Author Archives: mwillee

Last time on MSNBC, Mary Juetten shared her thoughts about 4 common IP misconceptions on JJ Ramberg’s show, The Business War Chest. This time, Mary and JJ delved into a segment on trademarks and five important things you need to know before applying for a trademark.

Did you catch last night’s season premeire of Shark Tank? If you have been busy working out the details of your innovation, you may not have had the opportunity to tune into this popular TV show on which entrepreneurs seek investments from five self-made multi-millionaires and billionaires. If you have watched the TV show, thenContinue reading ““I’m In”: Why Entrepreneurs Use Patents”

College football is one of America’s most popular sports, and it affords the young men who play it the opportunity to become household names before they even reach the legal drinking age. From the greats of yesteryear like Archie Griffin, Herchel Walker, and Doug Flutie, to more recent icons like Tim Tebow and Johnny Manziel,Continue reading “Add Trademarks to the “Trill” List”

Last week’s Traklight on Forbes series shared 5 Tough Lessons from Fundraising. Check back every Thursday for more content. Thanks for reading!   When you’re first starting a business, becoming a thought leader in your industry is probably the last thing on your mind. But as we see the increased use of inbound marketing and content distribution swayContinue reading “Forbes Update: 7 Tips For Thought Leadership On A Startup Budget”

If you were anything like me as a child, you had an unyielding love of the Star Wars films. From the wreched hive of scum and villainy that was Mos Eisley to a floating outpost called Cloud City, the films presented a world unlike anything I had ever seen. Perhaps most important to its longevity,Continue reading “Star Wars Director is After a Beer Brewery in Trademark Suit”

At Traklight, we share a lot of intellectual property (IP) horror stories (my vote is to set up a campfire and roast marshmallows over it next time). There are countless examples — these are just some of our most recent submissions. Hold on to your loved ones, and brace yourselves.

If intellectual property (IP) was a rock band, then a patent would definitely be the lead singer. This is not to say they are better than other forms of IP, just the face of it, and an important one if applicable to your IP. An investor is more likely to be impressed with an IPContinue reading “Prioritized Patents: Do They Only Help Companies like Google?”

We are two today! This is the second anniversary of coming out of beta with our first self-guided questionnaire, ID your IP. Not to be confused with the date of our first website launch (Dec 2011), first IP Vault product (April 2012), our re-launch of our completely re-factored platform (March 2014). I am sure thereContinue reading “Happy Birthday Traklight: Into the Terrible Twos*”

Hello Trakers, 

If you’re scared about showing your unpatented invention to anyone, then you should know that there’s a provision in patent law that allows you to disclose your invention for experimental use without it violating the novelty prong of patentability.