Although the protection strategy has changed, the answer is yes. Until recently, software patents accounted for about half of all utility patents issued by the USPTO. Application of a 2014 U.S. Supreme Court case, Alice v. CLS Bank, effectively slammed the door on this practice. Likewise, software patents issued prior to this decision have been […]
Widerman Malek Law Blog
What is a trade secret?
Special sauces, secret ingredients, secret inner workings, special ways to train employees; we come in contact with products and brands that have these trade secrets every day. These trade secrets are what make that product so special. Have you ever wondered how a company legally protects those trade secrets? In almost all states, a trade […]
What is Intellectual Property?
If someone asked you about Intellectual Property, would you know what they were talking about? Would you think it was a smartly built house? Maybe one of those smart phones? You would be wrong if those were your guesses. Intellectual property has to do with creations of the mind. A painting by Van Gogh would […]
How to Trademark Brand Logo
How to Trademark Brand Logo If you are an avid trivia enthusiast like me you may have stumbled upon the popular website called sporcle.com. This website tests your trivia knowledge on an array of topics from geography to television. One quiz I recently took was called “Can you name the corporate logos?” I played and […]
Trade Dress Protection
Traditionally, trade dress was limited to the overall appearance of labels, wrappers, and containers used in packaging a product. However, over a period of years, the traditional definition expanded beyond packages and containers to include the total look of a product. Today, the total look includes the packaging, as well as the design, shape, size, […]
Trade Dress Your Product
In 1916, a glass bottle manufacturing company in Terre Haute, Indiana won a bottle design contest. Their contour shaped bottle is today recognized worldwide by billions of consumers and is one of the most recognizable examples of trade dress protection. The glass bottle company was The Root Glass Company. The bottle they designed was for […]
