Nebraska Patents Legal Questions

Drug development is very expensive - some estimates are over 1 Billion dollars to create and market a new drug. Patent protection allows the drug maker a limited time to recoup some of those costs - as nobody else can make, use or sell the patented drug until the patent expires - 20 years after the filing date. FDA delays for approval to sell the drug can be added to the patent lifetime - up to five years more. Without patent protection in a given country - anyone can make and sell the drug there.... Read Answer

If your business will just be local, then no big need to get a federal trademark. If you market is nationwide or more than just local than you should consider getting a federal trademark registration. Your chances of properly preparing filing and prosecuting your own trademark application are low. It would be best if you worked with an attorney who has trademark experience.... Read Answer

Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed. An e-mail might or might not qualify for copyright protection - it would depend on the content. Go see a copyright lawyer to find out.... Read Answer

US Copyright - Term Basic Information: The duration of copyright protection is governed by the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998. The easiest rule to state is that Copyrights have expired on all United States works registered or published prior to 1923. As a result, all such works have entered into the public domain. Beyond that, however, it is more complicated to determine when a copyright will expire. Like the old provisions, the duration of copyright protection under these new provisions depends upon when the work was created and first published. The three relevant time frames are: * works created on or after January 1, 1978 * works created before January 1, 1978, but not published until after this date * works created and first published before January 1, 1978 GOOD LUCK!... Read Answer

If you try to skimp and the technology has great value, it will be difficult to remedy the situation down the road. The utility patent has always been the crown jewel for protecting technology. Sometimes, an inventor can obtain a utility patent and a design patent for related inventions. However, there is no common law protection for an invention (unlike trademarks protection for marks and copyright protection for authored works). In some instances, trade secret protection is of considerable value. The forms of protection are not separate and distinct, and there is oftentimes considerable overlap and several different forms of protection should be used. If you have the resources and the technology is of sufficient value, it is recommended that you consider applying for any and every form of protection that is applicable to deter your competition. It is recommended that you consult an attorney and map out a plan to protect your technology.... Read Answer

By firm title I assume that you mean the name of the business - also known as the trade name. Trade names cannot be protected by copyright or trademark registrations. Trademarks protect the brand name of goods - Ford (brand) cars and trucks, etc. Copyright protects artistic products - books, movies, paintings, etc. Trade names can be protected under unfair competition laws - if another company seeks to confuse the public by having a name like yours - but this requires litigation to stop such activity. Hire a trademark lawyer to help you.... Read Answer

Hire a patent litigator. Investigate to product - buy it and study it to make sure it does infringe your claims. Who makes and sells the product? That will dictate who the accused infringers are. Double check your patent - make sure there are no validity issues - all maintenance fees paid, etc. If the claims cover the product - be ready to spend a lot of money - patent litigation is expensive. If the product is imported - think ITC action - stop the imports. Good luck.... Read Answer

The short answer is no. The difficulty with answering your question is that it is not clear what you mean by "international protection". Is that world-wide protection? Protection in Europe alone? Or in countries that recognize and subscribe to an international patent application? There is no single patent application that will give you world-wide patent protection. The most comprehensive single patent application you could file would be an international patent application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). With that one PCT application you could theoretically, achieve enforceable patent rights in some 148 contracting states (countries), which covers most of the world but not all of it. For example, Taiwan is not a signatory to the PCT. The real problem with "international protection" has more to do with the prohibitive cost. Because even after you prosecute a PCT patent application internationally and have allowable claims, you must nationalize that international patent application in every contracting state you for which you wish to have protection. Recall that all patent rights are geographically limited. As a rough rule of thumb, I tell clients that whatever it costs you to get protection in the US is an approximate cost for each foreign national patent application you file. And to top it all off, you have maintenance fees, renewal fees, annuities and the like for every national patent to keep them enforceable to their full term (typically 20 years from filing date). So out of economic necessity, you have to be very selective in which countries you wish to nationalize and seek patent rights.... Read Answer

Yes, you simply agree to a price and consummate the transaction with an assignment document. It is also preferable if that assignment is recorded in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Because the wording of the assignment is important to secure your exclusive patent rights, I would recommend you use a patent attorney to properly orchestrate the transaction. Most patent law firms charge a flat rate to prepare and file a patent assignment. At my firm the fee is $300. Note that the assignment can be used when you already have a patent or when you are still patent pending.... Read Answer

Most companies have their own non-disclosure agreements that they use, and they may not even want to sign your Agreement. If you drafted the Agreement, it is implied that you are agreeable to the terms and will sign it. If you sign the Agreement and send it to them, it makes it difficult for them to change the terms of the Agreement. We strongly recommend that you send them an unsigned draft to initiate the discussions.... Read Answer

Unfortunately you cannot copyright a short phrase. You might be able to protect the logo and phrase as a trademark for your goods - but that requires an association between the phrase and the goods. Think "Don't leave home without it" - which is a trademark for the American Express Company. Not printed on the card - but advertised with the card. Search google and the US Patent & Trademark Office website - www.uspto.gov - for other uses of the phrase. Then contact a trademark attorney if you want to proceed. Costs can be as high as $2500 for federal trademark work.... Read Answer

No, in making your own sauce for public sale, you cannot use a product owned by another without permission. The owner of that product not only has rights in the sauce itself but in the branding associated with it. As such, using it may violate multiple rights that the owner has in the product. With respect to the FDA, their role in marketing of your proposed product is primarily a regulatory one, whereby they regulate the actual manufacture of the product in order to ensure a safe product for the consuming public. In other words, the FDA does not handle the legal aspects associated with trade secrets, trademarks, etc.... Read Answer

Depends - does the knife say anywhere on it "made in Pakistan"? If not lets just use some common sense and ask "Why am I putting USA on the knife? Am I trying to trick any potential consumer into thinking that the knife was made in the USA?" Think of the word USA as advertising. Is what you are doing engaging in false advertising? Is it a designation of false origin? Look at the Lanham Act for your answer. I think the answer is simply "dont do it"... Read Answer