US Patent and Trademark Office Webinar - Invention-Con 2021: Capitalizing on your intellectual property

Author ReubenGBrewer Licence CC BY-SA 4.0 Source Wikimedia Commons

 

Jane Lambert

One of the few good things to have resulted from this pandemic is the live streaming of events that would previously have been limited to the venue where they took place. One of those events is the United States Patent and Trademark Office's webinar Invention-Con 2021: Capitalizing on your intellectual property which will take place between 18-20 Aug 2021.  It is billed as an event for inventors, makers and entrepreneurs. There is nothing quite like it in this country or as far as I can see anywhere else in the world.

According to the event web page presentations and workshops will cover:

• "Putting your creativity to work
• How IP applies in various fields, such as artificial intelligence, robotics, fashion, music, and literature
• Types of IP protection: patents, trademarks, and copyrights
• Marketing, manufacturing, and building a competitive advantage around your ideas
• Fun, free educational resources for kids and teens
• Innovation and the fight against COVID-19
• And much more"

There are also special events for children and young people, They will include a session with Gitanjali Rao who was named "Kid of the Year" by Time Magazine and several other promising young inventors. Registration Is through Eventbrite. There does not appear to be a charge and it seems to be open to everyone everywhere in the world.

Although American intellectual property law does differ from our own in a number of important respects the basic principles are the same. The USA is this country's biggest trading partner and its importance is likely to increase if HM Government ever concludes a bilateral trade treaty with it. Businesses that wish to trade or invest in the USA will need to be aware of US intellectual property law and should protect their own intellectual assets by taking out utility, design and plant patents (equivalent to patents, registered designs and plant breeders; rights in the UK) and trade marks in the USA,   

Businesses wishing to apply for patents and trade marks in the USA can ask their British patent or trade mark attorneys to appoint an American agent or they can approach an American one directly.   For those wishing to instruct an American attorney, I can recommend Antoinette M Tease who runs a specialist IP practice in Montana.   I have worked with her on a number of occasions over many years and I have received only good reports of her from my clients.

The USPTO offers a large number of other events some of which would be useful to UK businesses.  Restaurateurs might be interested in Don’t burn your brand: intellectual property for restaurants which takes place this Monday 19 July, Trademark Basics Boot Camp, Module 7: Keeping your registration alive on the following Tuesday, and so on. The USPTO's events page is here.

Anyone wishing to discuss this topic can call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during UK office hours or send me a message through my contact page.

Immediate IP First Aid Nationwide

Field Hospital in First World War

Author National Museum of Health and Medicine
Source Wikipedia
Creative Commons Licence

Jane Lambert

I have been conducting free monthly consultations on IP law in London and the North for the last 10 years or so. I have seen lots of clients in that time and can count a number of successes as a result.

However, that service does have some five limitations.

1. it requires my presence and I can only be in one place at any one time. 
2. A month can be a very long time to wait when a  matter is urgent or you are impatient for information. 
3. I often need to refer clients to another professional such as a patent or trade mark attorney or a product design consultant which results in further delay. 
4. Many problems can be dealt with by a simple phone or Skype call or email. 
5. Clients who need to see me sometimes have to travel for miles.

I have therefore decided to improve and extend my IP Clinic in the following way.

Anyone who wants a free IP consultation with me or some other IP professional should call

020 7404 5252

during office hours and ask for an appointment to speak to me by telephone. I am not always available because I may be in court or a meeting but someone will take your name and number and arrange for me to call you back. Tell the person who takes your call that you are calling about my IP clinic.

Alternatively, you can send me a message through my contact form.

I should be able to give you some basic advice there and then and there will be no charge for that service. Should it appear to me that you need to see some other professional I will call at least one member of the relevant profession who practises in your area wherever possible and ask whether he or she would be willing to see you for an initial meeting or talk to you by telephone for up to 30 minutes free of charge. If the answer is "yes" I will pass you on to him or her.

Please note that you can only use this service once. If you want to consult me or any of the other professionals to whom I may refer you again you will have to instruct us in the usual way and that will usually require a fee the amount of which will be negotiated at the time.

In the next few days, I shall launch an IP clinic website which will provide further information including a knowledge base of answers to frequently asked questions.