The other day I sat down to watch the classic 1947 movie, Miracle on 34th Street starring Natalie Wood, Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, and Edmund Gwenn. For those who haven’t seen this movie, it is an exceptional well acted film. It is just a warm, good hearted movie that leaves you feeling happy after watching […]
In England, there is a law referred to as the “Loser Pays” Rule. The law states that the losing party of a civil litigation case must pay the winning party’s legal fees. The English created this law to deter individuals and corporations from making frivolous claims and wasting the judicial system’s time and also the […]
By: Dan Pierron To all those in the Space Coast area, I would like to take some time to plug an event occurring this Wednesday: the March of Dimes Signature Chefs Auction. This is an annual premiere event, featuring many local chefs dishing up their finest wares for attendees to sample. Restaurants that are participating this […]
Traditionally, trade dress was limited to the overall appearance of labels, wrappers, and containers used in packaging a product. However, over a period of years, the traditional definition expanded beyond packages and containers to include the total look of a product. Today, the total look includes the packaging, as well as the design, shape, size, […]
Can a company’s mascots be trademarked? The answer to that question is yes, yes they can. A trademark is defined by dictionary.com as any name, symbol, figure, letter, word, or mark adopted and used by a manufacturer or merchant in order to designate his or her goods and to distinguish them from those manufactured or […]
Who can forget the murder trial of OJ Simpson? Back in 1995, OJ Simpson went to trial for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. The criminal trial captivated the attention of the American public and the world over. In the end of the long nine month trial, OJ Simpson was […]
The answer to that question is “yes”. However it is a lot more complicated than moving in and staying there. With the massive number of houses in foreclosure, many of them are sitting empty for long periods. There have been cases where people have gone into these homes and stayed in them for a few […]
By Ken Datzman, Brevard Business News 05/28/2012
There are few government entities like the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Beyond Wall Street, it is the rooted center of the universe of American capitalism. The office receives patent applications from entrepreneurs and businesses at the rate of more than 450,000 a year, with the majority filed electronically.
Some 6,000 examiners, generally scientists and engineers, review the applications, of which more than 150,000 a year are approved for patents.
As far as who can file to protect their invention, the patient office specifies only that the subject must be “useful.” The USPTO has granted more than 8 million patents since 1790.
These patented inventions help power the economy, in a big, sweeping way. Intellectual–property–intensive industries today support at least 40 million jobs and contribute more that $5 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product, according to a U.S. Department of Commerce report
Community support key to Scott Center’s success An Evening of Hope’s proceeds will benefit children with autism Melbourne attorney Mark Malek is the chair of this year’s An Evening of Hope event. / Malcolm Denemark/ FLORIDA TODAY Written by Maria Sonnenberg For FLORIDA TODAY

