News and Insights

What is an Open Patent?

In 1959, Volvo came out with the three-point seat belt, a seat belt designed by Swedish Engineer Nils Bohlin.  Bohlin wanted to design a seat belt that could prevent whiplash and deaths.  His design is considered an industrial design which was patented as such in 1962.  Seven years later Volvo decided to offer Bohlin’s […]

Infringement Analysis: What To Expect

Imagine you are a patent holder, and you suspect a competitor may be infringing on your exclusive rights related to your invention.  You ask your patent attorney to help you stop the infringing behavior.  Your attorney (hopefully) responds by recommending an infringement analysis.  You may think, “Analysis?!?  What’s to think about?  I just want to […]

By: Dan Pierron Congratulations!  Your claims have been allowed, you’ve paid your issue fee, and you’ve received the seal and red ribbon! It’s been years in coming, and now you can kick back and relax, both your mind and your legal budget.  Right?  Maybe not.  Deciding how to utilize a single patent or an […]

We all know people who have gotten engaged only to call off their engagement a few months later.  Did you ever wonder what happens to the ring?  Most of the times the ring is given back to the fiancé once the couple calls it quit.  Proper etiquette dictates that if the couple were to […]

Amendments to the Lanham Act

  2000: Restructuring of the U.S.P.T.O. In 2000, there were substantial changes to the structure and administration of the Patent and Trademark Office. One important structural change was the separation of the patent and trademark functions into separate operating units within the PTO. The PTO implemented a new position, which was titled the […]

By: Mark R. Malek My last article provided a brief overview of the patent system.  I also wrote another article about why patents are somewhat important.  This prompted me to reflect on my typical conversations with potential clients, and the questions that generally arise as to the different types of patents.  This article will attempt […]

By: Dan Pierron As has been well publicized, starting March 16, the U.S. patent system will join the rest of the world by transitioning from a First-to-Invent system to a First-to-File system, where regardless of when they invented it, the first applicant to file an application with the USPTO has priority.  Many are predicting a […]

Melbourne Florida

Do You Know the History of Melbourne?

As many of you already know, we are located in the beautiful city of Melbourne Florida.  We figures it would be fun to do an article on the history of our great coastal Florida town. Please enjoy. The city of Melbourne, while a fairly young city, is robust with history.  Did you know this town was founded by […]

How Do You Protect a Trade Secret?

Everyone knows the best way to protect valuables from thieves is to simply lock valuables in a safe or deposit the valuables in the banks.  This is assuming your valuables are tangible items.  What if the valuable is non-tangible?  How then is one supposed to secure it from being stolen? Non-tangible valuables like company […]

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