like their rules. So I don’t recommend that for both reasons.

What should be included in a website’s terms of use?

In a websites Terms of Use, we want to see things like jurisdiction. If there’s a lawsuit, where will the lawsuit be? You don’t want to get sued in some foreign country or some foreign state. You want to see the rules of what your users can and cannot do on the website. You want to make it really clear to your users whether or not you own what they post on your website or not. You really want to make sure that they understand that they’re responsible for what they do and that you’re not responsible for what they do.

By: Maria Crimi Speth

Aspects of Non-Disclosure Agreements

I’m going to answer the question: “what should an NDA include?” First of all, an NDA is a non-disclosure agreement. It’s a contract that someone signs and it needs to include an agreement of what it is that’s going to be kept confidential. If it just says, I’m going to keep some broad idea confidential and there’s no linking so that you can concretely say what it is that they needed to keep confidential, it’s going to be hard to enforce.

It needs to be reasonable in scope and time. The important thing about a non-disclosure agreement is to make sure that they will not be disclosing things that are not currently publicly available. To find out more about how to draft the right non-disclosure agreement for your business, give me a call. I’m Wayne Carroll at Inspired Idea Solutions Law Firm.

By: Wayne Carroll

Retaining Patentability

I’m going to answer the question, “how to retain patentability when presenting to potential customers?” The number one way is going to be have a patent application on file so that you are patent pending before you talk to customers.

So there’s a lot of risk to presenting to potential customers if you don’t have that patent application on file. We are now in a first to file patent system in the United States. If your customers go and file a patent application try to claim it as their own, yours will be first. I also recommend a non-disclosure agreement even after your patent is filed. For more information on how to protect your patent or protect your rights to a patent contact me. I’m Wayne Carroll at Inspired Idea Solutions Law Firm.

By: Wayne Carroll

Protect Your Inventions

Can I use the post office to protect my invention? The strategy is that an inventor can write down their idea and mail it to themselves in a sealed envelope and use the postmark as proof that they invented it on that date. That sounds like a cheap and easy way to protect an idea. This strategy does not work. There are two reasons why.

First to File System

One, it does not matter who invented it first. And two, this is a very poor evidence and would be torn to shreds in court if it were presented as proof. Why doesn’t it matter who is the first to invent? In 2013, new patent laws became effective that only grant patent rights to the first inventor to file a patent application. This was a major change in the law. You must be the first to file a patent application on an invention to be granted the patent right. It does not matter if you were the first to invent, you must be the first to file. I have talked to many inventors who have a great idea but do not act on it for years. And by the time that they come talk to me, someone else has already filed a patent application.

With the first-to-file system, it is more important than ever to keep your idea secret until you file a patent application. I have worked with inventors who have had their invention stolen when somebody they showed the invention to filed their own patent application. I recommend documenting your invention and requiring signatures on a non-disclosure agreement from people that you showed the invention to.

Why would the post office patent be poor evidence? First, you must think like a litigation lawyer. They will assume that you are lying. How do they know that you did not mail an unsealed envelope to yourself so you could use it later? All that the postmark really proves is that you paid for postage on a certain date.

A much better way to document an invention is to keep an inventor’s notebook and have someone witness before a notary what you have invented. A notary may be about the same price as the cost of postage and gives you much better protection as proof in court that you invented the idea. Don’t rely on patent strategies that you hear in rumors. Rely on advice from a professional.

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

Hi. I’m Maria Speth with Jayburg and Wilk. My area of practice is intellectual property and internet law.

When a company is launching a new website, what are some of the legal issues it should be aware of?

First of all, you want to make sure that you have terms of use and/or terms of conditions for your website. Basically the rules of the playground so that you’re readers know what they’re allowed to do and what they’re not allowed to do on your website.

Do all websites need terms of use?

I wouldn’t say every website needs a terms of use. But if you have an interactive website where your readers can come onto your website and post things, then you’re definitely going to want terms of use in those circumstances.

Do all websites need a privacy policy?

Yes. All websites should have a privacy policy. First of all, Google gives you some extra points in their algorithms if you have a privacy policy. California actually requires privacy policies for websites. So obviously if you’re on the internet your website is going to be viewed in California. So I would say yes, all websites should have privacy policies.

By: Maria Crimi Speth

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