Don’t Let Your Consulting Agreement Give Away Your Rights

Businesses often choose to hire consultants to help develop new products. The Business and the Consultant typically enter into a written contract like a “Consulting Agreement,” which covers many issues like scope of work, compensation, confidentiality and the ownership of developments during the term of the Consulting Agreement. However, one important ...

Doctor Associates v. Janco: A Reminder that a Finding of Trademark Use in Interstate Commerce is Not Automatic

Obtaining trademark registration requires that a mark be used with its associated goods or services in interstate commerce. Businesses selling from locations in two or more states, or with locations in the United States and internationally clearly meet the interstate commerce use requirement. However, can a business located only within ...

TTAB Litigation – More Important Now Than Ever

In a recent decision, the United States Supreme Court significantly affected how and why Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) cases are litigated. The outcome of a TTAB proceeding can determine the outcome of a Federal lawsuit. In B&B Hardware, Inc. v. Hargis Industries, Inc., 135 S. Ct. 1293 (2015) (“B&B ...

Patent Applications and the Full Disclosure of Prior Act

In patent law, “Prior Art” refers to all the information publicly available about an invention. If an applicant applies to the USPTO for a patent on an invention, the application will be denied if Prior Art already describes the invention. Upon receiving a patent application, the USPTO will conduct its own ...

Trademark Prosecution Process

During 2015, Sherman IP developed and launched a series of its trademark application initiatives to help clients more effectively and efficiently obtain Federal registration of their trademarks. Using new streamlined processes and tools, Sherman IP has been able to provide a reduced fee structure for trademark application clients. Existing clients ...