Morriss O’Bryant Compagni, P.C. – Client Resources
Patent Information and Resources
Novel products and processes can provide significant commercial advantage when exclusivity is maintained. Left unprotected, however, competitors may quickly copy the technology and gain commercial advantage by avoiding the research and development costs expended by the inventor. Thus, patents are an important consideration for every technological advance. In the United States, a patent application must be filed within one year of the date on which the invention was first sold or publicly disclosed. In most other countries, however, any public disclosure of the invention prior to filing a patent application destroys the ability to obtain a patent in that country. Thus, if protection might be desired outside the United States, it is important to have a patent application on file with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office prior to any public disclosure of the invention. Once a patent application is on file in the United States, the applicant typically has one year to file an application for foreign patent protection.
Domestic
| United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) http://www.uspto.gov |
| USPTO Board Of Patent Appeals And Interferences Decisions http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/sol/foia/bpai.htm |
| USPTO Patent Database http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html |
| United States Patent Law http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/35/ |
International
| European Patent Database http://ep.espacenet.com |
| Andorra Trademark Office http://www.ompa.ad |
| Australian Industrial Property Organization http://www.aipo.gov.au/ |
| Austrian Patent Office http://www.patent.bmwa.gv.at/ |
| Belgian Patent Office http://www.european-patent-office.org/patlib/country/belgium |
| Benelux Trademark Office http://www.bmb-bbm.org/ |
| Brazilian Patent Office http://www.inpi.gov.br/ |
| Canadian Intellectual Property Office http://www.opic.gc.ca/ |
| Croatian Patent Office http://jagor.srce.hr/patent/ |
| Czech Patent Office http://www.upv.cz |
| The Danish Patent Office http://www.dkpto.dk/ |
| European Patent Office http://www.epo.co.at/epo |
| European Trade Mark Harmonization (OHIM) http://oami.eu.int/ |
| Finnish Patent Office http://www.prh.fi/en.html |
| French Patent Office http://www.inpi.fr |
| German Patent Office http://www.deutsches-patentamt.de/ |
| Hungarian Patent Office http://www.hpo.hu/ |
| Icelandic Patent Office http://www.els.stjr.is/ |
| Italian Patent Office http://www.european-patent-office.org/it/ |
| Lithuanian Patent Office http://www.houston.com.hk/hkgipd/ |
| Luxembourg Patent Office http://www.etat.lu/EC/ |
| Macedonian Patent Office http://www.ippo.gov.mk/ |
| Mexican Patent Office http://www.impi.gob.mx/ |
| Monaco “patent office” http://www.european-patent-office.org/patlib/country/monaco |
| Netherland Patent Office http://www.bie.minez.nl |
| New Zealand Patent Office http://www.iponz.govt.nz/ |
| Peruvian Intellectual Property office http://www.INDECOPI.gob.pe/ |
| Portuguese Patent Office http://www.inpi.pt/ |
| Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic http://www.indprop.gov.sk |
| Slovenian Intellectual Property Office http://www.sipo.mzt.si/ |
| Spanish Patent Office http://www.oepm.es |
| Swiss Patent Office http://www.ige.ch |
| United Kingdom Patent Office http://www.patent.gov.uk/ |
| World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) http://www.wipo.org/ |
| World Trade Organization (WTO) http://www.wto.org/ |
Trademarks Information and Resources
The goodwill of a business can be one of its most valuable assets. Goodwill typically derives from a trademark, trade name or service mark which consumers associate with a desired level of quality in products and services. If competitors adopt a confusingly similar mark, a substantial part of goodwill can be diverted away from the owner of the mark. Thus, it is important to protect trademarks, service marks and trade names through proper use and registration. Protecting the goodwill of a business involves properly evaluating the protectability of the names, symbols or configurations adopted by the business for use in connection with its goods and services, determining the right to exclusive use of those names, symbols or configurations as trademarks, service marks or trade names, and seeking registration of such marks.
| United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) http://www.uspto.gov | |
| USPTO Trademark Database http://www.uspto.gov/tmdb/index.html | |
| United States Trademark Law http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/15/ch22.html |
Trade Secrets Information and Resources
Most people mistakenly believe that trade secrets are limited to complex scientific formulas and laboratory notes. Under the laws of most states, trade secrets include any confidential or proprietary information which provides an enterprise with an advantage over its competitors. Such information can include customer lists, confidential supply sources and other information not readily available to the public. If this information falls into the hands of a competitor, or is misappropriated by employees, considerable damage can be done to the enterprise. By carefully drafting employment contracts and disclosure policies, confidential and proprietary information can be protected from improper disclosure. To achieve the full protection available, however, care must be taken to show that the information was indeed confidential and that efforts were made to prevent disclosure. Those seeking to leave an enterprise should consult legal counsel prior to doing so to avoid taking information which could subject them to liability. Legal advice can also help those leaving an enterprise to avoid litigation which is designed more to prevent competition than to protect legitimate trade secrets.
Inventor’s Help
| American Chemical Society http://www.acs.org/ | |
| Delphion (former IBM Patent Search Site) http://www.delphion.com | |
| European Patent Database http://ep.espacenet.com | |
| FTC Cases involving Invention Submission/Promotion Companies (next 4 listed below) |
| FTC Project Mousetrap http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1997/9707/mouse.htm | |
| FTC-9807-2 http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1998/9807/nisi.htm | |
| FTC-9807 http://www.ftc.gov/os/1998/9807/perminis.htm | |
| FTC-9709 http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1997/9709/nisi2.htm |
| IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) http://www.ieee.org | |
| Materials Research Society http://www.mrs.org | |
| Trade Show Information (Domestic and International) http://www.tsnn.com | |
Courts |
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| United States Supreme Court http://www.supremecourtus.gov | |
| United States Supreme Court Cases http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/index.html | |
| Court of Appeals for The Federal Circuit http://www.fedcir.gov | |
| Federal Courts http://www.uscourts.gov/links.html | |
| Utah State Courts Home Page http://www.courtlink.utcourts.gov | |
| Utah Federal Courts Home Page http://www.utd.uscourts.gov | |
Utah Links |
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| Utah Attorney General’s Office http://www.attorneygeneral.utah.gov | |
| Utah State Bar http://www.utahbar.org | |
Intellectual Property Organizations
| American Bar Association – Section of Intellectual Property Law (ABA-IPL) http://www.abanet.org/intelprop/home.html | |
| American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) http://www.aipla.org | |
| International Trademark Association http://www.inta.org | |
| International Trade Commission (ITC) http://www.usitc.gov | |
| Licensing Executives Society (LES) http://www.usa-canada.les.org | |
| World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) http://www.wipo.org | |
| World Trade Organization (WTO) http://www.wto.org |