protecting your law firm’s hidden treasures · trademark? §assuming a trademark qualifies for...
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ProtectingYourLawFirm’sHiddenTreasures:IntellectualPropertyAssetsyoudidn’tknowexisted
J.D.HOUVENER,
PATENT ATTORNEY ANDFOUNDEROF BOLD IP, PLLC
MAY24 , 2017
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“LawFirmsareknownonlybytheirSurnames,andthosecan’tberegisteredtrademarks…”“Thereisnosenseinregisteringacopyrightforthingsyouwriteforthefirm,itputsyouataseriousriskforbreachingethicalrules”“…AttorneysdonotneedtoworryaboutIPbecauseitsonlyimportantforbusinesseswhodevelop/sellrealproductsandneedtoprotecttheirbrands.”“LawFirmsandtheirattorneyscan’tpatentanything,theywouldn’tqualify…”“Thereisnospecialsaucehereatthelawfirm,wesimplyserveourclientsthebestwecanwiththeresourceswearegiven”
First,SomeMyths…
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SomeTruths…• Lawfirmislikeanyotherbusiness• SellingLegalServices• Goodwill/Reputation• CopyrightedWorks• Patents• TradeSecrets
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TypesofIntellectualProperty
• Trademark• Copyright• TradeSecret• Patent
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Whatisatrademark?15U.S.Code§ 1127
§Atrademarkisaword,symbol,orphrasethataccomplishestwothings:◦ 1.distinguishanindividual’s(orcompany’s)goods/servicesfromthegoods/servicesofothers
◦ 2.indicatethesourceofgoods/services
§Anapplicantforatrademarkregistrationmusthaveabonafideintentiontousethetrademarkincommerce(oralreadybeusingthemarkincommerce)
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Whatis“useincommerce”asappliedtolawfirms(servicemarks)?15U.S.Code§ 1127
§Aservicemarkis“usedincommerce”when:(1)themarkisusedordisplayedinthesaleoradvertisingofservices,and(2)theservicesarerenderedincommerce
(aservicemarkisconsideredasub-setoftrademark)
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Howdoyouacquirerightsinatrademark?§Assumingatrademarkqualifiesforprotection,rightstothetrademarkcanbeacquiredinoneoftwoways:
(1)bybeingthefirsttousethemarkincommerce;or(2)bybeingthefirsttoregisterthemarkwiththeUSPTO
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Whatistrademarkinfringement?
15U.S.Code§ 1114Atrademarkisinfringedwhen:
◦ (1)someonewhoisnottheownerofthetrademarkuses(orintendstouse),withoutpermissionorauthorizationfromtheowner,areproduction/copy/colorableimitationofaregisteredtrademarkinconnectionwiththesale/distribution/advertisingofanygoods/services,and
◦ (2)thatunauthorizeduse(orintenttouse)islikelytocauseconfusionforconsumers
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Whatisthestandardcourtsusefordeterminingtrademarkinfringement?
§ConsumerConfusion/LikelihoodofConfusionStandard
§Courtstypicallylookat7factors§ (1)thestrength ofthemark;§ (2)theproximity ofthegoods;§ (3)thesimilarity ofthemarks;§ (4)evidenceofactualconfusion;§ (5)thesimilarityofmarketingchannelsused;§ (6)thedegreeofcautionexercisedbythetypicalpurchaser;§ (7)thedefendant'sintent.
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Howdotrademarksapplytolawfirms?• Lawfirmsprovidelegalservices!• Nolawfirmshouldbethesameasanother,showoffyourdistinctiveness!• ProtectDifferentServiceOfferings:• Example:BoldPatents,BoldVentures,andBoldInnovationsarebothpendingapplications
• ProtectGoodsOfferings:• Example:“LawFirmInaBox”,proprietarysoftwareorpracticemanagementsuite
Microsoft Word Document
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Whatisacopyright?17U.S.Code
ACopyrightistherightofanauthor/creatortocontroltheuseanddistributionofhis/herworkforalimitedperiodoftime.
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Whatcanbecopyrighted?17U.S.Code§ 102
§Onlyanoriginalworkofauthorshipwhichisfixedinatangiblemediumofexpressioncanreceiveacopyright.
§Youcannotcopyrightanidea.However,onceanideaiswrittendown,recorded,orotherwisetransferredintophysicalform,thatresulting“workofauthorship”is“fixed”andthereforeligibleforcopyrightprotection.
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Whatdoestheownerofacopyrighthavetheexclusiverighttodo?
17U.S.Code§ 106§Theownerofacopyrighthastheexclusiverightto§ reproduce§ perform§ display(publicly)and/or§ preparederivativeworksbasedonhis/heroriginalworkofauthorship(orauthorizeotherstodoso)
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Whendoescopyrightprotectionbeginandhowlongdoesitlast?
