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Choosing Between Trade Secret and Patent Protection: A Primer for Businesses
When an employee conceives of a new innovation, a business is often confronted with a difficult decision — whether to apply for patent protection on the innovation or whether to keep the innovation confidential as a company trade secret. There are many considerations that a business must take into account stemming from different characteristics of trade secrets and patents.
Overview of Patents and Trade Secrets
A patent is a right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing a patented invention. It is generally enforceable up to 20 years after the patent application filing date. Filing for patent protection entails a significant quid pro quo — in exchange for exclusivity over the term of the patent, the patent applicant must make a disclosure of the invention sufficient for a person reading the patent to make and use the invention. Once the 20 years are up, the invention is then dedicated to the public and may be used by anyone.
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Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
Judge Rules Shaquille O'Neal Will Face Securities Lawsuit for Promotion, Sale of NFTs
A federal district court in Miami, FL, has ruled that former National Basketball Association star Shaquille O'Neal will have to face a lawsuit over his promotion of unregistered securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens and that he was a "seller" of these unregistered securities.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?
Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.
Coverage Issues Stemming from Dry Cleaner Contamination Suits
In recent years, there has been a growing number of dry cleaners claiming to be "organic," "green," or "eco-friendly." While that may be true with respect to some, many dry cleaners continue to use a cleaning method involving the use of a solvent called perchloroethylene, commonly known as perc. And, there seems to be an increasing number of lawsuits stemming from environmental problems associated with historic dry cleaning operations utilizing this chemical.