Great Ways to Invent – Get Incredible Features In Your Invention

By: Michael J Foycik Jr. 
The author is a patent attorney with over 28 years experience in patents and trademarks. For further information, please email at IP1lwyr@gmail.com, or call at 877-654-3336.

You want your invention to become a really successful product. You want it to be patentable. But you're not sure how. No problem! Here is one of the best ways to do it.

You'll first want to find unusual new things – products or novelties in search of a use. You want really great things, the kind that will inspire your creativity: new electronics, new compounds, new physics, and novel compositions with unusual features.

Those things are easy to find in the patent category for toys and novelties, because that is the haven for inventions in search of utility. Why? Because of the US Patent requirement for utility: no utility, no patent. So, if your utility is unknown, yet the invention seems interesting in some way, the easiest utility is as a toy or amusement device.

But how can you see those things conveniently? That's so easy – use an online search by class/subclass using the patent office web site. At the US Patent Office site, do a search by Class/Subclass. For toys, the Class is 446. Subclasses are by topic, for example 446/15 is for toys with soap bubbles.

You can find a topic by an index search, or by a manual of classification search. The steps are as follows. Go to the US Patent Office official site (www.uspto.gov). Click patents, which brings up a listing. Click the third item down, Classification. The topic you'll want for an index (word) search is “search USPC index schedule and definitions”, and the topic for a classification search is on the right hand side about a fourth of the way down called “browse listing of USPC Class numbers and titles.”

Read more >> http://internationalpatentservice.com/Great-Ways-to-Invent-Get-Incredible-Features-In-Your-Invention.html

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10 Avoidable Mistakes That Could Doom Your Startup

By: Mark Glucki

90% of startups fail. It’s a new world of business, and only the strongest new companies will survive. So how do you avoid startup doom?

Sometimes failure comes down to sheer bad luck or influences beyond an entrepreneur’s control, but in many cases, it can come down to the same simple mistakes that companies make time and time again.

Here are 10 common errors to avoid if you want your business to last the distance.

1. Inadequate Market Research

It doesn’t matter how remarkable you think your product is if the market doesn’t agree with you. Very few startups offer an innovation that can truly revolutionize a space, so before you spend significant money on development and marketing, be sure your market research is up to scratch. Don’t waste time and resources on a white elephant with no demand.

2. Insufficient Startup Funding

All startups need to have a realistic plan for how they’ll operate until revenue starts to flow reliably. Almost always, this means having sufficient initial funding in place to see you through the first lean months or years, whether that’s through your own investment or via a third party funding partner.

3. Unsuitable Partner Choice

As vital as funding is, it’s a mistake to go into business with a partner just because of the capital they can inject. For long-term success, you also need to have a matching vision, common aims, and complementary skill sets.

4. Poor Customer Care

If gaining and retaining customers isn’t your number one aim, your company will struggle to develop any momentum. Providing great customer care and an excellent experience is a non-negotiable requirement for success.

5. Ignoring Revenue Needs

Especially in tech sectors, it seems fashionable for startups to focus on building a product range and a user base while leaving revenue worries until later. This rarely works out well. If you don’t have a strong, actionable idea about how you’ll generate revenue as you grow, gaining more customers could actually be a fast route to failure as your costs quickly outstrip your income

Read more >> https://liquidcapitalcorp.com/blog/business-growth/10-avoidable-mistakes-that-could-doom-your-startup/

Costly Misconceptions About NDA's (Non-Disclosure Agreements)

By:Michael J Foycik Jr. 
The author is a patent attorney with over 28 years experience in patents and trademarks. For further information, please email at IP1lwyr@gmail.com, or call at 877-654-3336.

