Patent - Business Method Patents - Part III

In this third article on business method patents we're going to continue our discussion with legal requirements for getting a business method patent.

In order for a company or individual to get a business method patent, the business method or software must meet the following requirements:

1. The method or software must be on a subject matter that the patent office defines as patentable. This is said to be anything created by humans that falls into two classes; laws of nature, natural phenomena and abstract ideas.

2. The method or software developed must be of some practical use. This is fairly easy to satisfy because any functional purpose will be good enough. A business only needs to demonstrate that its method or software produces some tangible result. For example; Amazon.com with their 1-click purchase produces a tangible result, an expected purchase.

3. The method or software must be novel. In other words, this method or software must be noticeably different from anything else that has come before it.

4. The method or software must be what they call "non obvious." What this means is that somebody who has ordinary skill in that specific technology would not have been able to think of it.

The cost of getting a business method patent depends on a number of factors, including the actual subject matter of the patent, how complex the examination process needs to be to determine if it is a new idea and whether or not the process goes through a lawyer. The cost for getting a business method patent can be anywhere from $3,000 to $15,000 unless you go through the process yourself without hiring a lawyer. After the patent is issued, the owner of the patent must pay maintenance fees to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office after 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years. If the patent should be challenged, and many are, costs for getting the patent can go through the roof.

The next legal requirement for getting a patent is novelty. An application for a business method patent will fail the novelty test if the method was in use for more than 1 year before the patent was applied for. It is because of this novelty requirement that a company must research whether this method already exists and if not, file for a patent as quickly as possible.

A business method is considered to be novel when it is different in at least one area from all prior methods. This is known as "prior art." Prior art consists of the following as per the USPTO in these exact terms.

1. "Any published writing (including any patent) that was made publicly available either: (1) before the date of invention of the business method or (2) more than one year before the patent application for the business method is filed."

2. "Any U.S. patent that has a filing date earlier than the date of invention of the business method."

3. "Any relevant method or process (whether described in writing or not) existing publicly before the business method was conceived."

4. "Any public or commercial use, sale, or knowledge of the business method more than one year before the patent application for the business method is filed."

Finally, as to the timeline for obtaining a business method patent, it takes two and a half to three years to get a business method patent from the date it was filed. The patent is valid for 20 years after filing. After that it becomes public domain and anyone can use the method.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Patents

Protect Your Ideas With Copyrights And Patents

Q: Can you tell me the difference between a copyright and a patent? Also is that something I should let a lawyer handle for me?

A: A wise man once said, "The biggest difference between a copyright and a patent is the number of lawyers it takes to do the paperwork." There is a point to be made there, mainly that if this wise man had paid his attorney to copyright that tidbit of wisdom I probably would have had to pay him five bucks to use the quote.

Copyrights, trademarks and patents are similar in that they are designed by law to protect your rights of ownership, but that's where the similarity ends. A copyright protects a creative work; a trademark protects a brand or company identity; and a patent protects an invention or process.

A copyright protects the rights of anyone who creates an "original work of authorship." A copyright owner has the exclusive right to reproduce the work; prepare spin-off works based on the copyrighted work; and to sell, perform and/or display the copyrighted work in public.

Copyright protection is afforded to eight categories of creative works: literary works (the written word); musical works (lyrics, music, melodies); dramatic works (plays, scripts, screenplays); artistic works (pictorial and sculptural), sound recordings (LPs, CDs, audio tapes); choreographic works (dance, pantomime); audiovisual works; and architectural works (blueprints, designs, renderings).

An original work is automatically copyrighted the moment it is put into a fixed format such as a paper copy or recording. In other words, once you put your original story in writing or make a recording of an original song, your copyright is automatically secured. From that moment on your work has copyright protection for your lifetime, plus 50 years after your death.

Registering a work with the U.S. Copyright Office is not required, but since it is relatively simple and inexpensive to do so, I advise that you register a copyright for each work you wish to protect. Also, your copyright must be registered in order to take legal action against someone who might infringe on the copyright in the future.

