Securing a trademark for yourself and your business can be a major boost that helps you separate yourself from competitors. It’s a government-certified showcase of your unique hard work. However, the US Patent and Trademark Office isn’t going to approve just any application. USPTO officials are flooded with applications, many of which have no business ever earning an official trademark designation. If a mark doesn’t Read More

The process of filing for and receiving trademark, copyright, or patent protection for your intellectual property can be time-consuming, but the process doesn't end there. Protecting your innovation takes time and must be maintained by fulfilling certain standards and maintenance. The process looks different depending on the type of protection you file for and your long-term intentions. We are going to specifically Read More

Non-compete clauses have been a common topic of conversation at the national level, with President Joe Biden recently signing an executive order calling for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to limit non-compete clauses. While the intention of the executive order is to “promote competition,” it raises interesting questions about what non-compete clauses do. For businesses and businesspeople, the order brings into Read More

Intellectual property law doesn’t often change. Instead, as the world around us evolves, the long-standing laws are applied in new ways. Right now, IP laws are being applied in new ways once again as the “Non-Fungible Token” (NFT) market explodes. Before we dive into how IP law applies to NFTs, it’s important to first understand what qualifies as an NFT. What is a Non-Fungible Token NFTs are digital assets first and Read More

Your intellectual property deserves to be protected. After all, it’s YOUR hard work and should be yours alone to profit off, work with, and innovate. We’ve previously talked about what you need to start the process, but today we’re looking at situations where your trademark could actually be stripped away. Your trademark expires Once you establish a trademark, you will now begin the clock on when certain filings are Read More

Getting a patent is one of the most exciting experiences for any inventor. It means that you have created something completely original and welcomed it into the world. What you may not realize at first is exactly what type of patent you have. There are three different types of patent, and they all mean different things. To cover the basics, a patent protects a new, unique, and usable invention. You can manufacture Read More

In August, we wrote about the Fair Use defense to copyright infringement that may allow someone to use copyrighted material without permission under certain circumstances. This exception applies most often to educational and/or other non-commercial use of certain copyrighted material. Since copyrights are directed to original works of authorship, the Fair Use defense to copyright infringement applies only to specific Read More

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