You (the owner) has  an invention, a business idea, or a trade secret.  To develop your invention, start a business, or talk with investors, you'll need to share information with these recipients, and you'll want protection before showing them anything.  Many think an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) will solve this problem, but there are major pitfalls to avoid.  And, an NDA might not be the best solution anyway.The biggest misconception, in my view: an NDA is intended to protect and help the owner of the invention, business idea, or trade secret.  An NDA is much more likely to protect the recipient of the information, and not the owner.  Let's see why that may be true.
Many NDA's provide for arbitration as a remedy rather than litigation, but that only benefits the richer party.  Why?  A court action can be filed for free or at very low cost, but an arbitration usually requires the payment of substantial fees up front, and more fees at later stages.  When the recipient is a relatively substantial corporation or business, such fees may seem small, but to an individual or small businessperson such fees may be too great and they cannot enforce the NDA.
Normally, large companies fear litigation, and that is incentive for them to keep honest.
Another misconception: all NDA's are alike.  Not at all.  Each has to be studied in detail, because
many NDA's have fine print that lets the recipient off the hook.  I have reviewed many NDA's over the years, and have found serious flaws in most of them: the legalese unbinds the recipient one way or another.  Some unbind the recipient after a period of time, while others grant rights to the recipient.  Some are written to be so confusing that they defy interpretation.
And, there is the misconception that an NDA is the best solution for safeguarding your rights.  Often it is not.  Keeping the information as a trade secret can be very effective due to the possibility of punitive damages when enforced by a court.  There are steps that can readily be taken to secure and document trade secret status.

Read more >> http://internationalpatentservice.com/Costly-Misconceptions-About-NDA.html

Cleantech Startups Thrive When They Collaborate With Government Agencies

By: Steve Hanley 

An international team of researchers at the University of Cambridge, the Technical University of Munich, and the University of Maryland reports that startups which collaborate with government agencies file 73% more patent applications than those who do not pursue such collaboration. Their report, published March 7 in the journal Research Policy, is entitled Governments as partners: The role of alliances in U.S. cleantech startup innovation. The findings could have important implications for new green startups in the cleantech sector.

“Our findings suggest that some of the signs commonly used to track innovation and business success, such as patents and financing, increase when new cleantech companies partner with US government departments or labs,” says study co-author Laura Diaz Anadon, professor of climate change policy at the University of Cambridge. According to Science Daily, the patenting activity of a startup climbs by more than 73% every time they collaborate with a government agency on “cleantech” development — from next-generation solar cells to new energy storage materials.

The study also found that every time a cleantech startup licensed a technology developed by a government agency, the company secured more than double the amount of financing deals when compared to similar startups and a 155% increase one year after taking out a license.

Professor Claudia Doblinger at the Technical University of Munich, said: “Government research laboratories have a major role to play in the climate challenge but also the growth of small businesses — twin objectives at the heart of many policy discussions such as the Green New Deal in the United States.”

Read more >> https://cleantechnica.com/2019/03/20/cleantech-startups-thrive-when-they-collaborate-with-government-agencies/

PATENT ASSIGNMENTS - WHAT INVENTORS SHOULD KNOW

By: Michael J Foycik Jr. 
The author is a patent attorney with over 28 years experience in patents and trademarks. For further information, please email at IP1lwyr@gmail.com, or call at 877-654-3336.

If you're an inventor who is considering signing an Assignment of a patent or patent application, there are a few things you may want to know.  Most questions concern the language of the Assignment itself, namely the promise to assign future improvements and to sign new patent applications related to the invention.

The typical Assignment includes language assigning the invention to the new owner (called the Assignee).  That new owner is usually either an employer or someone who wishes to purchase the rights to the invention.  For that new owner, some of the value of the invention may reside in the ability to file more patent applications, to make a family of products.

For example, let's say the invention is a big success; the new owner will surely want to file more patent applications for any likely variations that a competitor might try.  And, let's say the original inventor has moved on to a new company or a new business.  How much of a burden will be on that inventor, under the terms of the typical Assignment?  And, what about new inventions the inventor later makes – will those need to be assigned to the new owner under the terms of the original Assignment?

The key to answering the above and other questions is in understanding the legal meaning of the term “invention” in the original Assignment.  The term “invention” must necessarily refer to the invention as shown and described in the patent application, and to any “obvious” variations.  Because the courts generally define the word “invention” in this manner, it would appear that the inventor's future obligations should not be overly burdensome. 

For minor variations, the inventor will very likely have to sign future patent applications under the terms of the original Assignment.  What are minor variations?  Court decisions have enumerated those that most often occur, such as size, shape, color, obvious extra features, and the like.