You can register a copyright without the assistance of an attorney. Simply visit the U.S. Copyright office website at http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/ and download the appropriate form. Complete the form and send it in with a $30 nonrefundable filing fee. This must be done for each individual work you wish to protect.

A patent is a form of protection granted to an inventor that protects his invention in the United States for up to 20 years from the date of application. Patent law states that, "whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, or any new and useful improvements thereof may obtain a patent." Owning a patent gives you the legal right to stop someone else from making, using or selling your invention (or one that's very close to it) without your permission. However, proving that someone is infringing on your patent is often difficult and usually requires a trial to settle the dispute.

Since the first U.S. patent was awarded in 1790, more than five million patents have been awarded. The patent office receives more than 230,000 patent applications every year and I can tell you from personal experience that a turtle on Prozac moves faster than the patent process. Patents can take several years, truckloads of paperwork, and considerable legal fees to obtain. The cost of obtaining a patent can run from $500 for a simple design patent to $50,000 and more for a complex utility patent. However, if your company has a truly patentable idea, you would be wise to invest the time and money required to secure your rights. A good patent can be a valuable business asset.

While you can file a patent yourself, I strongly advise that you use an attorney since a naively written patent application often isn't worth the paper it's printed on. Just recently my attorney did a patent search for me only to discover that a patent for a similar product was already in place. However, due to the ineffectual language of the patent application, the patent was practically impossible for the owner to enforce.

Good news for me. Not so good news for the wise man who wrote his own patent.

Here's to your success!

Tim Knox Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker http://www.prosperityandprofit.com http://www.dropshipwholesale.net http://www.smallbusinessqa.com http://www.timknox.com

Inventions, Patents and Profit

New Inventors

My name is Clyde Knight Jr founder of Knite Enterprises LLC. I have visited many newsletters and inventor resource websites where I found and read many interesting and informative articles. These web sites covered areas of inventing dealing with everything from creating and developing your ideas to selecting the right self-help resources.

There is a plethora of invention submission and promotion type corporations out there, as we have seen advertised on television and radio commercials. I have even experienced first hand how these companys work. They advertise one thing, but the result is a twist in legal technicalities that most inventors under estimate. In short, these invention submission corporations present the unwary, sometimes enthusiastic and often times legally nave inventor with a professionally looking office, with personable representatives and artistically enhanced forms and documents all pleasing to the eye and designed to persuade the inventor to sign away their legal rights.

Furthermore, self-help websites including the USPTO website do offer free and inexpensive resources. These resources usually explain details of the law that allows independent inventors to protect their own inventions by submitting their own ideas to the USPTO or applying for a patent themselves. Other methods of self-protection offered on these websites include retaining a combination of inventing professional to help them to submit their own patent application with out having to pay an attorneys high legal fees. Thus, saving them a costly expense.

In either of the cases sighted above what usually happens in the end is that the inventor is disillusioned, discouraged and frustrated. The inventor is discouraged by the bureaucratic red tape, precise and strictly adhered to submission protocols of the USPTO with associated astronomical expense on the one hand or legally frustrated by the immoral but legal bate and switch tactic of an unscrupulous submission promotion company on the other.

To see how these companies use the law to their advantage point your browser at http://www.ftc.gov/foia/frequentrequest.htm. There you will find which submission promotion companies are listed. In addition, the type of fraud they used on various inventors.

Many invention resource websites fail to explain that your invention may not be feasible, plausible or even marketable and that to pay for a patent application when your idea will not bring a profit may be an expense that you simply cannot afford. Additionally, they usually do not explain in a logical and clear manner the facts needed for the inventor to make an informed decision. They do not explain the facts gleaned from an objective and complete explanation of the cost and profit probability ratios - that is - the money that you spend to patent your idea vs. the probability of making a profit from your patent.

