Recent Articles from Kurt Leyendecker
File that patent!
Do you or your company have a product or process that you’ve been developing for some time but have yet to patent? If so, a new law could considerably affect your ability to patent. In 2011, Congress passed the America Invents Act (AIA), with the provisions of the act to be amended over time. The […]
Does Tim own Tebowing?
Has a trademark taken Tebowing off the table? The short answer: No. Neither Tim Tebow nor any business entity with which he is involved owns a trademark on his signature move. Interestingly, headlines just a week or so ago may have indicated otherwise. The opening line of the widely carried AP s...
Invention alert
About every 10 years, Congress reforms the patent statute to correct various issues and problems it sees in the patent system. About a year ago, the America Invents Act (AIA) became law. The act represents the most significant changes to the patent system in more than 50 years. The President and Congress have touted that […]
A one-word secret to economic growth
The Horatio Alger story is alive in most all of us: We dream of coming up with the proverbial better mouse trap, obtaining a patent and watching interested companies beat a path to our door to lavish us with millions. Most people understand that patents grant an inventor a limited monopoly or ownership right in […]
Avoidance: Understandable, but often painful
This is about pain — the avoidable kind. Lawyers can get a bad rap for shark-ism and sometimes, that’s fair. In this case, however, the pain is shared across the board, by both the lawyers and the clients. No one, including a hard-working and ethical attorney, likes seeing people have to spend blood, time and […]
A grape by any other name is still a grape…
When launching a new company or adding a new product or service, a name must be determined to brand the company, product or service. In the legal field, we refer to brand names and logos identifying a good as a trademark; and brand names and logos referring to services as service marks. However, the term […]
Economic lemons = lemonade profits
Last summer, my 9-year-old twins set up a lemonade stand and sold the yellow elixir to thirsty Parade of Homes passersby. They learned the thrill of running their own business and having people buy and enjoy their wares. They learned about the cost of raw materials and pricing their product to mak...
Patents = profits
When someone mentions intellectual property law, the things that first pop into most people's minds are inventions and patents. There is something enticing or even romantic about the notion of inventing something, patenting it and becoming wealthy capitalizing on the invention. However, most small...
Trade secrets: Lonely and misunderstood
Over the years, we have had thousands of consultations with prospective clients. I cannot think of a single time when I was asked about protecting the prospective client’s trade secrets. Trademarks, all the time. Patents, almost daily. Copyrights, regularly. Trade secrets. What? It’s not like transactional intellectual property attorneys (lawyers that protect your intellectual property[...]
Trademark bullies
The Internet has been a boon for trademark litigators. Using Google, the United States Patent and Trademark Office website and using various other third-party sites, company owners, executives and legal counsel can easily search and find other companies using marks similar to those they call their own. And once they find those dirty rotten trademark […]
What you don’t know about intellectual property…
Long ago and far away, IP concerns were reserved for well-heeled companies like Polaroid, which sued other well-heeled companies, like Eastman Kodak, for selling products that infringed their patented products. Then along came the computer and garage-geniuses who began to invent things. The Old Guard lost their stronghold and the Gates, Jobs and Berners-Lee (to […]