But, if the variation itself rises to the level of a new invention, then it is likely a court would consider that to be beyond the scope of the original Assignment.  There are many court decisions on this subject.  This is where inventors can make money, since presumably there is a good reason for the new patent application, probably because the new owner (the Assignee) is making money on the invention.  The Assignee of the original invention may have a lot at stake, and therefore may be willing to pay for the inventor's cooperation. 

Read more >> http://internationalpatentservice.com/Patent-Assignments-What-Inventors-Should-Know.html

Trademark Protection Costs in Europe: Southern Europe

By: Anthony De Andrade

In our previous article, Patent Protection Costs in Europe: Southern Europe, we illuminated the costs of protecting inventions and innovations (i.e., the costs of patent protection) in the Southern European economies of Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. In this article, we shall delve into the costs of brand protection (i.e., the costs of trademark filing and registration) in the top Southern European economies.

Southern Europe

For the purposes of this article, the region of Southern Europe refers to the region encompassing the following countries and territories: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Gibraltar, Greece, Italy, Malta, Montenegro, Portugal, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Kosovo. This classification is in line with that followed by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations.

Trademark Filings in Southern Europe

In the year 2016, the National Intellectual Property/Trademark Offices of Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Malta, Montenegro, Portugal, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, and Macedonia collectively received close to 275,000 trademark applications, with about two-thirds of the total trademark applications being filed with the Italian Patent and Trademark Office and the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office. Along with Italy and Spain, Portugal was the only other jurisdiction to receive more than 25,000 trademark applications.

However, as the countries of Croatia, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain are also members of the European Union, European Union Trademarks registered by the European Union Intellectual Property Office are also valid in these jurisdictions. The European Union Intellectual Property Office received 369,970 trademark applications in 2016. These figures are based on the numbers in the World Intellectual Property Indicators 2017 report published by the World Intellectual Property Organization.

How Much Does Trademark Protection Cost in Southern Europe?

Let us now discuss the costs involved in protecting trademarks in the top three Southern European economies (i.e., Italy, Portugal, and Spain) and, subsequently, getting them registered. Typically, there are three categories of costs involved: official fees, attorney charges, and translation costs.

The costs are generally dependent on the number of classes of goods and services under which the trademark application is filed. The current version of the ‘International Classification of Goods and Services’ (Nice Agreement Eleventh Edition — Version 2018) contains 34 classes for goods and 11 classes for services.

Read more >> https://medium.com/@quantifyip/trademark-protection-costs-in-europe-southern-europe-3d0b16239b3a

Trade Secrets - Better Protection Than a Patent for New Products and Inventions?

By: Michael J Foycik Jr. 
May 24, 2013 
The author is a patent attorney with over 28 years experience in patents and trademarks. For further information, please email at IP1lwyr@gmail.com, or call at 877-654-3336.

You can establish a trade secret overnight, but not a patent.  A patent takes longer.  And, even if you could, would it really provide much protection against copying by distributors, retailers, developers, or investors?  Here's a surprisingly useful answer.

 A trade secret has some big advantages.  It is effective against anyone you have direct dealings with.  The damages for a trade secret violation are not limited to direct damages – they can be large enough to justify legal action against even a small or token violation.  This is very unlike a patent, where it is necessary to show actual, direct damages; those damages tend to be somewhat small; and where it can be quite difficult to obtain punitive damages. 

 So, why isn't there a “trade secret” office?  And, why doesn't everyone go after a trade secret first, instead of a patent?  Excellent questions.  A patent protects your invention after it is no longer secret, and it affects strangers who may innocently infringe patent rights.  So, a patent is very worthwhile, once you've gotten a good start.  But until then, all you really have going for you are your trade secret rights.

 Let's see why there's no “trade secret” office.  First, you can easily establish your trade secret rights yourself.  How?  Start by documenting the materials you regard as your trade secret, and mark the pages “confidential.”   You can just mark the cover page as confidential, but more is better.  Whenever you show the materials to anyone, document that: write a note to yourself stating who saw the materials and when they saw them; and put a copy of the exact materials shown in an envelope.  If you have witnesses, write down their names.  If there were telephone calls or emails, note those; and so on.

Read more >> http://internationalpatentservice.com/Trade-Secrets-Better-Protection-Than-a-Patent-for-New-Products-and-Inventions.html