Protecting Your Ideas

Intellectual property law is currently exploding, as demonstrated by the growth of technology transfer offices in universities. More and more scientists, companies, and institutions are rushing to secure intellectual property rights for their ideas and inventions. This process frustrates many people; patent laws are constantly changing, and most books about them are either overly technical or boring. Protecting Your Ideas: The Inventor's Guide to Patents is a succinct, straightforward guide to the system. This guide presents the steps involved in obtaining patent protection for inventions. It is easy to read and brimming with essential information and advice compounded from FAQs posed by the author's academic and industrial clientele. The text includes tips, warnings, and examples that guide the reader through the invention process so patent rights are not jeopardized. Checklists and other helpful information are provided to assist the inventor preparing to enter the patent process. The book includes valuable resource information and business guidance to protect the inventor from consumer fraud that is sometimes associated with the patent process. Protecting and Idea is a must read for every engineer, scientist, or amateur inventor. Simple, easy-to-read format demystifies the patent process Numerous example patents help to illustrate the issues involved Provides an overview of the types of intellectual property protection Incorporates up-to-date information about U.S. patent laws Advises inventors about the do's and don'ts of patenting Includes useful resources for helping inventors safeguard their ideas

Aimed at businesses that thrive on idea capital, this primer on intellectual property law spells out the easy and important steps to take to protect ideas such as brands, recipes, inventions, or artwork. In an increasingly competitive business world, companies live or die by the freshness and power of their ideas; protecting these works is not complicated and can cost nothing if entrepreneurs take action early, from realizing what intellectual capital their business might have to considering patents and licenses. The time and costs involved with each option are detailed, and the book explains all of the new choices and opportunities—as well as a few pitfalls—open to owners of protected ideas. For further study and action, there is a companion website accessible by a password provided in the book that offers sample legal agreements and links to other resources.

Intellectual Property (IP) is often a company’s single most valuable asset. And yet IP is hard to value, widely misunderstood and frequently under-exploited. IP accounts for an estimated $5trn of GDP in the US alone. It covers patents, trademarks, domain names, copyrights, designs and trade secrets. Unsurprisingly, companies zealously guard their own ideas and challenge the IP of others. Damages arising from infringements have fostered a sizeable claims industry. But IP law is complex, and the business, financial and legal issues around it are difficult to navigate. Court decisions and interpretation of IP laws can be unpredictable, and can dramatically change the fortunes of businesses that rely on their IP – as demonstrated in the pharmaceutical industry’s battle with generic drugs. This comprehensive guide to intellectual property will help companies, investors, and creative thinkers understand the scope and nature of IP issues, pose the right questions to their advisers and maximize the value from this crucial intangible asset.

For startups, entrepreneurs and inventors, Patents Demystified provides an easy-to-understand insider's guide to patents, patent law, and the patent application process. Based on first-hand experience with successful companies of all sizes, patent attorney Dylan O. Adams helps readers learn the secrets of maximizing patent protection on any budget, with strategies that can be tailored to companies with any business plan or product. Instead of being intimidated and confused by patents, readers will discover how to proactively craft a customized patent strategy, thereby taking the mystery out of what can be an arduous and complicated process. Official Patent Guide of The American Bar Association Used at Top Universities Including Harvard, Stanford and MIT

This publication introduces startups to IP. Through step-by-step guidance, useful case studies and simple checklists, it illustrates how small

Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind – everything from works of art to inventions, computer programs to trademarks and other commercial signs. This booklet introduces the main types of IP and explains how the law protects them. It also introduces the work of WIPO, the global forum for IP services, policy, information and cooperation.

How a flexible and creative approach to intellectual property can help an organization accomplish goals ranging from building market share to expanding an industry. Most managers leave intellectual property issues to the legal department, unaware that an organization's intellectual property can help accomplish a range of management goals, from accessing new markets to improving existing products to generating new revenue streams. In this book, intellectual property expert and Harvard Law School professor John Palfrey offers a short briefing on intellectual property strategy for corporate managers and nonprofit administrators. Palfrey argues for strategies that go beyond the traditional highly restrictive “sword and shield” approach, suggesting that flexibility and creativity are essential to a profitable long-term intellectual property strategy—especially in an era of changing attitudes about media. Intellectual property, writes Palfrey, should be considered a key strategic asset class. Almost every organization has an intellectual property portfolio of some value and therefore the need for an intellectual property strategy. A brand, for example, is an important form of intellectual property, as is any information managed and produced by an organization. Palfrey identifies the essential areas of intellectual property—patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret—and describes strategic approaches to each in a variety of organizational contexts, based on four basic steps. The most innovative organizations employ multiple intellectual property approaches, depending on the situation, asking hard, context-specific questions. By doing so, they achieve both short- and long-term benefits while positioning themselves for success in the global information economy.