What is the Difference between a Provisional Patent and a Permanent Patent?

Your invention is the result of your hard efforts, and you must not want anyone to make profits by using it or a similar one without your consent. Patent Registration is one of the most valuable sources, which empower you to prohibit others from using your unique and new ideas in today’s malicious era where issues like patent infringements are common. A patent, if granted, bestows you with not just the Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) to ensure the protection of your innovation but also a good reputation that attracts profits. However, to enjoy the full-fledged benefits of registering a patent, you must know about what a provisional patent is and how it differs from a permanent one.

Provisional Patent

It is imperative to note that there is nothing like a provisional patent in the present Intellectual Property (IP) industry. Nevertheless, a Provisional Patent Application is an introductory step towards the road of getting robust patent protection. Filing a provisional patent application is crucial as it allows the inventor to market his invention without any worry related to its theft and to continue with further development and patent operations. It is a legal document that provides an early filing date and gets transformed into a granted patent only when the applicant applies for a regular non-provisional patent.

Permanent Patent

The permanent patent provides the Patent Protection that prevents unlawful using, making, copying, and sharing of the same or similar invention. The permanent patent application is a techno-legal document that includes a description explaining the invention, disclosing the best-known procedures of carrying it out, and one or more assertions showing the scope of the invention.

Difference between Permanent and Provisional Patent

• The foremost fact that establishes a difference between these two patents is cost. For instance, Filing a Provisional Patent application is cheaper in comparison to filing a permanent one and therefore, beneficial for individuals, companies, etc., that are available with a limited budget. Besides, provisional patent registration demands no legal necessities, which are compulsory in case of permanent patent registration.
• By filing a provisional Patent Application, the inventor can secure his/her invention as soon as he/she creates it and along with the benefit of maintaining and supplementing that invention. It means this application allows you to continue working and making improvements in what you have invented even after filing it. Once done with the modifications in your invention, you can apply either for its permanent patent registration or another provisional patent associated with the same. On the other hand, filing of a permanent patent application provides no option to make changes or add any new subject matter to your invention. Therefore, if you want to protect what you have invented while working on its improvements, then it is essential to file a provisional patent application rather than a permanent one.
• The role of the Patent Office is another remarkable aspect that differs provisional and permanent patent applications from each other. Patent Office doesn’t emphasize the provisional patent application until and unless the inventor files a permanent patent application that claims privileges and benefits of the priority under the provisional application filing. It means until and unless the inventor moves forward to permanent registration, there is no need for an additional fee associated with the Patent Attorneys or office. In other words, the provisional patent application enables you to lay the foundation for getting a patent, be benefitted with patent-pending, and preserve funds in the process, whereas permanent doesn’t.

Undoubtedly, provisional and permanent patents are quite different, but if used together, these two vital tools can secure your invention in the best and fastest possible way. Nevertheless, it is imperative to note that the provisional patent application remains pending at the Patent Office for a maximum of 12 months from the date of filing. So if an applicant files a provisional patent application, then he must apply for a corresponding permanent patent also within the twelve-month patent pendency duration of the provisional application. Why? It is essential to accomplish the Patent Process with ease and get comprehensive advantages of patenting an invention. 

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8 Steps to Prevent Unauthorized Use of Intellectual Property Online

Your company’s Intellectual Property (IP), regardless of what it is or the form in which it is existing, is often more valuable than anything else. Hence, the security teams and IP executives of your firm must understand the need to keep these crucial assets safe against the rapidly emerging dark forces that are continuously trying to steal them. With the advancements in digital technologies, robbery and unauthorized use of inventive works like pictures, content, or other vital IPs have become very common. The unique online IP assets that are intended to gain followers and customers for your business if stolen and used by others can reduce your profits. Therefore, it is essential to legitimately prohibit others from infringing on your online intellectual property.

Steps to Protect your IP Online

Is somebody already using your work and thus, earning on your name? Don’t worry as the following steps will not only help you in dealing with unlawful use of your work but also reduce the possibilities of your IP’s theft in the future.

1. Comprehending Copyright Law is Must: Your unique blog, picture, content, and video are your IP and get protected from the moment you create them. Undoubtedly, it means that no one can use the work without your permission, but many people (knowingly or unknowingly) still try to reproduce it. No matter what the reason is, people often try to steal and use your assets. Nonetheless, you can prevent them from doing so by using the copyright protection surrounding your work, but as different work is protected differently, there is a need to have a deep insight into copyright law. Besides, filing a wrong Copyright Infringement case can leave you with penalties, thus turning it more significant to comprehend the law.
2. Issue an Official Copyright Notice: Such notices are one of the best means to prevent people from violating your work as it informs people that the particular work is your IP. Though these notices don’t grant additional protection or rights, yet putting them in your content can keep your work safe.
3. Formulate an Easily Understandable Permission Policy: Create an explicit permission policy that provides clear statistics about how users can use your work. Tell them for what kind of use they need to take your permission and what they can use without seeking your consent. It will benefit you by making people consult you before using your content as well as by giving a published standard that you can refer to if anyone infringes your IP.
4. Have insight into Users’ Intention: Not every person who re-posts your work does so to violate it. Some may do this as they are not aware of the law or the fact that the work is your IP. Moreover, a few may be using it just because they want to develop the interest of their target readers. Hence, be cautious and have an ideology about the users’ intention behind using your asset before taking any legal step.
5. Request Removal of your Work: Many times, the users’ motives are not harmful, i.e., they are violating your Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) unknowingly. Even after executing the previously mentioned step, if you still come across such users, be kind to them and try not to suppress their enthusiasm. Send an email or put a comment informing them that they are unintentionally committing an illegal act. Furthermore, suggest them to get benefitted from your work by using it legally as per your permission policy.
6. Turn Your Request into Demand: Are the users not responding to your request aptly? It’s time to be a little bit rigid and turn your request into demand. Send a demand letter or an email asking the users who are behaving as offenders to remove your copyrighted content from their site.
7. Extract Benefits from Infringer’s Hosting Service: Are the offenders still not ready to cooperate? Carry out some searches and discover their WhoIs record. You can do this by utilizing the efficient tool named as DomainTools. The information gathered in this way will reveal their domain registration information, encompassing the details of the host of the website. Create an email, including statistics that why you want the offenders to remove your work from their website. The legitimate service on receiving your email will investigate the case, and if it discovers your request appropriate, then demand the offender to respond as you want. Nonetheless, if the infringers don’t act aptly, it will take their website down.
8. Hire an Attorney-at-law: Do the service providers appear shady, incompetent, or offshore? Relax as it is not a new concern, many people suffer from the same one. At this instance, IP attorneys can serve you with relief by putting such nasty infringers out of your professional life. They can even proffer guidelines on How to Manage Intellectual Property, how to ensure effective IP Portfolio Review and Management, etc., to avoid similar worries in the future.

