At McDermott IP Law, we’re all about protecting client innovation through the use of Intellectual Property. One of the questions we get asked most often is “How do I signify to others that I have Intellectual Property rights?” Another way to phrase this question more simply might be “Which of those symbols do I use on my logo and slogan?” The answer, of course, depends on your situation. Depending on what Read More

The world of Intellectual Property is large and complex. Using it correctly can spell the difference between protecting your business’s future and most important assets and letting them fall by the wayside. The first step of Intellectual Property is acknowledging that you actually have it. The second step is identifying what you have and how to protect it. We’re going to focus on that step here. There are three main Read More

The process to register a trademark is not exactly simple. A trademark is any word, phrase, symbol, design, or combination that identifies your goods or services. Your trademarks - your names, your logos, your slogans - are what make you different from everyone else on the market. Trademarks can be registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademarks do not have to be registered to be used, Read More

The only element of copyright law that the average person is likely to know is “fair use.” Fair Use is an element in copyright and trademark law that allows the use of protected Intellectual Property without prior consent from the property’s owner. Fair Use can get bandied about like a mythical catch-all defense to allow the use of copyrighted material, but the truth is not so broad. There are a few examples of Read More

So you’ve created something really special and totally new, and now you want to protect it. Congratulations! Have you considered getting a patent? A patent grants you the property rights to something that you invented. Crucially, a patent does not give you the right to manufacture and sell your invention. You can do that without a patent. Rather, a patent gives you the right to exclude others from also Read More

You probably heard about the OMNIBUS Bill, passed into law at the very end of 2020, primarily because it gave most Americans a $600 stimulus check. The bill was focused on COVID-19 pandemic relief and aid, but lawmakers used it to pass other measures as well. Some of these additional protections related directly to the world of Intellectual Property. There were three main acts included in the OMNIBUS bill related Read More

So you want to protect your Intellectual Property! Congratulations! The best way to protect the future of your business and illustrate to others that you are serious about your assets is to start filing for IP protection. You might know IP merely as “copyrights” and “trademarks,” but it extends far beyond that. It can be anything from creating inventions to your marketing to, yes, trademarks, which are probably very Read More