Intellectual Property
| Patentable Subject Matter |
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| Patent law specifies the general field of subject matter that may be patented as well as the conditions under which a patent may be obtained. In the language of the applicable statute, any person who "invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent." Under law, patents are granted on new inventions of-or useful improvements on-things in the following categories: More... |
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| Expert Testimony in Trademark Infringement Actions |
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| There are standards that must be met for admissibility of expert testimony in trademark infringement actions. Experts may have their methods challenged before they take the stand. Expert testimony may be excluded as speculative and unreliable if an expert's methods are not based on sufficient facts or data, are not reliable, or are not applied reliably to the facts of the case. More... |
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| Trade Names |
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| The term ''trade name'' means any name used by a person to identify his or her business or vocation. ''Trade name'' refers mainly to the corporate, partnership, or other name of a business. The business may, in turn, market goods or services under one or more trademarks or service marks. More... |
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| Publication |
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| Publication was the key to obtaining federal copyright under the Copyright Act of 1909. Publication is still important to copyright owners but it is no longer the key. Publication is defined in the Copyright Act of 1976 as "the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending. The offering to distribute copies or phonorecords to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display constitutes publication. A public performance or display of a work does not of itself constitute publication." More... |
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| Copyright and the Commerce Clause |
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| The Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the authority "to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states." Starting at the time of the New Deal, the courts have read that clause expansively, saying that it gives Congress the authority to regulate virtually anything that affects interstate or foreign commerce. Federal trademark protection gets its authority from the Commerce Clause, and trademarks are protected as long as they are being used. More... |
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