WikiPatents Enables Community Patent Review

"Bad patents" cost infringers--and, ultimately, all consumers--millions, if not billions, of dollars every year. Yet, "good patents" often go unrecognized. Until now, there has been no web site encouraging large-scale, organized public comment to clarify the true merits and value of U.S. patents.

WikiPatents.com, officially launched August 28, 2006, addresses these problems. WikiPatents' goal is to strengthen the patent system by clarifying whether a patent really protects a new idea and how much that idea is worth. The United States Patent & Trademark Office is very effective at reviewing patents given its limited time and resources. WikiPatents provides patent examiners at the Patent Office and the entire patent community another powerful resource that will add reliability, clarity, and efficiency to the patent process.

WikiPatents is a free-access web site and database containing millions of patents that allows the interested public to discuss, rate, and vote on published patents and, soon, pending patent applications. Most notably, users can add prior art references (publications that closely relate to and predate the patented technology), as well as comment and vote on the relevancy of prior art. Users can also comment and vote on patent value, licensing, technical, and other issues for each patent.

WikiPatents seeks to become the crossroads where patent examiners, inventors, investors, patent attorneys, and litigants join to discuss the merits of patents and patent applications.

Peter Johnson and Kevin Hermansen are co-founders of www.WikiPatents.com - Community Patent Review, a new free-access web site and database that enables public commentary on published patents

Publish Your Patent Application? ... or Not.

Infringement and Provisional Damages

There is no action for infringement of your patent until it actually issues. However, through publication of your application, it may be possible to obtain provisional damages for the time between publication of the application and the issuance of the patent. Once your patent issues, infringement can give rise to treble damages and an award of attorney fees. During the phase from publication to issuance, only reasonable royalty damages can be awarded. Furthermore, a claim must survive and be substantially identical from publication to the issued patent.

Provisional damages require notice. Notice is achieved by both publication and provision of actual notice. Thus, you still have the burden of detecting infringement and of providing notice of your application to the alleged infringer.

Why You Should Consider Early Publication

An inventor can accelerate the publication process by filing a request for early publication. This can be done at any time and should result in publication within four months of the request. There are two logical times to file such a request: 1) when you first file your application--to gain the maximum published time available, and 2) when you believe an infringement may be taking place. In this latter case, where you have actual evidence of infringement, you can then file a petition to "make special" and hope that the Patent Office will accept the petition and begin examination of your patent application within six months. That way, you will possibly get the benefit of provisional damages, with the patent issuing shortly thereafter with higher damage awards available.

Benefits of Non-Publication

Non-publication keeps 'em guessing. When a patent is filed, the inventor-applicant is entitled, and should, claim "Patent Pending" status. "Patent Pending" means that an application is on file with the Patent Office and is in the patent process. The inventor should mark his product "Patent Pending" and claim such status in any written material related to the invention. So long as the patent application is secret, competitors do not know what the inventor has disclosed or the breadth of the invention being claimed. Once a patent application publishes, competitors can at least determine the maximum scope that is disclosed in the application. However, while they will see the claims presented in the application, competitors still do not know the breadth of the invention claims that might eventually issue in the patent.

The Hazards of Requesting Non-Publication

Until the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 (effective November 29, 2000), United States patents were kept in secrecy until they issued. Subsequent to the AIPA, inventors can elect to keep their application secret, but only if they will not file in a foreign country or file an application under a multilateral international agreement, such as the Patent Cooperation Treaty. If an inventor later files such a foreign or international application, it can lead to abandonment of the U.S. application unless the non-publication request is rescinded before 45 days after filing the foreign or international application. Thus, extreme caution is recommended before considering non-publication.

C2006, Williamson Intellectual Property Law, LLC; all rights reserved, world-wide. This article, and/or the reading thereof, shall not be construed as offering, containing or receiving of legal advice, and shall not create any attorney-client relationship or privilege. If you are considering protecting your intellectual property, you should consult with an attorney of your choice.

For more information, please visit http://www.trwiplaw.com.

Thomas R. (Terry) Williamson III, Ph.D., Registered Patent Attorney Williamson Intellectual Property Law, LLC 1870 The Exchange, Suite 100 Atlanta, GA 30339 770-777-0977 http://www.trwiplaw.com

An intellectual property law firm providing a full range of services for patent searches, preparation and filing patent applications, trademark searches, preparation and filing trademark and service mark applications, preparation and filing

Technology Asset Services Announces New Patented Technology Solderite Products.

Lead Free Soldering Solution for Printed Circuit Board Assembly.

Technology Asset Services announced today a cost effective solution for manufacturers implementing lead free solder into PCB Assembly. The Solderite? product line has been developed for hand soldering stations. The new patented technology employed by the Solderite? products provide the manufacturer a cost effective solution to lead free solder implementation.

The Solderite? products are specifically designed to help manufactures faced with RoHS Compliance. The implementation of lead free solder has generated a need for soldering tools to withstand the higher temperatures and the corrosive nature of lead free solder. The use of hand soldering is often performed in the final stages of assembly. The product is at its highest value point. The necessity of securing equipment designed to implement RoHS Compliance is of growing concern.

The new Solderite? products address RoHS Compliance by providing substantial changes in the design of the soldering station. The three foremost properties of any soldering station are: Power, Temperature Control, and Soldering Tip. The patented technology and design of the power supply and temperature sensing in these new products produce the fastest temperature recovery time on the market. Specially designed electroplated soldering tips ensure quality soldering and extended tip life.

