Patent And Trademark

According to the Department of Commerce, losses to U.S. businesses from the counterfeiting of trademarked consumer products are estimated at $200 billion a year. A model trademark law proposed by the International Trademark Association and currently winding its way through the legislative process in California includes a provision which appears to be an attempt to slow this ever growing enterprise.

The proposed new trademark law provides that the owner of a state registered mark may bring an action for infringement against any persons that knowingly facilitate, enable, or otherwise assist a person to manufacture, use, distribute, display, or sell any goods or services bearing any reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation of a mark registered under this

chapter, without the consent of the registrant. Under the new trademark law, a person is presumed to have acted knowingly if that person continues to engage in the complained of activity following delivery and receipt of a cease and desist demand letter containing certain language and information.

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The Linux Foundation is a non-profit consortium supported by a wide range of computer, software and information technology companies. There are three levels of membership (Platinum, Gold and Silver), principally aimed at computer/software industry companies, and also various levels of affiliation, more suited to end-users and other interested organizations (but also available to individuals who wish to become affiliates).

The goal of the consortium is to promote, protect and standardize Linux:

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Patent searches can be conducted in other ways. The Patent and Trademark Office distributes a weekly list of the patents that were successfully approved during the previous week. This listing is important in competitive patent categories such as pharmaceutical research, to keep abreast of the competition.

For more complicated searches, a visit to the library can be done to review the various patents. Another way in which to research previously issued patents is to use the Patent and Trademark Office s Classification and Search Information System (CASSIS) to search for an old patent. CASSIS is available on CD-ROM for anyone who has a slow Internet connection, or anyone who wants to spend more time looking

for a specific patent.

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The case of BVBA Management, Training en Consultancy v Benelux-Merkenbureau [2007], concerned the interpretation of First Council Directive (EEC) 89/104 in the refusal of a trade mark registration. BVBA Management, Training en Consultancy ( MT&C ) filed an application with the Benelux trade mark office ( the Trade Mark Office ) for registration of the word mark ‘The Kitchen Company’ as a trade mark in respect of classes 11, 20 and 21, and for certain services in classes 37 and 42.

The goods and services for which trade mark protection was sought were set out for each of the relevant classes. The Trade Mark Office notified the applicant that it was refusing registration on the grounds that the word

mark lacked distinctive character pursuant to national legislation. The national law in question was the Uniform Benelux Law on Trade Marks. The Trade Mark Office subsequently gave notice of a definite refusal.

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Before you register a patent you need to do some basic research.

Not only is it the job of the United States Patent Office to issue patents, it also maintains a database of the patents that have been granted. The majority of patents issued by the Patent and Trademark Office are utility patents. With such a large amount of these patents issued yearly, it is necessary for the inventor to research whether someone else has already patented their newest invention.

A search of previous patents can be done in a variety of ways. These methods include accessing the Patent and Trademark database by searching online or going to the library of the USPTO and completing a patent search there.

When visiting the USPTO, the patent database is available on microfiche, paper, and CD-ROM.

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