Overview of Intellectual Property and Our Services

MBV provides a full range of Intellectual Property services for patents, trademarks and copyrights. Please contact us* if you are interested in finding out more or if we can help you with your legal needs. You may find the forms below useful for submitting information to us.*

LEARN MORE BELOW ABOUT	FORMS FOR SENDING TO MBV	HELPFUL GOVERNMENT IP GUIDES
Intellectual Property Patents Trademarks Copyrights Tradesecrets	Client Information Form Patent Submission Form Trademark Submission Form Copyright Submission Form	USPTO Guide to Avoiding Patent Scams USPTO Guide to Patents USPTO Guide to Trademarks Gov. Guide to Copyright Basics

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Intellectual Property is the general name for products of the human intellect such as an idea, invention, expression, unique name, business method, technology transfer, industrial process or chemical formula. Intellectual Property Law is a highly specialized field. In the United States, only a specially registered Patent Attorney or Patent Agent can represent an Applicant to prosecute a patent application before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("PTO"). Intellectual Property is broken down into Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights or Trade Secrets, each of which is explained below.

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NEXT TOPIC: PATENTS

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Patent Overview

A patent is awarded to an Inventor that gives him or her the right to bar others from making, using or selling his or her invention  for up to 20 years.  In order to be awarded a patent, the invention or idea must be new, not patented by someone else, and must be useful or demonstrate some utility.  Patents are awarded on a variety of inventions and ideas ranging from drug formulas to mascara brushes, tire treads to telecommunication switches, golf clubs to new varieties of roses.   

The typical first step in filing a patent is to perform a search to find out if the idea or invention already has been awarded a patent.  The PTO has a search room where there are more than 8 million patents.  MBV can perform the preliminary search and provide a patentability report that includes information and guidance about whether or not an application for a patent should be prepared.   If the patentability report is favorable then MBV can prepare an application and file the application with the PTO. In most cases these projects can be completed for a fixed fee or cost range.

After filing the application, your idea or invention will be in a "Patent Pending" state during which  a Patent Examiner working for the PTO will review your application to determine its patentability.   He or she will review your application against other patents and publications to determine if the application is novel and unobvious.  If this is the case, then a patent will be awarded. If the Patent Examiner determines otherwise, then he or she may reject the application.  If an application is rejected, the Applicant is given an opportunity to respond to the rejection. MBV will work with you to develop various options for responding including in most cases either amending the claims of the application and/or making legal arguments as to why the application should be allowed as is or after amendment. The costs of these responses will vary according to the types of rejections and responses involved. MBV will develop the fees or fee ranges for responding and discuss these with you as part of the discussion of the options and their so that you can make an informed judgment on the avenue best suited for your needs. The Examiner will then give fair consideration to the arguments and amendments to the applicaiton and send the application to allowance or repeat the process above through another office action.

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NEXT TOPIC: TRADEMARKS

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Trademark Overview

A trademark is a word, name, symbol, slogan, sounds or color used to distinguish your goods and services from everyone else.  A trademark can be registered and renewed for as long as it is being used.   Trademarks range from professional sporting team logos to the phrase 'Blue Light Special' used by K-Mart to the General Electric slogan "we bring good things to light."

Filing a trademark is a straight forward process, but like other legal documents must be completed with due care.  A trademark application can be filed prior to use of the mark in commerce (e.g., prior to interstate sales) or after use of the mark begins.  MBV will assist in the preparation of the application and filing of the application with the Trademark Office.  After the application has been filed, a Trademark Examiner conducts a search to determine if the given mark is confusingly similar to an existing trademark and if all of the sections of the applicatoin, such as the description of the goods and services, are complete and accurate. Marks filed prior to "use in commerce" are given a period of time to perfect the application by filing a "statement of use" when the use in commerce begins. If the mark is not in use, extensions of time must be sought until the mark is used. An trademark will not be registered until such use in commerce commences.  If the trademark is approved for registration, the trademark gets published in the Official Gazette of the Patent Office, a national publication.  The general public may express concern if they feel the mark is too close to their existing trademark. If no one writes opposes the trademark, then the Trademark Examiner sends the mark to be registered.

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NEXT TOPIC: COPYRIGHTS

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Copyright Overview

A copyright is the legal protection automatically granted to the creations of authors, musicians, writers, artists and other intellectual works.   A copyright is awarded for the life of the creator plus 70 years for works created after 1978.  Motion pictures, photographs, songs, poems, videos, books, catalogs, software and sales literature are examples of works that can be copyrighted. 

In order to obtain a copyright registration, which grants the author certain additional legal rights and presumptions, MBV needs to prepare a copyright application and file the application with the Copyright Office.  If the provisions of copyright law have been complied with, then a certificate of registration is issued to the copyright owner.

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NEXT TOPIC: TRADESECRETS

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Trade Secret Overview

A trade secret is legal protection given to a company to protect their invention, process or business information.   In  order to be protected by the court the information must be secret, substantial and valuable.   Proprietary client and customer information such as prices for services and contract terms can be protected.  You can also protect methods or processes such as how to apply paint to a car.   The most famous trade secret is probably the recipe for Coca-Cola™.

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