Whether something is novel and nonobvious depends on the specific "prior art" that already exists. It is often helpful to conduct a "patentability search" before applying for a patent. This typically will involve a search (by a professional searcher) of what publications (such... View More

You are probably at some risk. You could receive a rejection based on the mark you found, but this will depend on how similar the services are (additionally, in this case, the nature of the particular mark you found has several complicating factors). You could also receive a rejection for... View More

There are different costs involved, depending on the details. When filing a trademark application, you file in one or more “classes” (these are categories of goods/services), and the more classes, the greater the cost. There are also costs after filing of the application, which can vary... View More

This is a difficult one. It would be tough to establish you have copyright protection in the floral arrangement itself. Theoretically, you could, but temporary articles of nature like this are always tough. You’d face several hurdles: it needs to have a threshold level of creativity (i.e.,... View More

This question is really to broad to answer, and depends on a lot of details. But, if you are asking about a patentable innovation, and someone else contributed to this innovation during the hackathon, then that means you likely have at least on co-inventor. In that case, no, the email would... View More

If you know the name of the company that you think owns the patent, you will usually be able to find a copy of it. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has a search tool for patents here:

https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/static/pages/landing.html

This tool allows you to easily... View More

The timeframes you’re discussing relate to copyrights, not trademarks. For a trademark, as long as the owner continues to use the name and continues to timely submit the proper renewal forms and fees, their protection does not expire.

To obtain an issued, enforceable patent, you would file a “utility” patent application. When you say ”the process 4 a patent,” are you referring to the preparation of this patent application, or the process of ultimately obtaining an issued patent (i.e., the back-and-forth with the patent... View More

This will depend on the details of your specific game, and it would require a professional search. When we do these, we hire a specialized searching company that performs a “clearance search” (in this case, they would search for those patents claiming a trading card game that are closest to... View More

If the owner of a federal trademark registration fails to submit the required paperwork/fees by a relevant deadline (including the sixth month grace period), it will go abandoned and will be considered a “dead” registration. If the registration is dead, you can file an application and obtain a... View More

Generally, no. When you trademark a logo, the coverage is limited to that particular design and designs that are “confusingly similar” to that design. The devil is in the details. Your trademark registration will not provide protection again “every” iteration of the character. But it will... View More

This is a scam. This entire scenario is fabricated. Unfortunately, trademarks have become a common target of scams in recent years.

It's not clear from your question which inventors/patents you are referring to, but it is possible you are not receiving a response because they may not have any rights. Rights need to be licensed from the owner, and often, the owner is different than the inventor(s). If you haven't... View More

I’m very sorry to hear about your father. I similarly lost my mother last December, as an only child, and I know it is not easy to go through by yourself. You will want a probate lawyer, who will be able to at least make that aspect of the process easier for you.

You will first need to determine whether you want to trademark the name or the icon (or both). You can file the application(s) at the USPTO's website: https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/apply/initial-application-forms

Based on the current registration, you will probably be ok if you use just the phrase PARIS BY NIGHT on your handbags. However, you can further strengthen your rights in this regard by filing for your own trademark registration for this mark for handbags.

You can find the patent here:

https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/1a/fe/e7/c524f5af535b2f/US7841848.pdf

The face of the patent has the inventor's address, so you can correspond with them directly.

This is a little too vague to answer. This will depend on how similar the overall trademarks are, and how similar the goods/services that the marks are used with are. You should consult a qualified trademark attorney with the specifics of your case.

Your question doesn't specify what patent you're referring to, but note that patents are geographically limited. For example, if you are looking at a U.S. patent, it would only cover products made, used, sold, offered for sale, or imported in/to the U.S. However, you would want to check... View More

If you do not own the patents, there is not really a mechanism for you to do this. You can ask the patent owner(s) to file for a "correction" of the name on specific patents, but it is highly unlikely that they’ll be interested in doing so since there really is no business reason for... View More