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Recent Articles from Kurt Leyendecker
Bitcoin – A Bit Shady
Virtual, or cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, are different than so-called fiat currencies; virtual currencies are not backed by any government. In fact, they are not backed by any one entity at all.
SmashBurger and the War on Naming Rights
They believed the Triple Double name is too close and confusingly similar to one or both of the company’s registered trademarks, Double Double and Triple Triple, both also names for burgers. A lawsuit was filed and delivered to SmashBurger.
I Love You, says Gene Simmons
What, aside from words and logos, can be trademarked, and what are the bounds of protection of these non-traditional marks?
Do your shopping: Not all patents are equal
Patent seekers often don't dedicate the amount of time spent while car shopping to secure the best financial investment, as they do when it comes to patent acquisition.
Should you patent or not?
When lawyers and the courts play word games, they soon find they have worked the law into an impossibly-difficult legal jigsaw puzzle. This is exactly the situation that developed in the patent world concerning software-related inventions.
To patent or not to patent: That is the question
With a patent protecting your innovative product or service, you have a better chance at capitalizing on your invention. Without a patent, there is nothing stopping well-heeled investors or competitors from moving in.
Protect your trade secrets or pay the price
When someone uses the knowledge gained at a previous employer, it’s not uncommon for that employer to say the employee stole trade secrets. The cry often rings hollow, as the company never bothered to properly protect the information.
DIY intellectual property: Really, how hard can it be?
There isn't any legal reason or rule that prevents a person from filing their own intellectual property paperwork. I say go for it — what is the worst that can happen?
The sweet spot: When to file for your patent
Under the current first to file rules, whoever files first on an invention is the inventor who will receive a patent even over another later-filing inventor who came up with the idea first.
It's all in a name (or not)
Where would Amazon be if it were called "An Online Bookstore"? Companies should pick names that are more fanciful or arbitrary instead of descriptive when compared with the services offered by the business.
Trademarks + marketing = power
Anyone who has watched even a small amount of television over the past year or so is probably familiar with the Ford commercials featuring Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs fame pitching cars with engines that utilize EcoBoost® technology.
Trademarks on wheels
The purpose of trademarks is to protect consumers so that they know what they are buying. However, when a company fails and its marks go abandoned, anyone can pick them up and register them as their own – and then sell products under the old venerable brand. Even though I know the new Motobecane h...
