Two Cents on Your Million Dollar Invention

Initial Advice on Your Patent

First, congratulations on your brilliant idea. Know that people like you drive our economy and put this country at the forefront of innovation.

Now for the advice: With ideas come many questions, How to protect it? Where to protect it? Who should I speak to? What is the cost?

 This article attempts to address most of these questions. However, be on the lookout for future articles being published by Kaplan Law Practice LLC. They are all original. If this article fails to address your particular question, there may be others that will.

 How do you protect an invention? You may do so contractually or by patenting the invention. A patent attorney may be able to assist with either method, especially if the firm also handles licensing or sales of inventions, since those are contracts. Contracts are limited in scope and generally only bind the immediate parties to the contract. In today’s world of multi-tiered corporations, parent companies and subsidiaries, you may or may not be able to fully bind even the very company you have signed a contract with.
 
The other way to protect your invention is to obtain a patent on your invention. You may be able to obtain a patent by working on your own. However, since the patent process is complex and expensive, it is recommended that you retain a patent attorney to file a patent on your behalf. The primary benefit of a patent, is that it automatically binds everyone, irrespective of whether they learned the idea from you or have come up with it on their own. If their idea is similar to yours, and they have discovered it or began using it after you filed you patent application, you are still protected.

Where to protect my idea? On a purely contractual level, your contract draftsman needs to anticipate and include all possible users of your idea with respect to the party which is trying to get access to your invention. Geography can get tricky, but the biggest danger here is from those who purchase your product and decide to produce their own version after seeing that there is no patent.

On a patent level, a resident of New York follows exactly the same steps as the resident of California. A patent is a creature of federal law. Therefore, all patents must adhere to the same technical guidelines, enforce ability standards and application formalities. It also follows that a patent attorney in NYC will be able to file and prosecute a patent on behalf of a resident of LA, and visa-versa.

 The extent of patent enforcement depends on where it was issued. A patent issued in the US, protects from use, importation or reproduction of infringing matter in all United States territories. If you wish to have protection abroad, you will need to file a related but separate application, ultimately targeting each particular country where for one reason or another you invention may end up.

 Who should I speak to? Speak to those who have been in your shoes before. However, unless you trust them implicitly, do not disclose your idea under any circumstances without filing a patent application first. You may also speak to a patent attorney in your area. Disclosure to attorneys is protected under the broad sweep of the attorney client privilege. If you do not know of a good attorney, or wish to avoid that ‘good friend of mine’ or a ‘brother, sister, uncle of mine’ response, you may simply search for one on the internet. If you are a resident of New York, identifying the right attorney may be as easy as entering ‘Patent Attorney NYC’ into your search engine. If you are using a mobile device, and have consented to location tracker, a search for ‘patent attorney nyc’ will even return a set of attorneys within a several block radius of your location.

What is the cost? The answer is here is highly subjective and variable. If choosing a patent attorney or a contracts attorney, look for someone who is knowledgeable, has been in business for a while and who is pleasant to work with. Look for good reviews, congeniality and contentiousness with which the particular attorney answers his or her calls or returns messages. Do not look for the cheapest alternative or the most expensive and exclusive alternative. If your idea is a winner, the legal expense will typically be a drop in the bucket in the long run, but do exercise caution since a patent issuance is not guaranteed.


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Where there is a will Wills Attorney

Will Preparation for Those Currently Living In NYC.

If you are thinking of preparing a will (and if you still do not have one you should be) you will find yourself bombarded with ads for will preparation services. These primarily come from do it yourself services, or more like, ‘do it yourself and we will help you’ services. Today every accounting software comes with an estate planning module. However, this article does not rate these services nor disparage them. An automated, plain vanilla, one-size-fits-all service that these are speak for themselves to give you exactly what you paid for, assuming that your family situation fits within the one-size-fits-all category.

However, estate planning touches on family law, tax law and property law just to name a few. And if you rely on a generic software, you may unintentionally force your estate into a taxable event, or sow seeds for a future family discord which would otherwise be avoidable. Therefore, even though service by an attorney costs more, it is generally wiser to retain a wills attorney, or more formally known as an attorney who specializes in wills, trusts and estate planning, to complete your will for you. If you live or work in New York and you do not know one offhand, just google for wills attorney NYC and you will get a pretty broad result. If you are using a mobile device with Geo-positioning enabled, searching for a wills attorney nyc will actually bring up hits for attorneys in a five block radius from your location.

A simple telephone conversation with an attorney will help you focus on a firm that is right for you. For example, a direct connection to an attorney, or an attorney who returns your call is a big plus. If the attorney charges a flat fee for will preparation that is also a big plus. A free consultation for estate planning may be available in some cases. However, unlike litigation, where a law firm tries to determine whether or not you have a case, in estate planning, everyone has an estate.

Speaking of estates, every person has one. So a husband and wife will need separate wills. If you are an attorney practitioner reading this article, a husband and wife do need a consent form to retain the same attorney for both of their individual estates. This is true even if most, if not all, assets are held jointly. For that matter, when it comes to probating the will, or a process of presenting a will in a surrogate’s court to receive appropriate enforcement letters, is done separately for each spouse.

