ContactOnline Patent Auction and Listing Service
Posted Sunday, April 20, 2008 by Jim Ruttler.
Ocean Tomo® has also introduced the first online marketplace for patents. An individual or business can place an unsolicited bid on any patent in any country while remaining anonymous. The patent owner is then contacted with the bid and can accept the bid or counteroffer. Similarly, the owner of any patent can set an asking price for a patent, which is published online for potential buyers to review. Buyers and sellers can communicate anonymously in an online forum to conduct due diligence prior to completing a transaction. The minimum bid and ask price is $10,000.
In addition to the online marketplace, Ocean Tomo® also provides a listing service whereby patent owners can provide details for a patent that are quickly reviewable by potential buyers. Interested parties can then contact the patent owner to discuss purchasing or licensing the patent. The online auction and listing service are exciting and significant steps toward increasing the liquidity of intellectual property rights.
Records Broken at Live Patent Auction
Posted Tuesday, April 08, 2008 by Jim Ruttler.
Ocean Tomo® held another live patent auction on April 4, 2008 in San Francisco, California. Total reported sales were $19 million with average lot sales of around $370k each. One lot in particular sold for a record $6.6 million, the largest price ever paid for a portfolio of patents at a live auction event.
Independent inventors, especially in the software and internet technology fields, are finding that the live auction format is making it significantly easier to market patents. After all, prior to the live auction format, inventors had the burden of navigating the bureaucracies of companies and negotiating for licenses. Corporations often found it more economical to infringe on a patent, rather than purchase or license it, knowing that an independent inventor lacked the resources to bring a patent infringement suit. Now with live auctions, the jig is up. Companies can no longer infringe without recourse as a patent can quickly move from an independent inventor’s hands into a large company’s hands. And, the problem with a large company is that it does have the means to bring an infringement suit. Thus, companies that that previously ignored patents of small time inventors are now forced to bid or suffer the consequences.
Patent and Trademark Notices
Posted Tuesday, March 04, 2008 by Jim Ruttler.
It is important to apply the correct notices to inventions, marks, and creative works of art. Notices ensure that the public is aware of your rights and that damages are available for infringement. The ‘patent pending’ or ‘patent no.’ notice may only be used if the invention that the notice is applied to is actually the subject of a pending patent application or an issued patent. With trademarks, there are two notices to be considered. The ‘TM’ notice may be used for a trademark at any time without any prior registration of the trademark. This notice indicates to the public that you consider the trademark to be valid and enforceable under common law trademark rights. The ‘R’ symbol may only be used if the trademark has been federally registered with the U.S. trademark office. Federal registration results in a presumption of validity and enforceability and nationwide priority, whereas common law trademarks do not.
Entrepreneurs and Copyright Ownership
Posted Friday, February 15, 2008 by Jim Ruttler.
Rights to creative expressions such as books, sculptures, music, and pictures initially vest in the author of the work. This can create a problem when a business owner or entrepreneur hires someone to produce a creative expression because, as the author, that person can end up owning the copyright in the underlying work. While there is a work-for-hire doctrine in the law which provides that any creative expression created by an employee for an employer is owned by the employer, this doctrine does not apply in the case of independent contractors. Thus, independent contractors retain the copyright interests in any creative works for which they are hired to produce. The only way to avoid this problematic result is for the independent contractor to agree to assign their copyright interests to the business owner or entrepreneur. Such an assignment should be recorded with the U.S. Library of Congress.
Unique Product Designs
Posted Friday, February 08, 2008 by Jim Ruttler.
A uniquely designed product shape is potentially protectable through trademarks, design patents, and copyrights. First, copyright law protects creative expressions that are fixed in a tangible form, which can include uniquely designed products. In order to secure the full rights provided for by copyright law, it is necessary to file a copyright application with the Library of Congress. The application process is quick and inexpensive; however, copyrights do not protect against independent creation and they are subject to a limited term.
Next, design patents protect new and non-obvious ornamental designs on useful articles, which again can include uniquely designed products. In order to secure a design patent it is necessary to file a formal patent application with the Patent Office and undergo a complex examination process. Design patents provide strong protection against unauthorized making, using, selling, and importing of the specific design. However, design patents are expensive, easy to design around, and expire after a very limited term.
Lastly, trademarks protect names, logos, and any other item that serves to identify the source of a product in the marketplace, which also can include uniquely designed products. In order to secure a trademark for a unique product design, it is necessary to file a trademark application with the Trademark Office and undergo an examination process. Trademarks provide fairly strong protection against confusingly similar product designs and can last indefinitely. However, registration and infringement require actual sales of products and it can take up to five years to receive full trademark protection for a product design.
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