IP is the base of almost every business, and thus, no one can afford to lose these valuables in others’ hands. Hopefully, the steps in this article will prove beneficial in safeguarding your intellectual property online. So don’t miss out on these steps as not directly but undoubtedly they play a crucial role in your overall success. For view source: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com/blog/8-steps-to-prevent-unauthorized-use-of-intellectual-property-online/

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Facebook Wants to Trademark the Term “Book”

Facebook Inc., one of the largest social media giants worldwide, has filed a Trademark Application for securing a trademark for the term ‘Book’ in Europe, after many years of successfully registering the generic words ‘Face’ and ‘Book’ in the United States.

Filed by Facebook in June 2019 with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), the application has been accepted by EUIPO and is presently under assessment, with a decision anticipated later. The ideology of trademarking such common words is to prevent the small and fledgling firms from using the name of established brands to offer products and services similar to the brands’ ones, thus confusing the customers and making false income on others’ names.

The application filed by Facebook holds a list of hundreds of relevant products and services such as electronic game software, software for modifying photographs, wearable peripherals for computers, and electronic radio components.

If the application gets approved, it will enable the word ‘Book’ that initially recognized as a traditional paper-based data storage format to join the terms, including Face, Wall, Poke, Like, the letter F, and a specific shade of blue in the big list. Moreover, the social media giant will start preventing its competitors from infringing on the word ‘Book’ – something that will not be an unimportant effort; but, undoubtedly within the power of Facebook and legitimate teams associated with it. Nevertheless, the bad news for Facebook’s competitors, especially fledgling and small companies is that the social media giant has proved to be very happy to chase and shut down the firms for perceived Trademark Infringement.

Although it may not be the adept time for Facebook to seek positive results in Europe, where the American giants incur a low amount of trust and goodwill, still the social media giant is consistently striving to complete its trademark collection as it has already got the word ‘face’ registered over a decade years ago, thus making it believable that its new application too will be granted.

In the US, several other terms in addition to ‘Facebook,’ – ‘Face’ and ‘Book,’ are now secured as Facebook’s Intellectual Property (IP), for example – ‘BOOMERANG,’ ‘F8,’ ‘LIKE,’ etc.

Facebook is not the only giant or company seeking to obtain Trademark Protection for generic words, for example – Ohio State University and fashion designer Mark Jacobs are too making efforts to be the first in getting a Registered Trademark for the term “THE” with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

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Michael Kors Files a Lawsuit against New Haven Flea Market

Fashion house Michael Kors LLC has recently sued the operators and vendors of The Boulevard Flea Market on Ella T. Grasso Boulevard over counterfeit sales of the products carrying the company’s brand name for years, and that the practice hasn’t creased even after many repeated warnings.

The plaintiff, in the filed lawsuit, named the flea market operator C.G.C. Enterprises and its owner, Charles Cheslock, Landlord Digsby, Taylor and Hobbes, and Vice President Richard Lebov, and 100 “John Does” as defendants who are believed to have sold fake Michael Kors products.

Attorneys for Michael Kors LLC have noted that New Haven police had reportedly seized more than $2 million worth counterfeit products from the market in November 2013. As per the complaint, an inspector working on behalf of the company purchased counterfeit goods from 31 vendors in June 2018 and in December 2018, the company then sent cease-and-desist letters to those vendors of the flea market. The inspector in August 2019 had not just returned to the flea market but also purchased more counterfeit items. On every visit, as the complaint showed, the inspector saw more than 500 counterfeit goods offered for sale.

In the complaint filed, the attorneys for Michael Kors have noted that these conducts harm the brand’s reputation, branding efforts, and those who purchase the products expecting them to be the real products. As per the attorneys, Michael Kors has expended an enormous amount of resources to combat the sales of fake items at the Flea Market. Despite several efforts to restrict sales, the brand has met with uncooperative landlords and owners who have refused to take appropriate actions. The irresponsible conduct of the operators and vendors is also raising irreparable monetary and other types of damages to Michael Kors and its products’ customers.

The complaint claims that by conducting the illegal act of counterfeiting and falsely defining the origin of the items sold, the operators and vendors of the flea market have committed Trademark Infringement. With many other requests, Michael Kors is looking for a legal order that prohibits vendors and operators from selling counterfeit products, requiring them to turn over all the false merchandise for destruction, along with monetary damages, punitive damages, and statutory damages. For view source: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com/blog/michael-kors-files-a-lawsuit-against-new-haven-flea-market/

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