I have researched and have pain stakingly explained to the average inventor how to use the law to protect their invention with out having to disclose to a third party where their invention in all probability is most likely to be stolen. I also explain the myths, cost and profit probability ratios of spending $3,500 - $10,000 or more, when such an expense may not be in their best interest.

Our service is tailored for people who do not have or cannot afford to spend thousands of dollars on a patent. I explain that to spend this kind of money does not necessarily give the protection desired and that it does not guarantee profit. At Knite Enterprises, we take the inventors creativity and their right to claim it very seriously. We assist the inventing industry by taking the confusion out of the notion of claiming your invention and by making our services available to those of us who may have creative talent but are confused and discouraged from moving forward by financial constraints and responsibilities. To see what we are all about please visit us on line at: http://www.DIYinventor.com

Clyde Knight Jr is the founder of Knite Enterprises LLC. He started this online business in 1998. Knite Enterprises LLC recognizes the many problems that new inventors face when deciding on how to protect their ideas. Knite Enterprises LLC answers many of these questions and explains the advantages and disadvantages of traditional IP Protection.

Clickbank Vendors: Two Simple Ways You Can Help Affiliates Protect Their Sales.John Hocking

1) How To Remove Your Affiliates Clickbank Id From The URL.

As a merchant, you can hide the clickbank affiliate id for your affiliates by creating a redirect page and pointing your default hoplink to the redirect.

When some uses your hoplink http://hop.clickbank.net/?affid/yourid, the cookie will be set and they will land on your redirect page.

The redirect will send them to your domain without adding the ?hop= information. The cookie is already set and does not need to be shown.

This will help protect your affiliates commission and give your site a more professional appearance.

In the code examples below, you will need to replace [ and ] with less then and greater then symbols.

Create a file called hoplink.php

Add the following code

[?php
header("Location: http://www.yourdomain.com"); exit;
?]

Upload hoplink.php to the root of your domain.

Login into your clickbank account. Click to view or modify your account settings. Click to modify your account.

Under Business Info, change the url of your website to be http://www.yourdomain.com/hoplink.php

Click on save changes.

Now when a visitor clicks on a hoplink, it appears that they came directly to your site and the affiliate's id is no longer exposed. For this technique to be completely effective, the affiliate needs to cloak the hoplink as well.

2) How to Cloak Your Clickbank Vendor Id Using PHP

Most clickbank affiliate theft is caused by the fact that is easy to rebuild a hoplink and get credit for your own purchase. All you really need to know is the vendor id.

All you have to do is look at the source code of a typical sales link and you will see the vendor id.

For example:
http://www.clickbank.net/sell.cgi?YourVendorId/1/Product_Description

To rebuild the hoplink you simply use http://hop.clickbank.net/?AffiliatesId/YourVendorId

Now when you click on the hoplink and the original affiliate has lost a sale.

As you can see, without knowing the vendor id, you can not successfully rebuild the hoplink and the affiliates sale would be protected.

Below is an example of how to do this in PHP.

You will need to replace [ and ] with less then and greater then symbols.

Create a file called order.php

Add the following code

[?php

header("Location: http://www.clickbank.net/sell.cgi?YourVendorId/1/Product_Description");

exit;
?]

Just replace YourVendorID with your Clickbank ID Replace 1 with your product number Replace Product_Description with your Product Description

Upload order.php into the same folder as your sales page.

Now link to order.php instead of using the raw order link and your Vendor ID is never exposed

This will make it very hard for affiliates to rob other affiliates of their commissions.

I encourage you to make these simple changes to protect the commissions of your affiliates.

John Hocking created http://www.guidetoebookmarketing.com, A resource site for those looking for information on creating and marketing ebooks. You will find hundreds of articles, ebook reviews and resource links.

Trademark Searches

Why Every Web Business Needs One Trademark Searches

Why are Trademark Searches Necessary? HERE IS A TYPICAL STORY.......

