Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights
Law Offices of Michael A. Blake, LLC
Hi all. As many of you know, the Law Offices of Michael A. Blake, LLC is a small law practice with one patent and trademark attorney (me), and one part time secretary, Kathy. Because we are a small practice, it is safe for me to come to work and provide intellectual property services to my current clients, and new clients, even during this period of COVID 19. Feel free to call or email me to discuss your patent, trademark, or copyright legal issues.
phone: 203-876-5081
email: [email protected]
UPDATE FROM MILFORD BOARD OF EDUCATION:
Effective immediately: All Adult Education classes have been suspended.
When the immediate threat of COVID-19 is over, we will be extending all of the classesto ensure everyone receives the amount of classes he/she has paid for. We’re very sorry for any inconvenience this has caused, but our main concern is to ensure the health and well-being of all of our students.
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled that statutory damages are not available unless the copyright was registered prior to the infringement. The court in Southern Credentialing Support v. Hammond Surgical Hospital LLC et al, case number 18-31160, January 9, 2020, held that even if a different type of infringement occurred after registration, that if the infringement started prior to registration, no statutory damages were available. The case can be read here.
The moral to this story is that if you want statutory damages, which can be up to $150,000 per infringement, you must register your copyright early, and at a minimum before the infringement begins.
I will be attending the Entrepreneurship Foundation next event tomorrow which will be the 23rd Connecticut Business Conference and Competition. The event will be held on December 6, 2019 at Gateway College, Room N100, New Haven CT. There will be $20,000 in startup grants and $5,000 in startup services. The event will have A. BUSINESS CONCEPT ELEVATOR PITCH; B. GLOBAL STUDENT ENTREPRENEUR AWARD; C. INNOVATION CHALLENGE; and D. DESIGNER and DEVELOPER COMPETITIONS and EXHIBITIONS. More information can be found here.
I would like to congratulate my client Eirik Skeid. Mr. Skeid recently obtained a design patent for his Storage and transport container invention. Mr. Skeid is the CEO of SHARKCAGE with offices in San Antonio, TX, and Oslo, Norway. SHARKCAGE makes and sells containers for shipping equipment, such as military equipment. For more information on SHARKCAGE, go here. You can see the patent here.
I am teaching a course on “Commercializing your Invention” through Milford Adult Education. You have an invention, now what? Topics to be covered include: can I make money with this invention, when to monetize, investors, do I need a prototype, how to license my invention and more. The course will be offered on September 26 from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, at Jonathan Law High School, room 101, 20 Lansdale Ave, Milford, CT. For more information go here.
Please register up ahead of time here.
I would like to congratulate my client John M. Schuld for obtaining a new patent for his “Ammunition replica bottle opener”. I was his patent attorney on this matter. The patent can be found here.
Today I made an impromptu trip to MakeHaven in New Haven. A member, John, was working there and gave me a quick tour of their 5000 sqft facility. They have all sorts of tools and machinery that members can use, such as a working kitchen, homebrew area, quilting frame and CNC quilter, GNC router, injection molder, and of course 3D printers, and a bunch of other stuff. It was a very impressive makerspace. The operations manager Kath showed up, and we had a very nice chat. More information can be found here.
Many people are unaware of this fact but the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has a roster of all US patent attorneys and agents. The searchable roster can be found here. Since I am a patent attorney, my information is listed on the roster and can be found here. Only people who have passed the patent bar and background check, and graduated from an accredited law school and passed a state bar exam can be listed as a patent attorney on the USPTO roster. Patent agents need only to have passed the patent bar and background check–law school and state bar are not required for patent agents.
The USPTO roster of patent attorneys is a valuable tool for inventors to make sure the “patent attorney” or “patent agent” they are dealing with is a patent practitioner in good standing and who has achieved all the requirements necessary to be a patent practitioner. You can search the roster, name, state, city, postal code, and business or firm name.
Unfortunately, the USPTO does not have a roster of all trademark attorneys.