Most people think of a cease and desist letter as a legal formality... a written instruction telling someone to stop doing something wrong. In practice, it often marks the moment a quiet problem becomes an active dispute. That is why the decision to send a demand letter should be treated strategically. A cease and desist letter does not simply communicate a position; it forces a response. The recipient may comply, negotiate, ignore the request, or fight back. Each of those re

Launching a new product or service is an exciting step for any business. But before you invest time and money into branding, marketing, and production, there is one critical task that can save you from costly legal battles and brand confusion: conducting a trademark search. Skipping this step can lead to unexpected challenges that might derail your launch or damage your reputation. What is a Trademark Search? A trademark search is a process of checking existing trademarks to

I often have clients come to me after receiving an unexpected cease and desist letter demanding the take down of copyrighted content and the payment of damages. Many believe that if an image can be found on the internet it is free to use. Others go a step further and pay for a license but they purchase an individual license rather than a commercial one and then use it in a commercial application. A recent Supreme Court ruling has expanded the window for copyright damages, a

Before engaging with a client in a new patent application I make a point of reviewing the overall grant rate statistics. Typically, the acceptance rate for patent applications in the United States hovers right around 50% . In 2020, the grant rate was 53% meaning that nearly half of the patent applications submitted never resulted in a patent. While the odds may be slightly in an applicant’s favor, it is important to understand that the battle for a patent is an uphill one

Recently USPTO Trademark applicants have been receiving calls from scammers claiming to be from the USPTO. The call identifier may note “USPTO”; however, these calls are being spoofed. Generally speaking, you will not receive a call from the USPTO unless you are a pro se applicant and have a trademark that is currently in the prosecution phase. In such a case, the caller will identify the application and their name which should correspond to the application under examin

Successful entrepreneurs like Elon Musk say it is not failure that most people regret, but inaction. CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/overcome-fear-failure-instead-adam-grant?trk=eml-b2_content_ecosystem_digest-hero-14-null&midToken=AQHJ1lpda7ArKQ&fromEmail=fromEmail&ut=2VPPahjIVfBD81"

If you have developed a mobile application you should consider protecting your intellectual property rights by filing trademark and patent applications where applicable.  You should also consider federal copyright registration as a means of protecting the code and layout of your application.  Click here for full article.

A $1.6 Million dollar award for attorney fees was recently confirmed against a plaintiff held to have pursued a bad faith infringement action. Click here for full article

A recent ruling by the Federal Circuit held that claims must do more than simply accelerate human calculations in order to be eligible for patentability. Inventors would be wise to distinguish the role of the computer in their patent application. Click here for full article