About Trademark searches. You are up and running with your new Web based business. You have invested money and time developing your site and your online marketing program. Then, to your surprise, you receive a certified letter from a company in Washington State telling you that they own the name of your company and that you are to immediately cease and desist from all infringing activities. The letter goes on to cite a laundry list of bad things that the company is going to do to you if you do not immediately cease and desist.

Unfortunately this is a very common story. This situation can be avoided by performing a trademark search before you invest money in your business or domain name.

WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN SO OFTEN ?

The reason this situation occurs so often is that most people do not realize that simply owning a domain name and registering the name through the InterNIC does not necessarily confer the right to use that name for commercial purposes on the Internet or otherwise. It must be kept in mind when selecting a domain name that the InterNIC procedures and Trademark Law are two separate and distinct matters. Both must be considered when starting a web-based business.

REMEDIES FOR TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT

Remedies for trademark infringement range from (1) granting of an injunction prohibiting use of the infringing name, (2) seizure and destruction of infringing items which can be must broader in scope that the simple web page itself, (3) suit for damages based upon loss of profits to the owner of the name, your profits from the use of the name, value associated with dilution of the name, and other damages, (4) possible punitive dames that can far exceed the amount of damages actually suffered, and (5) possible attorney fee award. Each of these can haves disastrous effects on your business.

Trademark Search - MILLION DOLLAR ADVICE

Before using a domain name, every company that wants to create an Internet presence needs to perform a federal trademark search to assure that the name does not infringe on the rights of another party. Failure to get a trademark seach can lead to disastrous results as described above. Receiving a letter like the one that is described above will quickly make you wish that you had taken the precautionary step of performing a trademark search before resources are expended on your web presence.

TYPES OF TRADEMARK SEARCH

Trademark Search of Trademark Office. Simple Trademark Search. Several online companies offer online trademark searches of the trademark office records to determine whether your name infringes upon a registered trademark of another party. You can perform a trademark search of the trademark office database on your own. There is no need to pay for a trademark search of the trademark office database. I would argue that these free or bargain price trademark searches of the federal trademark records do you little if any good. Sure, they will tell you if your name infringes upon a party that has received a registration of a federal trademark. But that is all that type of search will tell you.

Understanding the limitations on this type of trademark search requires a brief description of the nature of trademarks and the trademark procedures. One key misunderstanding that a lot of people have about trademark law is that federal trademark rights DO NOT come into existence when a trademark application is filed and a registration is received. The reality is quite to the contrary. Trademarks rights arise upon use of a mark in interstate commerce. That means using the mark in connection with a good or service across state lines. State trademark rights can attach upon any use in connection with goods or services and do not require use in interstate commerce.

So it is obvious that there are loads of people out there who have valid claims of state and federal trademark rights who have never filed a trademark application. These people would not be found by searching the records of recorded trademarks in the federal trademark office. I would venture to say that there are more people out there who have claims that they have trademark rights that have not filed trademark applications than those that have actually filed applications. For this reason, in order to get meaningful results from a trademark search it is vital that common law sources also be checked. This type of search goes to a number of different business sources to search for conflicting names and gives you much more meaningful results that a simple trademark office search. In fact, prior to filing a federal trademark application, it would be negligence for any party to simply rely upon a search of the trademark office records. There are just too many potential parties out there that would not be picked up in this type of limited search.

It should be kept in mind that there is no search available that can give you 100% guaranteed results that there is no one out there that is doing business under your selected name. But relying on a simple trademark office search is unacceptably risky. Additionally, running a comprehensive trademark search can help you establish that you used good faith and any infringement is purely innocent if a party later crawls out of the woodwork and alleges infringement.

Sure, comprehensive common law trademark searches are more costly, ranging anywhere from $275.00 per search to $700.00 per search. But web-based businesses should factor this cost into their start-up expenses. It is perhaps the most important money that you will spend in terms of avoiding legal risk and expenses.

