You know you need to protect your intellectual property (IP), but how should you go about creating an IP strategy? To help you get started, here are three common mistakes made when creating an IP strategy that you should avoid:
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Unless you’re fortunate enough to live in an area that is always temperate, you’ll reach a point in the year where you’re grateful for the modern marvel that is climate control. That’s especially true here in the valley, where I dare say there’s no better feeling than stepping from a blistering 110-degree heat into the cooled confines of an air-conditioned building. And as with most things, technology has greatly improved how we’re able to heat and cool our living and working spaces, with companies vying to make the next great innovation. One recent lawsuit proves that the world of air conditioning can be as ruthless as a community college trade school.
Continue reading “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s…Thermostat Patent? | Allure Energy’s IP”
Specializing in intellectual property (IP), we often come in contact with people who know they have something unique to protect, but aren’t entirely sure what that is. Cornell University School of Law defines intellectual property as “any product of the human intellect that the law protects from unauthorized use by others.”
That definition is accurate, fine, and useful…if you understand the legal speak they’re using. But for the lay person, what is IP for a creative type?
As a startup, you may have limited resources; if you do not, great for you! However, it does not change the approach to your startup from the beginning. Planning and being methodical about your first business steps may seem counterintuitive to what you hear about the startup world. Often the end goal for startups is to exit for the most money possible and there is a sense that it is a rush to the end. While time is money, you cannot inexpensively undo mistakes that are made at the outset.
Since the JOBS Act was passed in 2012, observers have waited for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to establish rules for equity crowdfunding. To this point, the SEC has yet to release those rules, and in the absence of federal guidance, a number of states have established their own guidelines. Now the state of Arizona has a proposed bill that would add it to the list of states that have taken the initiative to create guidelines for small businesses to join the equity crowdfunding fray.
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Women make up 82 percent of network marketers due to their many awesome abilities. Those amazing capabilities, however, also put women at risk of being ripped off. Let’s say a woman has created a jammin’ anti-aging skin cream with a proprietary blend of herbs. She tests in on herself for two years and then waits another year to see if any side effects happen. She has pictures of her progress and vines of people congratulating her. She contacted Washington, D.C. for a trademark on her product which she calls WhatAge? A trademark is an intangible asset; it isn’t physical meaning it can’t be touched, but it protects which makes it an asset.
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Ever since the Super Bowl halftime show, the costumed “Left Shark” has gyrated his way into the nation’s heart. Not since a fateful office party has such poor dancing propelled someone to such heights of fame. In the week plus since the big game, “Left Shark” has become an internet meme used for just about every conceiveable purpose. You’d even bet money on shark costumes being the big seller this Halloween save for the relatively short lifespan of such novelties. Given the relative lack of longevity of such sensations, it was inevitable that some would try to cash in as soon as possible. One 3-D printer’s attempt to do just that has prompted Katy Perry’s lawyers to shut him down faster than Amity Island.
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There are 500 million photos uploaded to Facebook every day and 40 million photos are posted on Instagram every day. (Source)
Impressive figures, but why do they matter? They matter because they represent opportunities, some that have been missed. With tens of hundreds of millions photos uploaded to social media every day, there’s bound to be infringement on your content. Yes, YOURS. Let me explain in more detail below.
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For the media, the week leading up to the Super Bowl is a barren wasteland of regurgitated human-interest stories. The 24-hour news cycle, desperate to fill airtime and column space, reports on every bit of tedium that flows forth from the mouths of the athletes and coaches. No average viewer could possibly suspect that the players involved actually WANT to win the Super Bowl or that any of them have overcome obstacles on the way to the big game. Thankfully, Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch became the man who launched a thousand #hottakes when he repeatedly answered reporters questions with the same few words. And now, the man known as “Beast Mode” is looking to trademark his now-infamous desire to avoid financial penalty.
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During our years of working with entrepreneurs, the idea of a Traklight stamp or score has been raised numerous times. While the reports are informative with detailed information on next steps, we all like a quick, single measure that tells us how we’re doing. Since we relaunched the platform last spring, we have been working hard to create an easy-to-read visual representation of your business’ planning and preparedness, as well as helping to lay out a road map to future success. We’re proud to say that the Risk Chart now provides that road map, and we leveraged that to create the Traklight Assessment Grade (TAG).
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