The name on the door of a business, the name in the telephone book, or the name on a Web site, is the name under which a person or company does business. It’s a business name. It is not per se a trademark. Selecting a business name is relatively uncomplicated. There are few restrictions. In … Continued
The U.S. Patent Office looks askance at claims for certain notorious inventions. Claims of anti-gravity engines and time machines automatically provoke skepticism. In fact, claims like those provoke official skepticism. Under the law and regulations in the United States, the inventor must claim utility for the invention, and further must teach how to use the … Continued
The trademark is a tradition with a history as long as the marketplace. Since ancient times, proud craftspeople have put their individual marks on their work, and consumers have long depended on trademarks both to authenticate the source of the goods they buy and to stand for them as a mark of particular quality. For … Continued
Designs can be the original product of creative intellectual effort, and so may be considered intellectual property. The difficulty with design, ranging from artistic expression on the one hand to engineering on the other, is in defining what kind of intellectual property the design may be, especially when the design is applied to a manufactured … Continued
A utility patent is granted in return for the disclosure of the invention of something new and useful. Provided that the disclosure fully “teaches” the invention, so that anyone having “ordinary skill” in the field of the invention could make, use, or practice the invention, and provided that the inventor can show that it is … Continued
