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Growing & Securing Your Business: Intellectual Property Protection Strategies“Legal Essentials to Export” Toolkit – May 4, 2017
1 2016, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC
Zachary W. Behler
Intellectual Property Lawyer, Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith, P.C.■ [email protected]
Growing & Securing Your Business: Intellectual Property Protection Strategies“Legal Essentials to Export” Toolkit – May 4, 2017
2 2016, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC
What is IP
Trademark■ A word or symbol that acts as a source identifier for goods or services.
Copyright■ A work of original authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression.
Patent■ A legal right granted by the government of giving the patent owner the
right to exclude others from making, using, selling the invention in the patent.
Trade Secrets■ (1) information (2) that has independent economic value (3) from not
being generally known or readily ascertainable by proper means and (4) is the subject of reasonable efforts to maintain secrecy.
Growing & Securing Your Business: Intellectual Property Protection Strategies“Legal Essentials to Export” Toolkit – May 4, 2017
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How Can IP Work for You?
Trademarks■ Protects names, symbols, and phrases used to
represent a company or its products.▪ Microsoft, Nike swoosh
■ Trademark law protects product design or packaging style – known as “trade dress.”
■ Prevents others in your industry from using your name or goodwill.▪ Identifies your company’s brand and secures the rights to
the name.
Growing & Securing Your Business: Intellectual Property Protection Strategies“Legal Essentials to Export” Toolkit – May 4, 2017
4 2016, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC
Trademarks
Securing Rights
■ Offense: Prevent others from using the mark
■ Defense: Prevent others from stopping your use of the mark.
Growing & Securing Your Business: Intellectual Property Protection Strategies“Legal Essentials to Export” Toolkit – May 4, 2017
5 2016, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC
Trademarks
How to Register your trademark■ State vs Federal / International■ Selection Process
▪ Strong Mark – a very distinctive mark or unique.▪ Strength– Fanciful: no dictionary meaning– Arbitrary: neither describes or relates to goods or
services offered.– Suggestive: describes characteristics of goods or
services– Generic: directly describes the goods or services
sold
Growing & Securing Your Business: Intellectual Property Protection Strategies“Legal Essentials to Export” Toolkit – May 4, 2017
6 2016, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC
Trademarks
Search & File
■ Comprehensive state and federal search
▪ Identifies existing companies in the U.S. using your name and similar names– Adjust your name or
– Pursue registration of the name.
■ File trademark application with USPTO– Takes approximately 12 to 18 months to move through
registration process.
Growing & Securing Your Business: Intellectual Property Protection Strategies“Legal Essentials to Export” Toolkit – May 4, 2017
7 2016, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC
Trademarks
International IP Protection■ Selecting an area of the world
▪ Trademark rights are jurisdictional
Consider adopting a distinctive design or logo that can be registered widely throughout the world
▪ Avoid Translation and literacy issues
Growing & Securing Your Business: Intellectual Property Protection Strategies“Legal Essentials to Export” Toolkit – May 4, 2017
8 2016, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC
Trademark
Search and Clearance■ Nearly all countries use a “likelihood of confusion”
standard.
■ Utilize search agents that perform common law and registered rights searches.
■ Engage local counsel in countries where use and registration is planned.
Growing & Securing Your Business: Intellectual Property Protection Strategies“Legal Essentials to Export” Toolkit – May 4, 2017
9 2016, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC
Trademark
Filing■ The Madrid Protocol
▪ Before and After
■ Seek registration in member jurisdictions through means of a central filing system, using:▪ One application
▪ Prepared in one language
▪ Fees paid in one currency
Growing & Securing Your Business: Intellectual Property Protection Strategies“Legal Essentials to Export” Toolkit – May 4, 2017
10 2016, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC
International IP Protection
Filing
■ United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
■ United States Copyright Office
■ Chinese Trademark Office (CTO)
■ China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO)
■ China’s National Copyright Administration (NCA)
■ World Intellectual Property Organizations (WIPO)
Growing & Securing Your Business: Intellectual Property Protection Strategies“Legal Essentials to Export” Toolkit – May 4, 2017
11 2016, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC
International IP Protection
Enforcement of IP Protection
■ Monitoring
■ Cease and Desist
■ Administrative or Court Proceedings
■ Customs Protection
Growing & Securing Your Business: Intellectual Property Protection Strategies“Legal Essentials to Export” Toolkit – May 4, 2017
12 2016, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC
Copyrights
“Writings” or “works of authorship”
■ Expression of original ideas and thoughts in words, sentences, paragraphs, computer programs, sketches, pictures, graphs or other methods of conveying ideas.
