A U.S. patent owner has the right to stop others from making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing a product that infringes any claim of the patent. (Claims are the numbered paragraphs found at the end of the patent.)

The answer to your question would depend on whether any of the... View More

~20 years from filing for a U.S. Utility patent and 15 years for a U.S. Design patent (was 14 until a few years ago). The Utility patent term can be affected by patent term adjustments, and reliance on the filing date of any earlier priority application, and other factors.

Once a patent... View More

A "patent search" has many shades of gray. At one end of the spectrum, an informal search can be done using keywords about an invention on various search engines or via government websites such as www.uspto.gov and https://worldwide.espacenet.com/. Or a patent attorney can conduct a... View More

Generally speaking, if no international application was filed based on the U.S. application before it issued as a patent, it's too late to file in other countries. In that scenario, the U.S patent would be considered "prior art" to the later filed international applications on the... View More

According to the American Intellectual Property Law Association's 2019 Report, the USPTO (government) filing fees for a U.S. Design patent application are in the range of $240-$960+, and the average national attorney fee to prepare and file the design application is around $1,815+. Draftsman... View More

Trademarks (for goods) and service marks (for services) are used for identifying the "source" of the goods/services. Business names sometimes are referred to as trade names.

Your question is a little unclear. If you are asking whether a business name can also be used as a... View More

Your question is a bit vague - if you're asking whether the causes of action in the original state case can be revisited, the answer is "maybe." It would depend among other things on whether the evidence of the "lies" is new or known at the time of the original case, or... View More

If you're asking if comparative advertising ("CA") is permitted, the general answer is "yes." ("Fair use" is a defense if sued.)

But the devil is in the details. For instance, the CA should be truthful and not be misleading or deceptive. An in-depth... View More

This is not legal advice, but an informal glance at U.S. Trademark Office records suggests that there are over 100 pending applications or active registrations using the phrase "BE KIND" as a mark or as part of a mark.

Numerous factors are considered in determining whether a mark... View More

U.S. patents have "maintenance fees" that are due at 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years. Some patent owners don't pay those fees for various reasons, and the patents expire for non-payment.

Sometimes a patent is litigated in a federal court and found to be invalid or unenforceable for... View More

Copyright is not used for names, slogans, etc. But a short phrase might be protectable and usable as a trademark or service mark.

This is not legal advice, but it appears there is a mark "BUILDING AND FINANCING THE AMERICAN DREAM" that is federally registered and being used for... View More

You had the copyright as soon as you created the work (you might say a "common law copyright"). But to be eligible for "statutory damages," U.S., copyright law encourages registration before publication. Beyond 3 months after publication, if there's been an infringement,... View More

A U.S. provisional patent application (PPA) never itself becomes a patent so the name is a bit of a misnomer. A utility patent application (UPA) can claim benefit of a PPA if the UPA is filed by the first year anniversary of the PPA.

In any case, a PPA can be assigned (bought) from the... View More

Possibly.

In large part it depends on how "FullsendWI" is used and for what. If it's not being used in the source-identifying sense of a "trademark," there's less risk of an infringement accusation. But if it's being used as a trademark or service... View More