What is Intellectual Property (IP)?
Intellectual Property refers to creations of the human mind, whether creative or intellectual, such as inventions, art and designs, literary works, music, and the names, symbols, and images used in business. The ownership of intellectual property is categorized into four groups: copyright, trademark, patent, and trade secrets, which allow people to earn recognition or financial benefit from their inventions and creations.
I think that I have IP that needs to be protected, but I am not sure what is the best approach. How do I schedule a consultation and what is the cost?
At Martin IP Law Group, we represent clients from New York to California and everywhere in between. While we prefer for the initial client meeting to be in person, that is not always possible, so we have the ability to conduct consultations and appointments with clients via videoconferencing platforms such as Zoom or by teleconference. Because our time is valuable and by meeting with us you are investing in your venture, we charge a flat fee of $200 for initial consultations. If you retain us at the initial consultation, that money will be applied to the fee that we quote you for services to be rendered. We strive to make you feel welcome and will answer any questions that you may have. That said, if there are concerns we identify we sure will let you know. After all, you don’t want a lawyer who is going to just tell you what you want to hear.
How much do you charge? What is your hourly rate?
At Martin IP Law Group, we believe that the hourly rate that has been used by nearly all law firms for decades is arcane and inefficient. Because we have been working with clients to protect their IP for more than 25 years, after the initial consultation we have a pretty good idea how long it will take us to complete your project. So, whenever possible (which is about 90% of the time) we will quote you a FIXED FLAT FEE for our services. Our FIXED FLAT FEE allows you to better plan and budget for your IP needs and avoids surprise fees in the event it takes us longer than anticipated to complete the project.
What do I need to bring with me to the initial consultation?
Once the initial consultation is scheduled, we will send you a general questionnaire form and a practice area specific (e.g. patent, trademark or copyright) questionnaire form for completion prior to your consultation. The questionnaire forms will instruct you, when needed, as to what you should bring to the appointment. For inventions, it is always helpful if you can bring a prototype for us to examine. If you don’t have anything yet, that’s fine too, just bring your ideas and questions. The initial consultation is also an opportunity for us to explain our approach to handling situations like yours and how that approach is different from the approach taken at most traditional law firms.
If I tell you about my project, what prevents you from stealing my idea?
At Martin IP Law Group, we take client confidentiality very seriously. Our attorneys are licensed to practice before the United States Patent & Trademark Office and are members of Indiana State Bar. USPTO administrative rules and the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct strictly prohibit us from disclosing or using any information that you disclose to us without your express consent.
I don’t know where to begin, will you guide me in this process?
Absolutely! Once you meet with one of the attorneys at Martin IP Law Group, we will let you know what the next steps are going to be. We will lead you in the right direction! We know that you are best served when there is regular and consistent communication between the attorney and you concerning the services provided by our firm.
What happens if I bring something to you that you are not equipped to handle?
At the end of the consultation, if we decide that it is beneficial for us to work together, you will have an opportunity to retain Martin IP Law Group to handle your case. When this happens, you will leave our office knowing that your idea, invention and/or identity is in good hands. If we are not able to help with your issues, you can count on a good referral given with what we have learned in this consultation.
What is a patent?
A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention (product or process) that provides a novel, non-obvious way of doing something, or offers a novel, non-obvious technical solution to a problem. Once a patent is granted, the owner of the patent has the exclusive right to make, use, sell, offer for sale and import the patented invention for a period of 20 years (subject to payment of periodic maintenance fees) from the date the application was filed.
How long does it take to get a patent?
According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as of August 2020, the average time from filing to granting of a U.S. patent is 23.4 months. This includes the time from filing a non-provisional patent application, and any time that an application spends as a provisional application would be over and above this time. Once the non-provisional application is filed, it takes an average of 15.5 months for the USPTO to issue a first office action. After that, the applicant typically has 3-6 months to respond. That process can be repeated a number of times until the application is either finally rejected or a patent is issued.
Do I need to do a patentability search before applying for a patent?
What is a trademark/servicemark?
A trademark/servicemark is a word, name, symbol, or device that is used in commerce with goods or services to indicate the source of the goods or services and to distinguish them from the goods or services of others. Trademark/serivcemark rights may be used to prevent others from using a confusingly similar mark, but not to prevent others from making the same goods or from selling the same goods or services under a clearly different mark.
Do I need to register my mark for it to be protected?
The short answer is no – trademark laws extend protection to marks that are used as trademarks/servicemarks regardless of whether they are registered with the USPTO or a state registry. However, there are several distinct benefits of federal registration of a mark with the USPTO.
What is a copyright?
Copyright is a form of protection provided to “original works of authorship” including literature and drama (books, short stories, movies, screenplays, etc.), music, art (paintings, drawings, sculpture, etc.), software and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. The copyright owner has the exclusive right to reproduce the copyrighted work, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work, to perform the copyrighted work publicly, or to display the copyrighted work publicly. The copyright protects the form of expression rather than the idea or subject matter.
Do I need to register my copyright for it to be protected?
No, copyright protection attaches upon creation of a work in fixed form, and copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work. However, there are a number of benefits to registration of a copyright by the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress:
What is a trade secret?
A trade secret is any valuable commercial information that provides a business with an advantage over competitors who do not have that information. In order to be considered a “trade secret”, the information must not be generally known to the public and efforts must be taken by the owner to maintain its secrecy. Some examples of trade secrets include manufacturing processes, customer lists and chemical formulas.
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