Fourteen federal district courts, including the Western District of Pennsylvania, have been selected to participate in a ten year pilot project. The goal of this patent pilot project is to enhance expertise in patent cases among U.S. district judges.
Patent cases filed in participating district courts are initially randomly assigned to all district judges, regardless…
Contributed by: Lee Kim, 412.594.3915
The USPTO has updated its fee schedule effective September 26, 2011 following the enactment of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. There is a 15-percent (15%) surcharge on all fees.
Summary of changes:
http://www.uspto.gov/aia_implementation/15_Percent_Surcharge_Fee_Changes.pdf
Contributed by Lee Kim, Esq.
+1.412.594.3915
lkim@tuckerlaw.com
The America Invents Act has been signed into law by President Barack Obama today (September 16, 2011). The effective date for many provisions is September 16, 2012. Some provisions are effective immediately and still others are effective 10 days after the date of enactment.
The America Invents…
Contributed by Lee Kim, Esq.
+1.412.594.3915
lkim@tuckerlaw.com
The America Invents Act was recently passed by Congress and it is expected that President Obama will sign this legislation into law when it is presented to him. Historically, the United States considers the first-to-invent as the person with rights to the invention. However, this Act is…
US Patent No. 8,000,000 Awarded to Second Sight Medical Products for a “Visual Prosthesis Apparatus” that Enhances Visual Perception for the Sight Impaired
On September 8, 2011, the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") will host a ceremonial signing Thursday for US Patent No. 8,000,000 entitled "Visual Prosthesis Apparatus" which enhances visual perception…
Issues arise when one re-publishes material created by others — i.e., another’s intellectual property. Generally, the intellectual property involves copyrights and trademarks/servicemarks. Text, images, and sounds on a web page may be copyrighted. Trademarks and servicemarks which are commercial identifiers for a particular company’s product or service are proprietary to that company. Both copyrighted and trademarked material must be…
Everyone has heard of the term "trade secret" but what exactly is it? This article provides an overview of trade secrets law in Pennsylvania.
1. What kind of information is considered a "trade secret"?
In 2004, Pennsylvania adopted the Uniform Trade Secret Act ("UTSA"). The Pennsylvania statute now defines a "trade secret" as follows: "[i]nformation, including…
By: Lee Kim, Esq.
Who owns the intellectual property rights (e.g., copyrightable material, invention, etc.) if one’s employment contract is silent on the issue and is in the absence of an intellectual property ("IP") policy?
The following are situations in which the employer owns the IP:
– Intellectual property has been created by an employee within the scope of employment.
– Intellectual property has been created during working hours with the use of employer’s facilities.
– Intellectual property has been specially commissioned by the employer pursuant to a written agreement.
– Intellectual property has been funded by federal funds, state funds, or third party sponsorship.
The following are examples in which the employee owns the IP:
– Intellectual property created is unrelated to employee’s job responsibilities and the employee made no more than incidental use of the employer’s resources.
– Employer has released the intellectual property to the inventor.
– Employee has created a scholarly work, unless the employer specially commissioned such work (e.g., specifically hired the employee to create such a work or otherwise required the employee to create such a work).Continue Reading Intellectual Property Ownership: General Guidelines
Securing Rights to Your Website, By: Lee Kim
About the author: Lee Kim is an intellectual property associate at Tucker Arensberg, P.C. She specializes in copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and patents. See http://www.tuckerlaw.com/att/alpha/K/kim_lee.html
1. Securing Your Domain Name
If you are creating a website, you should first register at least one domain name of your choice with a reputable domain name registrar. While there are many domain name registrars out there, well-regarded registrars include register.com, Go Daddy, and Network Solutions.
Tip: It is recommended that you register the domain name yourself instead of having a third party (e.g., consultant) do this on your behalf. Domain name registrars such as the ones named above generally have support numbers that one can call if one needs assistance registering the domain name(s) of choice.
Why this is recommended: There are individuals, companies, and other entities (a.k.a. "cybersquatters") that attempt to make money by holding one’s domain name hostage. For example, if one owns a trademark and the domain name that is being held hostage is identical or substantially similar to that trademark, then one needs to go through a dispute resolution process such as the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy ("UDRP"), below.
Tip: Since domain name registration is relatively inexpensive, it is recommended that one register several domain name variants, such as top level domain ("TLD") variants (e.g., .org, .com, .net, .us, and the like) and singular/plural variants of the domain name. You also may consider registering commonly misspelled variants of your domain name. Also, there are commercial services which monitor the web for misuse of your domain name. Thomson CompuMark is one such reputable provider. Thomson CompuMark’s website has the following Uniform Resource Locator ("URL"): http://www.thomson-thomson.com.
Why this is recommended: There are individuals, companies, and other entities (a.k.a. "typosquatters") that attempt to make money off of typo-variants of domain names and oftentimes ask for exorbitant sums of money in exchange for these domain names. See, e.g., http://searchengineland.com/070711-083600.php for an article on domain name best practices. See, e.g., http://www.icann.org/tlds/ for an informational page on TLDs. For example, if one owns a trademark and the domain name that is being held hostage is identical or substantially similar to that trademark, then one needs to go through a dispute resolution process such as the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy ("UDRP"), below.
Question: What if someone holds my domain name hostage (i.e., a cybersquatter) or someone has a typo-variant of my domain name (i.e., a typosquatter)?
Answer: Often, the domain name is parked and the domain name owner makes revenue using click-through links. Some domain name registrars and other Internet domain services offer domain name holders cash for parked domain names in exchange for the traffic that their respective domain name generates through the click-through links. See, e.g., https://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/park/landing.asp?se=; http://www.whypark.com/. If the cybersquatter or typo-squatter has a domain name that is identical or substantially similar to your trademark or service mark, has no rights or legitimate interests in the domain name, and is using the domain name in bad faith, then you may be able to successfully dispute the third party’s ownership of that domain name and request transfer or cancellation of the domain name by filing a Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy ("UDRP") complaint against that third party. See http://www.icann.org/dndr/udrp/policy.htm for the UDRP policy. The complaint may be filed with a dispute resolution provider such as the National Arbitration Forum or the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Question: Can I register my domain name as a trademark or a service mark?
Answer: Yes, if the domain name functions as a trademark or service mark which serves to identify your company’s name, products, and/or services. The domain name may be registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") under certain conditions such as these.
Question: What are the benefits of trademark or service mark registration of my domain name?
Answer: By obtaining a trademark or service mark registration with the USPTO, one may have legal recourse against a cybersquatter or typo-squatter under federal law. Further, having the trademark or service mark registration leads to a stronger case if one has to file a complaint based upon the UDRP. See, e.g., http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/tac/tmfaq.htm#Basic002.Continue Reading Securing Rights to Your Website
