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Inventor’s Eye Newsletter

December 23, 2010 By

In case you haven’t seen it, the Patent Office publishes a bi-monthly newsletter for the independent inventor community.  Topics that have been discussed include possible changes to provisional patent applications, patent reform pending in Congress, and tips and suggestions regarding the patent process.  The latest issue can be accessed here.

There has been quite a change at the patent office in the last few years regarding the importance of patents for individuals and small entities.  Most of it has been beneficial.

Other information for independent inventors and small business can be found on the independent inventor page of the of the USPTO web site.

Facebook Allowed Trademark for ‘Face’

November 26, 2010 By

Notice of Allowance for ‘Face’ Trademark

What to do when you have a product or service that is very popular but can be easily copied?  Well… trademarking the name is certainly an option, but what else can be done?

In the case of Facebook, the company has been trying to ward off copy cat sites that might use the word “Face” in their names.  So, earlier this year, Facebook quietly registered the mark “Face”… and was recently issued a Notice of Allowance from the US Patent & Trademark Office (see above).

Facebook’s trademark application limits the terms of its trademark to specific situations related to its business.  (The use of the word ‘face’ in other situations is, of course, allowed.)

According to Facebook’s application, the mark ‘Face” applies to: ‘Telecommunication services, namely, providing online chat rooms and electronic bulletin boards for transmission of messages among computer users in the field of general interest and concerning social and entertainment subject matter.’

The Rapper vs. the Drug Kingpin

November 6, 2010 By

For those of you who do not follow hip-hop music, one of the more popular rappers of recent times is named Rick Ross, whose real name is William Leonard Roberts II. It seems that that the rapper got his stage name from convicted drug trafficker “Freeway” Ricky Ross, who presided over a drug empire in Los Angeles in the 1980’s. Well, Mr. Ross (the convicted drug dealer) was not happy that Mr. Ross (the rapper) took his name, so he sued him in federal court for trademark infringement. Only problem, as the court noted, is that one does not have a trademark in their own name (unless your name happens to be associated with a brand or product). The Court opined:

“In support of his trademark claims, Plaintiff alleges that his name was well known in the drug trade and by law enforcement segments of the urban crime, rap and black comity because he did business as Rick Ross, until he was arrested, prosecuted and incarcerated in federal prison. Because this illegal activity cannot be used to establish secondary meaning, such allegations do not provide support for Plaintiff having a valid trademark for his name.”

Seems to make a lot of sense.

Patent Office Fiscal Year Ends

September 30, 2010 By

Today is the last day in the US Patent & Trademark Office’s 2010 Fiscal Year, which runs from October through September, rather than a calendar year.  As anyone who has worked at the Patent Office can attest, this is a very busy time of the year.

It should be interesting to see whether the Patent Office has met its stated goal of having fewer than 700,000 pending applications.  As of last year the number of pending applications was about 750,000.

Unfortunately, today’s continuing resolution (HR 3081) which provides stopgap funding to the federal government did not include a provision for the Patent Office to keep $70 million in fees collected… as reported here.

See you next year!

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