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THE NEED FOR EXPERIENCED COUNSEL
Any attorney admitted to practice in any state in the country is
technically qualified to register trademarks with the U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office or copyrights with the U.S. Copyright Office
in Washington D.C. Unlike the situation with patents, no special
examination is given to determine whether the attorney is
familiar with the copyright or trademark law or registration
procedures, for example. Clients are advised to seek an attorney
who specializes in such matters.
SUMMARY
Whether or not our mousetrap inventor takes measures to preserve
the intellectual property, he or she certainly should avoid
infringing on the rights of others. Although this is not
difficult in the case of copyrights and trade secrets, patents and
trademarks are another matter altogether.
Unquestionably, it costs precious start-up capital to have patent
and trademark searches performed; however, proceeding in a new
venture without doing so is equivalent to erecting a building or
signing a long-term lease without checking the real estate title.
Searches will not make the product appeal to the public, but they
will ensure enjoyment of any hard-won market success. A patent
search is comparatively cheap insurance against the possible need
to retool or to absorb inventory losses. Moreover, a close look
before adopting a trademark is cheaper in the long run than the
cost of advertising and new promotions designed to advise
customers to seek the mousetrap under a new name.
APPENDIX A: FURTHER INFORMATION ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Patent and Trademark Office, Washington, DC 20231, or the United
States Trademark Association, 6 E. 45th Street, New York, NY 10017.
Both publish free or inexpensive booklets.
A booklet for independent inventors, "So You Have An Idea", is
available from the Innovation Clinic, 2 White Street, Concord, NH
03301. To order it send $2.00 and a self-addressed mailing label.
The Innovation Clinic also has a set of HyperCard stacks
(for Macintosh computers) covering several topics of interest to
inventors and small business owners. These are available for
$5.00 and a self-addressed mailing label.
Write to the Copyright Office, Washington, DC 20559, indicating the
subject matter in which you are particularly interested, for
example, music or arts.
"Patents Trademarks and Copyrights", Lawrence E. Evans, Jr., 1986,
Gunn, Lee and Jackson, Eleven Greenway Plaza, Suite 1616, Houston, TX
77046.
You may want to consult one or more of the many inventors'
handbooks available at public libraries. One example is "How to
Profit From Your Ideas", Flemming Bank, 1985 ($12.95). Bank and
Associates, P.O. Box 20365, Portland, OR 97220. This is a
step-by-step guide that shows how you can make money by turning
your creative ideas into marketable products.
APPENDIX B: INFORMATION RESOURCES
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
The SBA offers an extensive selection of information on most
business management topics, from how to start a business to
exporting your products.
This information is listed in "The Small Business Directory". For a
free copy contact your nearest SBA office.
SBA has offices throughout the country. Consult the U.S.
Government section in your telephone directory for the office
nearest you. SBA offers a number of programs and services,
including training and educational programs, counseling services,
financial programs and contract assistance. Ask about
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