Protecting Intellectual Property

Transcription

Protecting
Intellectual Property
Peter D. Sabido
Kolisch Hartwell, P.C
Intellectual Property Law Firm
Portland, OR – Palo Alto, CA – Boise, ID
Invention to Venture Workshop
University of Portland
March 3, 2007
© Kolisch Hartwell 2007
All Rights Reserved
Objectives
 Understand the basics of the primary
areas of intellectual property law:
-
Patents
Trademarks
Copyrights
Trade Secrets
 Understand some entrepreneurial
considerations for each of those areas
All Rights Reserved
US Patent No: 6,970,105
Passenger Control System During a Plane Flying
"The system is designed in a
manner that the emotional
conditions of the passengers
are detected and, in case of
change of such conditions, the
plane personnel is informed so
as to intervene promptly on the
related passenger... the
system referred to can deliver
to the evil minded person a
substance like a narcotic or a
strong tranquilizer adapted to
neutralize the offensive
capability thereof”
All Rights Reserved
PATENTS
All Rights Reserved
What is a Patent?
Grants the right to exclude others from
making, using, selling, offering to sell, or
importing into the United States a
“patented invention” for a fixed period of
time.
All Rights Reserved
Types of Patents
 Utility Patents
 Design Patents
 Plant Patents
All Rights Reserved
What can be Patented?
 “Anything under the sun made by man”:
-
Devices
Compositions of Matter
Processes
Articles of Manufacturing
Methods of Use
Software
Business Methods
Genetically Engineered Organisms
All Rights Reserved
A Better Mousetrap
 U.S. Patent No. 5,706,601 to Dail et al. for
TRAP AND METHOD FOR TRAPPING A
MOUSE OR OTHER RODENT
All Rights Reserved
A Better Mouse
 U.S. Patent No. 4,736,866 to Leder et al. for
TRANSGENIC NON-HUMAN MAMMALS
All Rights Reserved
What cannot be Patented?
Principles
Laws of Nature
Mental Processes
Intellectual
Concepts
 Ideas
 Natural Phenomena
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 Mathematical
Formulae
 Fundamental Truths
 Original Causes
 Motives
All Rights Reserved
Requirements for Patents
It must be:
 Useful
 Novel
 Nonobvious
 Invented by you
All Rights Reserved
Securing Patent Rights

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Conception
Reduction to Practice
Filing of Application
Issuance of Patent
All Rights Reserved
Patent Considerations
 Conduct a patent search before filing a
patent application
 File the patent application before
disclosure or commercialization
- One year grace period in North America
- No grace period in many countries
All Rights Reserved
TRADEMARKS
All Rights Reserved
What is a Trademark?
Protects an exclusive “sign” that is used
to distinguish products or services
All Rights Reserved
Examples of Trademarks
Word
Word and Symbol
Stylized Word
All Rights Reserved
Symbol
Device
All Rights Reserved
Color
Slogan
Sound
All Rights Reserved
Types of Trademarks
 Federally registered trademarks
 State registered trademarks
 Common law trademarks
All Rights Reserved
Selecting a Trademark
 Two main considerations:
• A distinctive element
- Cannot cause confusion with existing
marks
All Rights Reserved
Can “Cake” be a Trademark?
No
 Common commercial
name for the goods
 Does not distinguish
goods from others in
marketplace
Yes
 Identifies goods
 Distinguishes goods
from others in
marketplace
All Rights Reserved
Trademark Considerations

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Conduct a trademark search early
Marks need a distinctive element
File an application or use the trademark early
Present the mark as a mark
- Set marks apart from regular text
- Follow marks with a trademark symbol (TM, ®)
- Marks are always adjectives, never nouns
All Rights Reserved
Leash With Sound
"A novelty item for creating the
illusion of an imaginary pet
including a hollow, elongated
leash with a handle at one end
and a collar and harness
adjacent the other end. Housed
within the handle, which is
hollow, is a battery power
source and an integrated circuit
for producing a plurality of
animal sounds.”
All Rights Reserved
COPYRIGHTS
All Rights Reserved
What is a Copyright?
Grants the right for a fixed period of time
to exclude others from:
 copying, distributing, and performing or
displaying publicly an original work of
authorship, and
 preparing derivative works based on the
original work of authorship
All Rights Reserved
What are “Original Works of
Authorship”?

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Literary works
Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
Audiovisual works
Musical works
Dramatic works
Sound recordings
Architectural works
Choreographic works
All Rights Reserved
Examples of Copyrights
Harry Potter – Book
(Literary Work)
Harry Potter – Movie
(Motion Picture)
All Rights Reserved
Examples of Copyrights
Harry Potter – Soundtrack
(Sound Recording)
Harry Potter – Movie Poster
(Pictorial Work)
All Rights Reserved
What are not “Original Works of
Authorship”?

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Ideas
Procedures
Processes
Systems
Titles
Short Phrases
 Methods of
Operations
 Concepts
 Principles
 Discoveries
 Useful Articles
All Rights Reserved
Types of Copyrights
 Automatic Rights
 Registered Rights
All Rights Reserved
Copyright Considerations
 Owner must provide notice
 Owner must register to enforce
 Independent contractors own the
copyrights in their work unless you have
an agreement to the contrary
All Rights Reserved
Device for the Treatment of Hiccups
"A device for curing hiccups,
comprising: a metallic cup-like
vessel being a first electrode for
producing electricity adapted to
be applied to the lip of the user;
and a second electrode
electrically insulated from said
first electrode being affixed to
said vessel and extending from
a point substantially within said
vessel to a point substantially
above a rim of the vessel.”
All Rights Reserved
TRADE SECRETS
All Rights Reserved
What is a Trade Secret?
A right that protects against acquisition or
disclosure by “improper means”
-
Theft
Bribery
Misrepresentation
Breach of a duty to maintain secrecy
Espionage
All Rights Reserved
Examples of Trade Secrets

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Drawings
Cost Data
Customer Lists
Compositions
Patterns
Compilations
Programs
Devices
Techniques
Processes
Methods of
Assembly
 Other Methods
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All Rights Reserved
Trade Secrets – Specific Examples
KFC’s
11 Secret Herbs and Spices
Coca-Cola’s
Secret Soft Drink Formula
All Rights Reserved
Acquiring Trade Secrets
Information that:
 Derives independent economic value
from being not generally known
 Is the subject of “reasonable” efforts to
maintain its secrecy
All Rights Reserved
Trade Secrets Considerations
 May last forever but all value may be
lost at any time
 If others patent what you have as a
secret, they could prevent you from
using your “secret”
All Rights Reserved
Wearable device for feeding and observing birds and
other flying animals
"A device for feeding and observing flying animals comprising:
a hat, the hat including a front portion and a rear portion;
a first support mounted on the hat and extending forward of the
front portion of the hat; and
a feeder configured
to contain food for
flying animals
mounted on the first
support, wherein the
flying animals can
be observed while
they feed.”
All Rights Reserved
Peter D. Sabido
Kolisch Hartwell, P.C.
Intellectual Property Law Firm
(503) 224 – 6655
[email protected]
All Rights Reserved

Protecting Intellectual Property

Transcription

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