17U.S.Code§ 302
• Copyrightprotectionbeginswhentheoriginalworkofauthorshipiscreatedandfixedinatangibleform
• Copyrightprotectionlastsuntil70yearsaftertheauthor’sdeath(ifauthorisnamed),95yearsfromtheyearoftheworks’creation(ifworkisanonymous),and120yearsfromthework’screation(iftheworkisdoneforhire)
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Howdocopyrightsapplytolawfirms?• Manyofthedocumentsthatattorneysprepareinthecourseoftheirlegalpracticecanbeconsidered“originalworksofauthorship”whichareabsolutelyeligibleforcopyrightprotection
• Someexamplesofcopyrightablematerialsoftenusedbylawfirmsorpreparedbyafirm’sattorneysare:
(1)thewrittencodefordiscoverysoftwaredevelopedin-house,and
(2)legaldocumentswhichareuniquetothefirm(i.e.notindustrystandardorcomprisedofboilerplatelanguage)
Microsoft Word Document
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WhatisaTradeSecret?18U.S.Code§ 1839
§Atradesecretisanyconfidentialbusinessinformation,notgenerallyknownbythepublic,whichhaseconomicvaluetothebusinessorentity,andwhichthebusinessorentityhastakenreasonablestepstokeepsecret
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Whenisanother’suseofanentity’stradesecretactionable?
UTSA§ 1
§Ifacourtdeterminesthattheinformationqualifiesasatradesecret,thecourtcanprohibitanotherpartyfromusingthetradesecretif:◦Obtainedtheinformationthroughimpropermeans,or◦Obtainedtheinformationthroughmisappropriation
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Howdotradesecretsapplytolawfirms?• Alawfirmisabusiness.Justlikemanyotherbusinesses,lawfirmsoftenpossessinformationthatisnotpubliclyorwidelyknownandfromwhichthefirmderiveseconomicbenefit.
• Someexamplesofthetypesofinformationlawfirmsmaypossesswhichcanbeconsideredtradesecretsare:
(1)advertisingstrategies/processestoattract/retainclients,(2)listsofcurrentclients,(3)in-housedevelopeddiscoverysoftwareforwhichno
patenthasyetbeenfiled
Microsoft Word Document
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Whatisapatent?•ApatentisacontractbetweenaninventorandtheU.S.governmentgranting(foralimitedtime)theinventorthesolerighttoexcludeothersfrommaking,using,orsellingtheinventioninexchangeforpublicdisclosureoftheinvention
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Whatispatentable?35U.S.Code§ 102§Aninventionispatentableifitisdifferentfromallpreviousinventionsthatwerepublicknowledgepriortothefilingdate(itisnovel)
35U.S.Code§ 103§Aninventionispatentableif,whentheinventioniscomparedtoallpreviousinventions,adeterminationismadethatapersonhavingordinaryskillintheartwouldnothavethoughttocreatetheinvention(itisnon-obvious)
§Tobepatentabletheinventionmustalsobepatentablesubjectmatter,andbeuseful,butbothoftheserequirementsareeasiertosatisfythannoveltyandnon-obviousness
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Whatmustbeincludedinapatentapplication?
35U.S.Code§ 111§Apatentmustinclude:
(1)awrittendescriptionoftheinvention,andofthemannerandprocessofmakingusingit,andconcludewithclaimswhichidentifythesubjectmatterwhichtheinventorregardsastheinvention,
(2)drawingsoftheinvention,and
(3)thenameoftheinventor(s)
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Howdopatentsapplytolawfirms?• Lawfirmsutilizetechnologyandvariousbusinessprocesseswhenprovidinglegaladvisetoclients.• Someexamplesofthingsthatlawfirmscouldpotentiallyobtainpatentsforare:
(1)discoverysoftware(2)methodsorprocessesofconductingclientintakeordiscovery(oranyothernecessaryelementsofalegalpractice)
Microsoft Word 97 - 2004 Document
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Thankyou!
©2017BoldIP,PLLC,AllRightsReserved
Speaker’sInformation:
J.D.Houvener,MBA,PE,[email protected](cell)800-849-1913(office)
PublishingFall,2017–Pre-OrderToday!
FREECopiesavailableatwww.boldip.com
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Questions?
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Q&A
Q:Whyaretrademarksimportantforlawfirms?
Q:Whatprerequisitesmustamarksatisfytoserveasatrademark?
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Q&AQ:Doesanoriginalworkofauthorshipneedtoberegisteredtoreceivecopyrightprotection?
Q:Whatisa“derivativework?”
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Q&AQ:Whatisa“workmadeforhire?”
Q:Whatconstitutes“impropermeans”forobtainingatradesecret?
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Q&A
Q:Whatconstitutes“misappropriation”forobtainingatradesecret?
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Q&AQ:Whatsteps(ataminimum)mustalawfirmtaketoprotecttradesecrets?
Q:Whatispatentablesubjectmatter?
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Q&AQ:Whenisaninventionconsidered“useful”forpurposesofdeterminingpatentability?
Q:Howlongarepatentsvalid(i.e.howlongdoespatentprotectionlast)?
Q:Whenisaninventionconsidered“publicknowledge?”