So getting back to your search for Wills Lawyer NYC, the next step will be to visit the attorney you have chosen based on price, availability, congeniality, etc. To get the most out of you meeting just be aware of what you own, who should benefit from your will, and unless you are married to a person who is relatively dependable and responsible, have a short list of people who can organize and close out your estate after your passing.

Trademark Attorney NYC Kaplan Law Practice Offers Expert Assistance in Handling Trademark Registeration

Joshua Kaplan, at Kaplan Law Practice LLC., handles patent and trademark registration from commencement to issuance. While success cannot be guaranteed, a property handled prior art search, due diligence study and patent/trademark filing is likely to avert most problems down the road. If you do decide to choose another law firm for you intellectual property needs, feel free to contact us for an audit or a second opinion.

Business name, or logo is at least as critical to a business endeavor as marketing strategy, but even more so. While all strategies and agreements can be changed and modified, it is much harder to change a business name, particularly in the wake of publishing and promoting it. An enrolled trademark is particularly important in guarding you're the business name against infringes, copycats, squatters and imitators. Applying for a trademark should be done at the first place stages, even before investing limited startup capital into web security and other startup resources. It is critical to guarantee that the selected trademark will not need to be changed a short time later. To ensure that his does not happen, it is recommended that you contact a competent Trademark Attorney NYC, such as Joshua Kaplan, Esq.

Try not to be enticed to do this yourself. Look for guidance of an accomplished lawyer, for example, Joshua Kaplan, Esq., of Kaplan Law Practice. LLC. Joshua Kaplan, Esq., has polished his trademark mastery from contextual investigation and certifiable experience. Let the experts at Kaplan Law Practice, LLC., a Fair Lawn, New Jersey based law office, guide you through the treacherous road of getting and maintaining your trademark. Note that because trademark law is federal law, our trademark practice goes beyond New York and New Jersey and includes the other 48 states.

Do not start a new business without inquiring about existing utilization of a trade name or trade dress. It may wind up costing you a ton more than you initial starting capital. Call us in the event that you wish to purchase an existing domain name or if you wish to import products from abroad. Keep in mind, that Intellectual Property is governed federal law. To avoid a possible inadvertent brush with federal agents contact the Trademark and Patent lawyers at Kaplan Law Practice, LLC for pre-startup due diligence.

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Kaplan Law Practice, LLC providingTrademark Attorney Services in NJ

Kaplan Law Practice, LLC is owned by Joshua Kaplan Esq.,is a seasoned upstart firm providing legal services in New York and New Jersey that is fast emerging in various areas of law, including Intellectual Property, and in particular, Trademark law. The law firm is primarily a solo practice but which can quickly harness additional short term resources comprised of young, dynamic attorneys specializing in different law practices. Due to the relatively short existence of the firm, just five years of private practice, services are still offered at very affordable rates and flexible fee structures. Kaplan Law Practice LLC is offering highly professional Trademark Attorney services in NJ

For business owners and entrepreneurs, having exclusive trademark rights on their business names is usually very important and valuable. The law firm assists in registering slogans, phrases, logos, trademarks, brand name,product names, business names, etc. After successful prosecution of trademarks for numerous clients, Kaplan Law Practice was able to obtain exclusive trademark rights for many business owners, and has benefited from ongoing loyalty of its satisfied clientele.

Mr. Joshua Kaplan. Esq. has told us that in today’s growing competitive environment it is really important to hold a registered trademark. A registered trademark plays an important role in protecting and defending your brand name, brand identity, and company values. It also serves as a legal tool to take action against copycats, imitators and squatters. Moreover, he suggests, that it is important to register your trademark as soon as you begin your business without any delay, to minimize the opportunity of anyone to copy your product name or images. From the client side, he advised that it’s important to not to change trademark too often especially when business is recently launched. The entrepreneurs should try to carry the trademark for years to ensure that their brand name achieves some consumer recognition.

This small but vibrant New Jersey based law firm is really committed to providing honest legal services and to protecting their clients from treachery involved with unfair trade practices, especially involving trademark infringement. The best part is that since US Trademarks are governed by federal law, the firm is not limited in its practice of Trademark Law to NY and NJ, but provides trademark services to clients in the other 48 States of the Union, and is able to register Trademarks internationally under the Madrid Protocol.

Application for Patent on Utility Inventions at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

If you have a good idea for an invention, a patent is still a very good and effective way to safeguard against intellectual property squatters, copy-caters and imitators. If you are planning on applying for a patent on your invention, you need to be aware of three essential phase in the process of converting an invention into a patent. Those phases are searching, drafting and filing. This article is a brief overview of the filing phase, and in particular, the several choices afforded to an inventor in filing a utility application for a patent. This article covers US national filing and not choices and procedure for an international application for a patent or a PCT application. Filing can get tricky and retaining a competent patent attorney in your area is highly recommended. Furthermore, if you are a “serial” inventor, you may be precluded from claiming access to discounted filing fees

When filing for a patent you have four basic choices:

Regular Filing:

Regular filing of a non-provisional application for a patent entails the lowest filing fee and the simplest filing procedure. The application joins the queue of filed patent applications and waits its turn to be examined by a Patent Office examiner. That turn may not arrive until a year and a half to two years after the initial filing. Disposition of applications under this form of filing is between three and five years. However, unlike other choices listed below, this is the most flexible form of filing for a patent available.

