by Kathleen Lynch | Apr 12, 2016 | Innovation, Patent Prosecution
One of the most famous patents had part of its record lost for 36 years. Part of the patent file on the Wright Brothers’ first flying machine disappeared in 1980 when it was returned to the National Archives by the Smithsonian Museum where it had been on loan for an exhibit. It was not until 2000 that archivists discovered it missing. In March of this year the record was discovered in a cave outside of Kansas City where government records are stored.
Government officials speculate that the record was likely misfiled in 1980 and made it difficult to find. The papers, along with the rest of the patent file, will now be part of an exhibit at the National Archives starting May 20th.
Protecting your innovative developments is critical to any organization. Having the right person to help you make that decision is important. The Law Office of Kathleen Lynch PLLC is designed to help businesses such as yours keep ahead of the game. The first telephone consultation is free. Email us at kl****@*****aw.com.
by Kathleen Lynch | Apr 6, 2016 | Innovation, Patent Prosecution
Apple recently was granted a patent that detects and deletes swear words from song lyrics on audio tracks. The system first finds the explicit language in a track and then removes it. In addition, the system can replace the profane language with milder lyrics or background music. The system also works with audio books.
Apple has not indicated that it plans on bringing the technology to Apple Music in the near future. As the mother of twin teenagers, I can only hope!
Capitalizing on innovative developments is critical to any organization. Having the right person to help you make those decisions is important. The Law Office of Kathleen Lynch PLLC is designed to help businesses such as yours keep ahead of the game. The first telephone consultation is free. Email us at kl****@*****aw.com.
by Kathleen Lynch | Mar 16, 2016 | Innovation
Every once in awhile I come across a great inventorship story. This is the story of Jane ní Dhulchaointigh (pronounced “knee-gull-queen-tig”). A UK product designer, Jane developed a moldable glue which is sold today as Sugru.
Jane started out wanting a more effective ergonomic knife handle. Using silicone caulk and sawdust, she spent 6 years experimenting with over 5000 different variations on a moldable glue formula. Once she had attained the desired formula, Jane wanted to approach 3M to buy it. But the year was 2008 and many advised her against it.
Since necessity is the mother of invention, Jane and her team decided to launch the product themselves. They initially focused on the online craft market and used social media to help advertise their product.
What’s the take away here? Be persistent. It took Jane 6 years to develop this product and formula. Most of us would have given up after 6 hours. Also choose your advisors well and follow solid advice. Sugru’s sales skyrocketed with the strong emphasis on social media. Jane has also maintained a strong competitive advantage internationally by using the patent system.
Protecting your innovative developments is critical to any organization. Having the right person to help you make that decision is important. The Law Office of Kathleen Lynch PLLC is designed to help businesses such as yours keep ahead of the game. The first telephone consultation is free. Email us at kl****@*****aw.com.
by Kathleen Lynch | Mar 2, 2016 | Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Start Up Considerations, Trademark Service Mark
A European General Court recently denied the Coca-Cola Company European Community trademark protection for the shape of its new bottle design. European Community trademark protection provides trademark rights to the owner throughout all European Union member states.
The bottle design was determined by the court to lack distinction. In fairness, protection of a shape in the EU is difficult to prove. The shape must be shown to be recognizable by consumers by shape alone. Coke failed to meet its burden of proof in this situation.
Here, Coke revamped its bottle design and made it less distinctive than previous designs, which were protected by EU Community trademark registration. In an effort to modernize their product packaging, Coke may have drifted away from its recognizable bottle shape.
What’s the take away here? For any company, protecting the shape of a product through trademark registration is a challenge. The shape must be sufficiently distinctive to enable consumers to recognize the product over the competition. If your organization is going to go down that route, be sure to create a sufficiently distinctive product that is recognizable by your customers over the competition.
Protecting your innovative developments is critical to any organization. Having the right person to help you make that decision is important. The Law Office of Kathleen Lynch PLLC is designed to help businesses such as yours keep ahead of the game. The first telephone consultation is free. Email us at kl****@*****aw.com.
by Kathleen Lynch | Jan 26, 2016 | Entrepreneurship, Innovation
An article today in Bloomberg.com discussed the formation of a new consortium: IP Europe. The consortium is made up of some of Europe’s largest intellectual property stakeholders. These include Ericsson, Airbus, French phone company Orange SA and train manufacturer Alstom.
IP Europe plans to lobby the European Commission in hopes to make it easier for European based companies to compete with the US and China and other countries to capitalize on their innovations. The group will concentrate on key industry patents which through industry standardization become necessary for all industry participants. These tend to provide continuously decreasing revenues over time.
The new IP Europe consortium will be headed by former EU Commission Official Morgens Peter Carl.
Protecting and enforcing your intellectual property is critical to any organization. Having the right person to help you make those decisions is important. The Law Office of Kathleen Lynch PLLC is designed to help businesses such as yours keep ahead of the game. The first telephone consultation is free. Email us at kl****@*****aw.com.
by Kathleen Lynch | Jan 18, 2016 | Entrepreneurship, Innovation
Last month President Obama awarded the National Medals of Science, as well as the National Medals of Technology and Innovation to a number of recipients. Among the recipients of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation was a UNC professor, Joseph DeSimone.
Mr. DeSimone is the founder of Carbon3D. He has taken a sabbatical from UNC to focus on his company which is developing new 3D printing technology.
The Carbon3D process, referred to as CLIP, is a chemical process the uses light and oxygen to eliminate the mechanical steps used in standard 3D printing. The process projects light through an oxygen-permeable window into a bed of UV curable resin. The object is lifted out of the resin bath as it is grown. The process enables the 3D printing speeds to increase substantially and enhance the quality as well. Check out their video.
Protecting your innovative developments is critical to any organization. Having the right person to help you make that decision is important. The Law Office of Kathleen Lynch PLLC is designed to help businesses such as yours keep ahead of the game. The first telephone consultation is free. Email us at kl****@*****aw.com.
