News and Insights

The Bullies of Copyrights

No one likes bullies. Who doesn’t remember the school bully picking on someone on the playground? Unfortunately, bullies can be found outside of the school playground. They exist everywhere, even when it comes to copyright laws. Copyright laws are set in place to protect others from infringing on an individual’s original work. However, what happens when an individual […]

Trade Dress Your Product

In 1916, a glass bottle manufacturing company in Terre Haute, Indiana won a bottle design contest.  Their contour shaped bottle is today recognized worldwide by billions of consumers and is one of the most recognizable examples of trade dress protection.   The glass bottle company was The Root Glass Company.  The bottle they designed was […]

Joint Authorship Versus Work Made for Hire

“Do you like apples?  Well, I got her number. How do you like them apples?”  These three sentences have got to be my all time favorite lines from the movie Good Will Hunting.  Good Will Hunting was co-scripted by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon back in 1997.  Their creative partnership is a perfect example […]

Difference between Civil Law and Criminal Law

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 […]

Can a Celebrity be More Marketable Dead than Alive?

Have you recently seen the new Dior J’Adore commercial starring Charlize Theron?  Did you happen to notice her co-stars in the commercial?  If so, you may have seen cameo appearances made by Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, and Marlene Dietrich. Isn’t it nice these famous leading ladies were able to come back from the dead […]

Better Coin that Catchphrase

As a native New Englander, I have been known to say the phrase “wicked awesome” repeatedly when describing an enjoyable moment. This phrase is quite commonly used by New Englanders so it is not very original.  However, if I was a professional athlete I may wish to trademark this catchphrase.  As a famous athlete, […]

Can I Squat and Take Over an Abandoned House?

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 […]

Mark Malek

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

An Evening of Hope

  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  

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