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This year will see the rollout of several new top level domains. In lieu of .com and .org, we will soon be seeing .NYC for the city of New York and .WM for Wal-Mart.

One of the widely noted new top level domains will be .XXX, which is intended to enable better filtering of adult content from search results.
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Big changes are coming to the US Patent System! The America Invents act, formerly the Patent Reform Act of 2011 (pdf), has gripped the attention of the attention of the business world since it passed through the U.S. Senate in April. The bill originated as the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (under Bush) and returned to Congress in 2009, however, neither attempt to pass the legislation proved successful. The Patent Reform Act of 2011 will be the first REAL overhaul of the US patent system since 1952.

While beyond the scope of my blog to review all of the changes to the patent system that the AIA may bring, I want to address the most controversial change, which will be the switch from “first to invent” to a “first to file” system of awarding patent priority. (more…)

The growth and proliferation of the internet as a widely accessible tool for communication, commerce, and information sharing has revolutionized the way we live life and do business.  Many historically traditional institutions have struggled to adjust to these fundamental changes.

One such institution bears the responsibility of protecting and defending people’s rights – our legal system.  Unfortunately, our current system of laws, based upon hundreds of years of experience in the world before instant global connectivity, fails to adequately answer all of the complex questions that have arisen as to how to enforce analog laws in a digital age.

The digital era has created a crisis in copyright law, especially.  Nowhere in popular culture is this crisis more acute than in the music and film industry. (more…)

The world of media, marketing and business has changed dramatically over the past decade.  The breakup of the all-powerful information delivery systems from our past – think national newspapers and television networks –has significantly leveled the playing field for small businesses.

Now, a local business in Spokane, Washington (or Austin, Texas!) can distribute their product as well as their brand locally, nationally and even globally online.  The end result of this gigantic media shift is an increased priority on protecting and controlling your company’s image and name across multiple mediums.  Here’s why:

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One of the most fascinating and controversial legal decisions in the field of intellectual property is coming to a computer near you!  Charles Moster, the firm’s Senior Partner and writer/composer of several radio musicals on NPR, is releasing his latest on August 31st.  It is about the life of the brilliant Serbian inventor, Nikola Tesla, who invented radio and had a landmark Supreme Court case! (more…)

Trademarks are used to protect a name, word, or symbol that is used for the purpose of identifying the source of goods or services.  Many economists have shown the direct relationship between the increasing importance of branding and the value of securing your IP – a lesson that the “Octomom” has clearly not missed!

According to CNN, the Smoking Gun and a number of other news sources Nadya Suleman, aka the “Octomom”, has recently filed two trademark applications and wants to put her moniker on television programs, clothing and disposable and cloth diapers. (more…)

On Tuesday, March 3, 2009 the “Patent Reform Act of 2009” was introduced in Congress. This is the latest effort to pass this legislation, which has been knocking around Washington for years, into law. The 2008 version died in the Senate last year. It is thought by many observers to have a better chance of becoming law this time around.  In fact the bill was approved on April 2, 2009, in a 15-4 vote of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill now moves to the Senate floor. (more…)

(Originally published by Fred Patterson, SBIR Coach)

Imagine that you just stepped off the elevator having traveled 30 floors talking to the CEO at your top prospect.  You gave the most stirring elevator speech in the history of elevator speeches, and captured her imagination with your tale of cutting-edge technologies and memorable branding. (more…)