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    Guide to Intellectual Property
    Guide to Intellectual Property
    Guide to Intellectual Property
    Ebook148 pages2 hours

    Guide to Intellectual Property

    By Tim Yearneau

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    About this ebook

    As an Adjunct Professor I taught a survey business law course on the United States Intellectual Property System. I found that very few people understand even the basics of our system. What's a patent? What's a copyright? What's a trade secret? What's a trademark? What about the international situation? When I taught my classes my students got lost and overwhelmed by all the complexities and jargon. When I talk to small businessmen, managers, corporate businessmen, corporate executives, authors, inventors, international businessmen, musicians, film makers, educators, entrepreneurs, and even engineers they usually don't have a clue about any of this, yet their future depends on it. Perhaps you are in a foreign country and wish to do business in the United States.

    I designed this book for the person who knows absolutely nothing about our system. It's based on my experience in the classroom on how best to present this information to an audience starting from ground zero. I have taken the complex material down from the mountaintop and creatively simplified it into easy to understand bite sized pieces, using easy to follow real world examples to illustrate key points. I deliberately kept this book short; less overwhelming that way.

    Are you a student, small businessman, educator, entrepreneur, inventor, international businessman, author, musician, film maker, manager, corporate businessman, corporate executive or even an engineer? Are you in a foreign country and wish to do business here in the United States? You want to learn about our system, yet don't know where to begin? Is what you are currently looking at overwhelming, confusing, and complex? Feeling frustrated? Stop worrying. Creative. Simple. Easy. Classroom tested. Best of all, my book is available in the most popular formats so it works on most devices.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTim Yearneau
    Release dateFeb 13, 2011
    ISBN9780615345642
    Guide to Intellectual Property
    Author

    Tim Yearneau

    He lives in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. He has always lived in this area, but has traveled everywhere. He plays a mean game of chess and takes on all comers on the ping pong table, and don't even talk about Risk. When the sun is shining and the sky is blue you might find him whipping around town on his bicycle. But when he is at home he tries to mimic Milo the dog and lounge about doing nothing, for both believe that sleep is not a waste of time. He does the Circuit at the health club and in between workouts you can find him downing moose tracks ice cream or a triple chocolate chunk cookie or just maybe some ribs from Mr. McCoy! His favorite fruit is pears and he eats oatmeal like there's no tomorrow for breakfast. If you want to see what he looks like check out his YouTube channel below. Oh, and he has a Masters Degree from the University of St. Thomas. Anything else?

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      Book preview

      Guide to Intellectual Property - Tim Yearneau

      Guide to Intellectual Property

      by Tim Yearneau

      Smashwords Edition

      Copyright 2010

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, copied, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, such as graphical, mechanical, or electronic systems. This includes information storage and retrieval systems, and recording or photocopying, without the prior written permission of Tim Yearneau, except where permitted by law.

      The information in this book is intended to be educational and not to be construed as any sort of legal advice or legal opinion. We are not giving legal advice or legal opinion in any form for any reason. Any opinion expressed in this book is strictly the author's own personal opinion. The contents of this book should not replace consultation with an experienced attorney who specializes in the area of intellectual property. The author and publisher are in no way liable for any use of this material.

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you?re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      ISBN-13: 978-0-61534-564-2

      drawing of Primitive Wheel on front cover

      Copyright Jessica Fox | Dreamstime.com

      Table of Contents

      Introduction

      Chapter 1: Patents And Trade Secrets

      Chapter 2: Copyrights

      Chapter 3: Trademark Basics

      Chapter 4: Trademark History Plus Court Cases

      Chapter 5: How Exactly Do I Get A Trademark

      Chapter 6: Lost Trademarks, Four Famous Cases

      Chapter 7: How Do I Protect My Trademark

      Chapter 8: Modern Examples

      Chapter 9: Licensing, Litigation, Final Thoughts

      Connect With Me

      Appendix A

      Appendix B

      References

      INTRODUCTION

      (table of contents)

      As an Adjunct Professor I taught a survey business law course on the United States Intellectual Property System. I found that very few people understand even the basics of our system. What's a patent? What's a copyright? What's a trade secret? What's a trademark? What about the international situation? When I taught my classes my students got lost and overwhelmed by all the complexities and jargon. When I talk to small businessmen, managers, corporate businessmen, corporate executives, authors, inventors, international businessmen, musicians, film makers, educators, entrepreneurs, and even engineers they usually don't have a clue about any of this, yet their future depends on it. Perhaps you are in a foreign country and wish to do business in the United States.

      I designed this book for the person who knows absolutely nothing about our system. It's based on my experience in the classroom on how best to present this information to an audience starting from ground zero. I have taken the complex material down from the mountaintop and creatively simplified it into easy to understand bite sized pieces, using easy to follow real world examples to illustrate key points. I deliberately kept this book short; less overwhelming that way.

      Are you a student, small businessman, educator, entrepreneur, inventor, international businessman, author, musician, film maker, manager, corporate businessman, corporate executive or even an engineer? Are you in a foreign country and wish to do business here in the United States? You want to learn about our system, yet don't know where to begin? Is what you are currently looking at overwhelming, confusing, and complex? Feeling frustrated? Stop worrying. Creative. Simple. Easy. Classroom tested.

