Building a strong base for IP protection will make it difficult for other people and companies to infringe upon protected rights. One way to secure intellectual property protection is to cover IP with various types of IP rights. Patent infringment is a serious threat for anyone interested in patenting an idea or interested in patenting an invention. Imagine that the IP of a particular U.S. company is a novel paintbrush. The company can obtain a utility patent in the United States covering the novel paintbrush. If the company has business in Europe, it might be wise to file a PCT as well. It might be beneficial to write a claim, also, for painting with the paintbrush. By doing so, the company would ensure that both people manufacturing the brush, and each small or large painting using the brush, would be guilty of infringement if they were not first granted a license to use the brush in any manner they saw fit. When the company holding the patent improves the tool, it can always file a new patent covering the improvement (continuation-in-part application). Additionally, a design patent might protect the design of the paintbrush. Finally, the company might have a unique name for the tool that could be trademarked. The patent search tools and resources provided at IPStreet.com, will help you better understand patent duration, how to protect from patent infringement and ways to connect to experienced patent lawyers. Hello and welcome to our little slice of the World, a place where passion and opinions run high in our niche area, which just so happens to be the world of patents, innovation, technology, business and other areas of intellectual property. Although Lewis Lee, our founder, is a patent attorney, and many of the contributors to our content are IP counselors, the content should NOT be considered to be legal advice, but rather are intended to be informational. No attorney-client relationship is established through your use of IP Street. For more information please check our Disclaimer, Terms & Conditions and our Privacy Policy. "Reputation management is an important factor in attracting partners and external funding. From interviews with CEOs and CTOs of nine large industrial and publicly funded firms, we have a clear indication that a corporate R&D lab's well-managed reputation has a direct impact on the firm's brand value. In other words, corporate research labs should not be measured only by their technological outcome, but also by the impact they have on a firm's brand value," according to Gassman et al., 2009, Research Technology Management, "R&D Reputation and Corporate Brand Value." The tools IP Street offers will help you identify (1) patents that significantly influence your brand (2) why the patents are significant (3) Internally communicate what, why, and how a patent influences brand to get executive-level buy-in and (4) Communicate to your customers what, why, and how to further develop the brand's impact. |