Wisconsin Intellectual Property Legal Questions

I will be happy to provide you with advice and guidance on your question.  No membership is required.  However, without knowing the scope of the question, I cannot determine the level of effort required to provide an answer.  I do provide a free initial consultation, and for many questions we can reach an anwer in the initial consultation, without any charges. Here's what I propose.  Why don't we have an initial consultation?  You will present your question and I, without answering it, will provide you with a quote, if there would be any charges at all for delving into the question.  If my quote is acceptable to you, you can engage me to answer your question. Regards, Anthony Claiborne Claiborne Intellectual Property Law Services 425-533-6132... Read More

Yes, the third party cannot apply for a patent based on your public disclosure. You have one year to apply for a patent from the date of disclosure. Best of luck. Disclaimer: The response is general in nature and cannot be construed as legal advice. If you would like to have legal advice, then please consult any competent attorney privately to discuss your case and establish a proper attorney-client relationship. I only work through my website at https://affordabletrademarkattorney.com/... Read More

When something becomes available to the public either through implicit or explicit disclosure, then it becomes part of the prior art for patent purposes. The disclosure can be a publication for everyone to access on a webpage, technology-related journal publication, or otherwise available to the public. See 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1). Therefore, any of the above public disclosures or other means may make it part of the prior art.  Even though you want your invention to be open-source, you can still financially incentivize it in the form of intellectual property licensing. If this is open-source software, then you can license your software for free as long as the non-exclusive licensee (that is a user of license) complies with the terms of the license. Many open-source software providers are highly successful by licensing. Consult an intellectual property attorney for licensing your open-source work. Disclosure: The response is general in nature and cannot be construed as legal advice. If you would like to have legal advice, then please consult any competent attorney privately to discuss your case and establish a proper attorney-client relationship. I only work through my website at https://affordabletrademarkattorney.com/... Read More

You want to ask the question in Civil Litigation. I have never dealt with any issue remotely similar to this one and it definitely does not relate to intellectual property. My recollection from law school is that the law has a hard time making sense of gifts. That said, the law normally looks at who possesses a good and then tries to determine if that person either came by the good wrongly or owed it to someone else. If he wants the car back, his argument may be that he bought it for you to use, he did not buy it for you to have.  In that case, you will need to show that he intended for you to take ownership of the vehicle and not simply use and maintain it. The registration is strong evidence in that regard. Try someone with experience in civil litigation for a more knowledgeable response.... Read More

I would think that it would have no effect since an invention that has not reached the point of "being ready for patening" cannot be sold.  On the other hand, if the invention has been fully developed and you are just seeking funding to go into production, and as part of the kickstarter funding you are providing the investor with the invention once it is produced, then you would be safer to file a patent application before putting it on kickstarter.... Read More

The notion that you are not liable for the consequences of your own negligence simply because the person you injured does not have insurance is ridiculous. You are never entitled to offset your own liability by the amount of the plaintiff's insurance coverage. There are not many $300 claims that are worthy of litigating. If you are sued, you can attempt to defend the action. You might have numerous such defenses to such an action, such as the absence of duty to anyone except your employer, the unforseeability of the particular harm in question, and the unreasaonableness of the damages sought by the plaintiff. Good luck.... Read More

As a general matter, when you provide someone else with an unsolicited idea, the recipient is under no duty to treat your disclosure confidentially or to refrain from making commercial use of it. An inventor or other creative individual who wishes to protect such an idea must first obtain an agreement from the company to which the idea is going to be disclosed in order to protect it. While it is possible that the company might settle your claim if properly asserted, it will be extremely difficult to find an attorney who is willing to take such a matter on a contingent-fee basis.... Read More