By: J. Mason Williams IV It can be difficult to determine what type of monetary damages, if any, a party is entitled to in a breach of contract case. Even if you determine the type of damages, it can be even more difficult to prove the amount as evidenced in a recent case in […]
By: Mark R. Malek As you may recall, my last couple of articles have been about the different statuses that an inventor can claim when paying fees to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The first of these series of articles was an introduction to the micro-entity status, which allows inventors that qualify […]
By: Mark R. Malek In my last article, I outlined the new filing status in the Patent Office that can save inventors even more money in the patent process – that of the micro-entity. As you may recall from that article, when filing a patent application (and throughout the patent prosecution process), you must […]
By: Mark R. Malek As many of you may know, the United States Patent System recently went through a little transformation on March 15, 2013. The biggest and most public of these transformations was the transition from a first to invent system to a first to file system (more on that later). One thing […]
Pinterest, the latest thing in social networking sites, could potentially pose major legal problems for individuals or businesses using this service. With the tremendous growth Pinterest has seen since its inception in 2010 (as of February 2013 the site had over 48 million users), it is just a matter of time before some companies […]
Kate Middleton is making news this week and it has nothing to do with her baby bump. The Duchess of Cambridge has applied to the U.K.’s Intellectual Property Office to trademark her name for charitable goods. She and her husband, Prince William, started The Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge back […]
By: J. Mason Williams IV I have been asked several times whether a person can get their security deposit back. Often times, they tell me that they cleaned everything up and the landlord still won’t give them their deposit back. Why not and what can I do? Well, first you have to review […]
In the United States, it is not registration, but actual use of a designation as a mark that creates rights and priority over others. Thus, the rule is that ownership of a mark goes to the first-to-use, not the first-to-file. That being said, trademark ownership is not acquired by federal or state registration, although […]