The tip replacement and cost of lead free soldering has increased the soldering cost to manufactures. The corrosive nature of lead free solder combined with higher temperature has on average cut the tip life of standard soldering tips in half. The manufactures cost has doubled in tip replacement. Standard soldering tips average fifteen to twenty five dollars per tip. The average lifespan of lead soldering tips in an industrial environment averages one week. Manufacturers commissioning several solder stations are faced with significant cost increase when implementing RoHS Compliance.

Solderite? soldering stations have underwent strict testing, from lab, contract manufacturing, and lead free soldering training centers. The tip life has averaged a two to one rate compared to standard soldering tips. The tip replacement cost of the Solderite tips did not exceed the cost of standard soldering tips.

For more information on Solderite Products, including Distribution and Representation opportunities contact Ken Fry or visit http://www.solderite.com/

Technology Asset Services provides solutions for Printed Circuit Board Assembly, and Semi Conductor Industries.

Ken Fry CTO Technology Asset Services, Inc. 515 Hanover Dr. Allen TX. 75002

Intellectual Property - Trade Mark Infringement - Figurative Community Trademark

In the case of Sportwetten GmbH Gera v the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (?OHIM?) (2005), it was held that the registration of a Community trade mark was not contrary to public policy or public morality.

On 11 January 1999, OHIM published a figurative mark incorporating the word INTERTOPS in respect of Class 42: bookmakers and betting services of all kinds.

Sportwetten GmbH was the proprietor of the trade mark INTERTOPS SPORTWETTEN, registered in Germany in respect of the same types of services.

On 17 May 1999, Sportwetten lodged an application for a declaration of invalidity concerning the INTERTOPS registration. The application was rejected by OHIM and Sportwetten appealed to the Court of First Instance.

Sportwetten contended that:

▪ registration infringed Article 51 of Regulation No 40/94 read together with Article 7 (1) (f) and (2) because the proprietor was not licensed to offer or advertise in Germany the services in respect of which the mark had been registered; and ▪ the INTERTOPS trade mark was contrary to public policy or to accepted principles in Germany and other Member States.

The Court of First Instance dismissed the appeal and confirmed that:

▪ it is the trade mark itself, not the circumstances relating to the conduct of the person applying for registration, that is to be assessed in order to determine whether the mark is contrary to public policy or accepted standards of morality for the purpose of Article 7; ▪ consequently the fact that the INTERTOPS proprietor was prohibited from offering betting services in Germany did not have the effect of rendering the trade mark itself contrary to public policy or principles of morality; and ▪ therefore there was no grounds for which the decision should be annulled and therefore the application for a declaration of invalidity was denied.

If you require further information contact us at enquiries@rtcoopers.com or Visit http://www.rtcoopersiplaw.com or http://www.rtcoopers.com/practice_intellectualproperty.php

? RT COOPERS, 2005. This Briefing Note does not provide a comprehensive or complete statement of the law relating to the issues discussed nor does it constitute legal advice. It is intended only to highlight general issues. Specialist legal advice should always be sought in relation to particular circumstances.

Full service commercial law firm based in the City of London intangible property, intellectual properties, intellectual property, intellectual property law, intellectual property escrow, intellectual property laws, intellectual property attorney, intellectual property definition, intellectual property issues. intellectual property agreement, managing intellectual property, intellectual property attorneys, world intellectual property, intellectual property litigation, intellectual property contract, trademark, copyrights, infringement, copyright, copyright law, copyright protection, copyright laws, trademark search, copyright notice, copyright infringement, trademark symbol, trademark law, trademark attorneys, trademark lawyers, legal patent, patents law, patent laws, patent lawyers, trademark laws, legal trademark, patent law, european patent law, patent infringement law, biotechnology patent law, uk patent law, trademark infringement law

Visit our websites at http://www.rtcoopersiplaw.com or visit http://www.rtcoopers.com/practice_intellectualproperty.php

Trademark: Do I Need One for My Business Name and Logo?

Wondering if a trademark is important to you as a business owner? Let's start with the basics. A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, or logo that distinguishes and identifies the source of goods of one company or person from another. For example, the name Kraft is trademarked, as is Nike's "swoosh" logo.

The list of what constitutes a trademark is long. A trademark can also be granted to unique packaging such as the shape of Coca-cola's bottle, building designs, color, sound, and even fragrance. Service marks receive the same legal protection, but are used to distinguish services instead of products.

Your business can acquire trade or service marks through the consistent use of a mark. The symbols TM and SM demonstrate the owner treats the mark as a trademark or service mark. There is no requirement to federally register at the trademark office. You are still protected under intellectual property laws. However, if another party uses your mark it can be more difficult to prove your ownership.

To register online with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), go to www.uspto.gov. There is a registration fee for each name, logo, and slogan. Federal registration ensures another party is not already using your mark. A registered trademark gives you exclusive rights to use a mark with your particular goods or services. The USPTO can only register trademarks for marks that are used across state lines. A website customers can access in other areas can satisfy this requirement. Otherwise, you will only be able to apply for a state trademark.

Only a mark registered and approved by the USPTO can use the ? symbol. Since the application process can take many months to complete, use the TM or SM symbol in the meantime to establish your intention to use the mark as a trademark. Make sure you keep records as to when your mark was first used in commerce and regulate the use of your mark in the marketplace.

Wendy Maynard, your friendly marketing maven, is the owner of Kinesis. Kinesis specializes in marketing, graphic and website design, and business writing. Visit http://www.kinesisinc.com/resources/articles.html for more articles and free marketing wisdom.

Want to harness the power of kinetic marketing? Sign up for Kinesis Quickies, a free bi-monthly marketing e-newsletter: http://www.news.kinesisinc.com