Article provided by DigiLaw Publishing, Inc. offering web development and technology agreement form document and resource packages at www.weblawresources.com

Traffic Isn't Where It's At!windsong

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. Only the author may edit. If you must edit, please don't publish. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated but not necessary.

TRAFFIC ISN'T WHERE ITS AT!! by: windsong

You've heard it before. You need to get traffic to your site. Promote, promote, promote. Thats what you get from all the promoters and marketers on line. Is this really true?

You want to market online. So you have built your site and submitted it to the search engines. You have placed classifieds and FFA's. You are continually promoting, and this is good. You DO want to bring traffic to your site. But it needs to be targeted traffic. What does that mean? It simply means that all the traffic you bring to your site should be potential customers. But everyone is a potential customer, you say. Wrong. You want to pull new traffic from those people who are already interested in what you are selling. However, all this new traffic to your site isn't worth anything unless they:

1. Stay at your site, instead of clicking away. 2. Return to your site often. 3. Buy your products or services.

Now you ask, "How do I keep 'em at my site?" and "How do I keep them coming back?" and "How do I get them to buy my products?" Well, actually its easy. There are a few things to consider. People out there in cyberspace are looking for information. They are looking for whatever they can get for free. They are in a hurry. They have no patience whatsoever. So how do you design your site to meet the needs of these surfers?

First off, you've heard the old saying, "content is king". This point can't be stressed enough. I have been to sites that claim to have content. They have tons of banners and maybe a link to an article or two, or some links to the sites of their friends. That is NOT content. Articles are great, but have them (more than one or two) on your site. Links to other sites can be good, but you need to be sure that they are relevant to the theme of your site. If not, you are going to lose that surfer before he/she has a chance to see what you are offering.

Offer things on your site that are free. These should be things that have actual value to your visitors, ie: a free internet marketing course, free E-books, free internet access, or free email accounts. You get the idea. The more the better. However, be sure that these are quality freebies. Nobody likes cheap and sleazy stuff. It may take a little effort on your part, and some negotiation with other webmasters, but will be worth all your efforts. You will be building a rapport with these surfers. They will remember where they got that terrific freebie and come back looking for more.

If your site is well laid out, and easy to navigate, in other words, user friendly, and you have more things on your site than what they have time for, chances are they will bookmark your site and will return at a later time. The more often they return, the greater the chances are that they will purchase one of your products or services. But remember this: the content on your site must be interesting enough for them to want to return. If they don't see anything that looks interesting they will click away and you have lost them forever. So the first and formost thing is to choose content carefully. Be sure that it is relevant to the theme of your site. If your site is geared around health related products, then DON'T have resources geared towards web design. It just won't fly.

Keep graphics to a minimum. Remember that these surfers are very impatient. They want a page to load fast. Graphics slow it down considerably. If you use images on your site, be sure to optimize them. You can reduce most graphic files to about 1/2 their size. This does not affect the size of the graphic, just the file. Some graphics optimizers can be found at: http://marketing-resources.com/utilities.html

If your main page is lengthy and takes a while to load, you may need to break it up into 2 or more pages. Be sure each page in your site has links to ALL the other pages. Make navigation easy. This will encourage surfers to check out all of your site, or at least the areas that they came there for in the first place. Then, hopefully, they will bookmark it as a useful resource. But you must have content that they will want to come back for.

How do you find content for your site? Easy. Surf the web. Spend some time searching out useful sites. The internet is an educational experience. Get out there and explore. Use it to your advantage. You will soon have a site that people want to go to. Keep them coming back. Many of them will buy your products or services. Keep updating your site so it never, ever becomes stale. Keep those surfers happy. See you at the bank!

windsong is the webmaster/publisher at: http://marketing-resources.com/

Learn what you need to know about designing your site! Subscribe to windsong's free e-zine: All About Web Design!(tm) Send a blank email to: mailto:AllAboutWebDesign-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Download a free ebook, "Web Design Course" here: http://marketing-resources.com/design.exe