Invention involves conception of a useful idea coupled with its reduction to practice. In determining conception, more than a bare idea is required. Conception is the formation in the mind of a definite and permanent idea of the complete and operative invention as it is to be thereafter applied in practice. Reduction to practice is the realization of the idea through the making a of new device or product (or developing a new method of making or using something) or merely developing viable plans or formulas for doing so. In the alternative, “constructive” reduction to practice is achieved by filing a patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Read the rest of this entry »

Individuals and businesses in all industries routinely hire consultants to create materials for them.  Examples of materials often outsourced include websites, custom software, brochures, manuals and product literature.  Most purchasers of these items assume that they own all rights to them as soon as they pay for them.  Actually, often times they do not.  Read the rest of this entry »

As a business owner whose database includes confidential personal information on clientele, you have taken every precaution to secure this data to prevent a security breach. But even with the best security measures in place, occasionally companies find themselves in the unfortunate position of having unintentionally leaked this information to an unauthorized party. Read the rest of this entry »

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) recently adopted a new standard for trademark applications that can have disastrous consequences for trademark owners. To understand the significance of the new standard, one must first understand the nature of trademark rights. Read the rest of this entry »

While initially conceived in 1984 to punish hackers and safe guard classified financial and credit information relating to government and financial institutions, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (the “CFAA”) has evolved over the past two decades to reflect emerging technology in the areas it was created to protect. Specifically, the CFAA affords employers civil remedies which can be applied to workplace and unfair competition disputes by (1) providing employers with federal court jurisdiction over such disputes and (2) allowing employers to bring a CFAA claim without proving that the information fraudulently acquired was a trade secret, constituted confidential or proprietary information or breached an employment contract, confidentiality agreement or non-compete agreement. Read the rest of this entry »

Everyone recognizes famous trademarks. Who is not aware of Microsoft, Rolex, McDonald’s and Coca Cola? The tremendous value in these marks lies in their universal recognition. Because of the renown of famous trademarks, it is not uncommon for smaller businesses to attempt to capitalize on the goodwill of famous marks by associating their goods or services with another’s famous trademark or brand. Recognizing the extent of this problem, Congress enacted the Trademark Antidilution Act of 1995 (“TAA”) to specifically provide enhanced protection for famous trademarks. However, federal courts have been inconsistent in their application of the TAA. Consequently, in order to bring predictability to the protection of the most famous trademarks, the Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2006 (“TRDA”) became law on October 6, 2006. Read the rest of this entry »

Increasingly, anonymous bloggers are posting damaging and sometimes libelous comments directed against others on the Internet. However, identifying an anonymous blogger is not easy. Federal law requires an ISP to notify a blogger upon a demand for his identify. Courts typically become involved when an Internet Service Provider (ISP) files suit to ask relief from the demand or the blogger files a John Doe suit to maintain his anonymity. Read the rest of this entry »

A&G IP is the Intellectual Property practice of Archer & Greiner, P.C., one New Jersey’s largest law firms. The firm serves businesses and individuals throughout the region and in an increasing number of other states and jurisdictions. With a network of regional offices, the firm has more than 140 lawyers practicing in all major legal disciplines.

A provisional patent application is designed to provide a low cost initial patent filing in the United States. Provisional patent applications have become a popular way for applicants to secure early patent application filing dates for their inventions in the U.S. They have become widely used in rapidly evolving spheres of technology such as the Internet, telecommunications, software and biotechnology, although they are routinely used for all types of inventions. Currently, the U.S. government filing fee for a provisional application is $100.00 for individuals, non-profit organizations, universities and for-profit corporations of less than 500 employees, including affiliates (“small entities”) and $200.00 for for-profit corporations of 500 or more employees, including affiliates (“large entities”). Read the rest of this entry »

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was enacted to protect copyright owners from various forms of infringement in the digital age. It is perhaps most famous for its electronic copyright protection provisions. Those provisions make it unlawful to circumvent technological measures, e.g., encryption, that a copyright owner may use to prevent unauthorized access to music, software, movies and other works of authorship that are stored in an electronic medium.
A lesser known but very significant feature of the DMCA is its ability to be used to thwart online copyright infringement. In the absence of protective measures, information stored in electronic media may be easily reproduced. This exposes Internet Web sites as easy prey to potential infringers. Fortunately, the DMCA has a mechanism specifically designed to address this problem. Read the rest of this entry »