Intellectual property

Introduction The expansion of digital publishing has created new opportunities for writers to reach readers, build audiences, and earn income from their creative work. Online fiction platforms, web-novel applications, subscription services, and digital publishers may offer authors access to international readerships without requiring them to navigate traditional publishing channels. However, Read more

Trade Secret Misappropriation and Legal Remedies A trade secret can be one of a business’s most valuable assets precisely because competitors do not know it. A secret formula, proprietary manufacturing process, customer database, source code, pricing strategy, research data, or business method may provide a competitive advantage that took years Read more

Trade Secrets and Confidential Business Information Businesses often possess information that is more valuable because it is not publicly known. A company may have a manufacturing process that competitors cannot easily reproduce, a customer database developed over many years, a proprietary algorithm, a pricing strategy, a product formula, or an Read more

Trademark Dilution: Protecting Famous Marks Trademark law does not protect every trademark in exactly the same way. Most trademark infringement disputes focus on likelihood of confusion: whether consumers are likely to believe that two businesses, products, or services come from the same source or are commercially connected. Trademark dilution addresses Read more

Trademark Infringement and Likelihood of Confusion Trademark law gives businesses and other trademark owners legal protection against certain unauthorized uses of marks. But the existence of a trademark does not mean that every use of a similar word, name, symbol, or design is automatically unlawful. The central question in a Read more

What Is a Trademark and What Does It Protect? A trademark is one of the most visible forms of intellectual property. A business may invest enormous amounts of time and money in a name, logo, slogan, product appearance, or other brand element, but the legal significance of that branding does Read more

Patent Ownership and Inventor Rights A patent can be one of the most valuable forms of intellectual property a person or company possesses. But before asking what a patent is worth, an even more basic question must be answered: Who owns it? Patent ownership can become surprisingly complicated because several Read more

Patent Applications and the Patent Examination Process A patent does not come into existence simply because an inventor has created something new. In the United States, patent protection generally requires the inventor or other authorized applicant to submit a patent application to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Read more

Patent Infringement: How Patent Rights Are Violated A patent gives its owner a legally enforceable right to exclude others from certain activities involving the patented invention. When another person or business engages in conduct that falls within the scope of those exclusive rights without authorization, patent infringement may occur. Patent Read more