▪ (Unlike a patent, a copyright does not protect the idea –it protects the manner in which the idea is expressed).
Growing & Securing Your Business: Intellectual Property Protection Strategies“Legal Essentials to Export” Toolkit – May 4, 2017
13 2016, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC
Copyrights
Creation of Rights■ Copyright protection exists from time work is “fixed
in any tangible medium of expression.”
Notice■ © and the year of first publication.
Term■ Life of last surviving author + 70 years.
■ Work made for hire: 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever expires first.
Growing & Securing Your Business: Intellectual Property Protection Strategies“Legal Essentials to Export” Toolkit – May 4, 2017
14 2016, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC
Copyrights
Workplace implications
■ Who owns the rights?
▪ Website, manuals, marketing plans, business plans.
▪ Who created the work?
▪ Joint work?
▪ Employee vs. Consultant/Independent Contractor
▪ Work-Made-For-Hire– Execute work-made-for-hire before a person outside the
business creates copyrightable work.
Growing & Securing Your Business: Intellectual Property Protection Strategies“Legal Essentials to Export” Toolkit – May 4, 2017
15 2016, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC
Intellectual Property Protection Methods
Business Protection Strategies - Today
■ Registration of Brand
■ Employment Agreement
■ Non-Compete
■ Confidentiality / Nondisclosure Agreement
■ Work-Made-For-Hire
■ Assignment
Growing & Securing Your Business: Intellectual Property Protection Strategies“Legal Essentials to Export” Toolkit – May 4, 2017
16 2016, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC
Enforcement
Enforcement of IP Protection■ Monitoring
■ Cease and Desist
■ Administrative or Court Proceedings
■ Customs Protection
Growing & Securing Your Business: Intellectual Property Protection Strategies“Legal Essentials to Export” Toolkit – May 4, 2017
17 2016, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC
IP Protection Tips
What can you do right now?
■ Educate employees and business partners
■ IP Audit
■ Compartmentalize production process
■ Keep newest technologies in home country
■ Classify information and manage access
Growing & Securing Your Business: Intellectual Property Protection Strategies“Legal Essentials to Export” Toolkit – May 4, 2017
18 2016, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC
IP Protection Tips – cont’d
■ Conduct due diligence on suppliers and distributors
■ Select partners with brand and reputation of their own to protect
■ Include IP protection clauses in all contracts and agreements
■ Understand how other country views contracts
■ Send representatives to industry trade shows to look for infringing products
■ Register your IP in home country and in countries you are or plan to do business
Growing & Securing Your Business: Intellectual Property Protection Strategies“Legal Essentials to Export” Toolkit – May 4, 2017
19 2016, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC
Parting Thoughts
Taking control
Protecting your business identity
Maintaining the invisible security fence
Growing & Securing Your Business: Intellectual Property Protection Strategies“Legal Essentials to Export” Toolkit – May 4, 2017
20 2016, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC
Red Flags
Shipping product without protection
Distributor without IP clauses
Joint Venture without specification who owns past, present and future IP
Brand, Trademarks, Domain ownership
Patent disclosure
Website screen scrapes
Growing & Securing Your Business: Intellectual Property Protection Strategies“Legal Essentials to Export” Toolkit – May 4, 2017
21 2016, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC
Presentation Terms of UseFoster Swift Collins & Smith, PC presentations are intended for our clients and friends. This presentation highlights specific areas of the law. This communication is not legal advice. The information provided is current as of the date of the presentation. Those viewing the presentation should consult an attorney to determine how the information applies to any specific situation.
Copyright © 2016 Foster Swift Collins & Smith, PC
Growing & Securing Your Business: Intellectual Property Protection Strategies“Legal Essentials to Export” Toolkit – May 4, 2017
22 2016, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC
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