      (Yes, that's me in the logo)

      CHAPTER 1: PATENTS AND TRADE SECRETS

      (table of contents)

      Believe it or not our Patent and Copyright Laws emanate from a single line in our Constitution.

      Article I Section 8 of the Constitution states that:

      Congress shall have power . . . to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.

      Thomas Jefferson was our first patent commissioner. His way of thinking charactarizes our intellectual property system. The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) was created in 1802 in Washington D.C. This office approves and denies all patent applications.

      Patents in the United States

      What is a patent and what does it do for me? A patent protects an idea, and nothing else. There are three different types of patents:

      Utility patents

      Design patent

      Plant patent

      I will talk mostly about utility patents, briefly discuss design patents and say nothing about plant patents. How is that for honesty?

      Utility Patent

      What does a utility patent cover? Section 35 U.S.C. 101 of the Patent Law tells us:

      Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefore, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.

      Utility patents are for useful processes, machines, manufactured items, and composition of matter. Inventions covered by this kind of patent must be useful and work. Design patents are given to those who come up with an original ornamental design for an article of manufacture. This is pretty self-explanatory. Plant patents are for new kinds of plants. Again this is self-explanatory. Now, let’s get into the nuts and bolts of a utility patent. Virtually anything is patentable as long as it fits within one of these four categories:

      Process

      Machine

      Manufacture

      Composition of Matter

      Congress wanted it that way. The Supreme Court has clarified, via the congressional report accompanying the 1952 Patent Act, that Congress wanted "anything under the sun that is made by man" to be patentable. There are some limits though. Three things NOT patentable are:

      Abstract ideas

      Laws of nature

      Natural phenomena

      Abstract Ideas

      As an example, let’s say I want to make a better mouse trap. No way am I going to get a patent for just a better mouse trap. Too vague and too abstract. Frequently, mathematical algorithms are not patentable because they are considered an abstract idea. Software and business methods were once considered abstract ideas, however, they are now patentable.

      Laws of Nature

      Scientific laws that reflect nature such as Einstein’s E=MC2 do not make the grade nor Newton’s Law of Gravity.

      Natural Phenomena

      A newly discovered mineral, such as Uranium, is not patentable. This is a part of nature and thus not patentable.

      In conclusion, Congress wants just about everything to be patentable as long as they fit into the four categories listed above. They have provided some very small limits as to what cannot be patented.

      How long is an idea protected under a patent? A patent protects an idea for a period of 20 years from the date an application is submitted. Does a patent give me a monopoly? A patent does not give me monopoly, instead it allows me to prevent anyone else from making or selling my invention during those 20 years. This seems odd doesn’t it? Isn’t preventing anyone else from making or selling my idea giving me a monopoly? No. I don’t actually have to make or sell my idea to get a patent. Here is how it works.

      Pretend for a moment that I have an idea to make a duffle bag. I go and get the patent. Now pretend that you have an idea on how to improve my duffle bag. Your idea is to put rollers on the bottom to make the bag mobile and sell and distribute the improved duffle bag. You go and get a patent for your improvement. I have a patent for a duffle bag, and you have a patent for the improvement, which is for the rollers on the bottom. There are now two patents. Here lies the problem. In order for you to make, sell and distribute the improved duffle bag, you must consider the following choices:

      Make a licensing deal with me for my patent

      Wait for my patent to expire

      Do you see now why a patent does not give you or me a monopoly? In order for you to make, sell, and distribute your improved duffel bag with rollers you must go through me. I own the patent for the original duffel bag and you own a patent for the improvement of adding the rollers. There are now two patents at work. If a third party wishes to make, sell, and distribute the duffel bag with the rollers he has to go through both you and me. Neither one of us has to actually make the duffel bag. As long as we own the patents for that design, everyone has to go through us. Can I file for a patent myself? Yes, you can, but I don’t recommend it. Here are the reasons:

      The requirements are stringent; you’ll see what I mean later in this lesson

      There is more room for costly errors given the amount of research, time and resources required

      I recommend that you hire an experienced patent attorney because he or she has been through the process many times before and thus there is less chance for costly errors.

      Here are some basics on the Patent Process

      The intent of our intellectual property system is twofold; inventors and creators are rewarded for their hard work, and their work should eventually become part of the public domain. Congress wants inventors and creators to share their work sooner rather than later. This is an important point to remember. Our system is set up to reward those who invent or create. It also bestows upon the public, eventually, the inner workings of those inventions. The Patent Law gives inventors an incentive by giving them exclusive rewards for 20 years. The law also penalizes inventors who drag their feet in filing a patent. There are three basic requirements in order to obtain a patent:

      Useful

      Novel

      Nonobvious

      Useful

      For useful the question is asked Does it have a useful purpose and does it work? It must work and not merely be a suggestion or idea. If it doesn’t work then no patent will be issued.

      Novel

      By Novel mean it can’t have been invented or described before anywhere in the world. Yes, I did say anywhere in the world. The

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