Petition to Make Special:

The inventor may be able to speed up examination without paying significantly more. A petition to examine applications out of order may be available in some cases of health, age or particular subject matter. Check with your patent attorney whether you can benefit from such a petition a petition of this sort does not carry a charge. In fact, there are no additional charges or limitations, provided that health, age, or subject matter (either of the three) comply with the requirements. Disposition of applications under this form of filing is approximately twelve months, but can sometimes take longer.

Prioritized Examination or Track One

If time is of the essence and the application does not qualify for special considerations, and accelerated examination seems like too much work, you may apply for the Prioritized Examination aka Track One Examination. Prioritized examination requires ability to file applications electronically. This is essentially a standard non-provisional utility patent application, except that most fees are paid up front. There are conditions that must be met in order to qualify for this filing, and these are strictly enforced. There is substantial prioritized examination fee. Only a finite number of such applications are granted each year on a first come first serve basis. This type of patent application has zero room for filing error. Fees paid for an application that was deemed incomplete are not refundable. So having a capable Patent attorney NYC to file this patent application on your behalf is essential. The disposition from filing to issuance of a patent is set to approximately twelve months.

Accelerated Examination

This is probably the most difficult filing patent processes. The main source of difficulty is that the inventor must actually perform a large portion of prior art search and analysis and supply the patent office with a detailed report regarding prior art (inventions that already exist in the public space) and how the invention overcomes it. There are other filing prerequisites, including a petition to allow for acceleration and prepayment of all filing fees. However, the accelerated examination process is more tolerant of filing mistakes and is only subject to the additional fee to cover the cost of the petition. If the inventor and/or his attorney had already done the prior art search analysis during the patent search or feasibility search phases, filing for an accelerated examination should entail minimum amount of additional work. 

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3 MUST ASK QUESTIONS BEFORE HIRING A LAWYER

In this article we are going to outline to you what you need to ask your lawyer before hiring him or her to help you with wills  and trusts

1. How much does it cost for an initial meeting and what will happen during the meeting?

When you start considering hiring a lawyer so as  to put your legal and financial affairs in order, the very first thing you should do is to call the offices of the lawyers who you will meet with to handle all your planning.

This is a very great opportunity for a first level of screening when you are trying to find the right lawyer for you, your business and your family. Pay close attention to how he/she or the office team answer the phone (or not). You will want to find a good lawyer who will answer the phones and can answer really quick questions for you when you are the client

When you talk with someone on the phone, make sure that you ask what will happen at the first meeting and whether he/she will be a charge of the meeting.

The first meeting should just be an educational meeting. Generally, the purpose of the initial meeting meeting with the lawyer is not just to get to know him, but to be provided with specific information and guidance and information that will be of benefit to you.

Leave the first meeting with a very clear action plan on the next steps that you are going to take to ensure your financial and legal affairs are set up in the best possible way for your family and your business..

It's possible that you are going to be paying for this guidance and don’t be worried to do that because the advice you get can be  really valuable. You should ask the lawyer what the meeting will cost up front so there are no surprises after the meeting.

Look for a good lawyer who has an ongoing service program or a membership program so you can reach out to the lawyer on an ongoing basis for financial, business and legal, without having to worry about being deemed and nickled. Oh, and make sure that your lawyer is not going to charge you for faxes and photocopies.

2. Will you make sure that all my assets are titled in the right way and my business is compliant with all laws?

You can have best legal plan set up for you and your family and the best business structure, but if your assets are structured in the wrong way and your business does not stay compliant, it’s just a false sense of being secure because when the push comes to shove and crisis happens, your legal documents won’t work.

Make sure that the lawyer you are working with is not just going to put legal documents in place for you, but is also going to finish the job, by  making sure that your assets are well structured and your business is compliant.

3. Will you help me make the right choices about things like saving for college, buying insurance, and retirement planning?

Your lawyer can and should offer advice to help you make the right decisions, not just on matters concerning legal documents, but also on matters like purchasing insurance, planning for retirement, saving for college and all the other challenging decisions that you will come up with along the way of your business and your. The Business Lawyer NJ should keep you well informed about things like firing and hiring copyrighting and trademarking, and growing your business.

Three Rules for Asset Protection Planning

Asset protection planning is the same, take your chips off the table at the good times, so that you can walk away from the table as a winner no matter what happens in bad situations.

Keep it simple, start early, and do not try to hide some of your assets from your creditors.

In gambling, there is a saying that goes like, "If you want to be the winner, then you have to walk away from the table as a winner." A honored method of reaching this result is by systematically taking your chips off the table as you win them, to minimize your potential losses.

Asset protection planning is the same, take your chips off the table at the good times, so that you can walk away from the table as a winner no matter what happens in bad situations. The people who worry about asset protection are those likely to get sued. Think of obstetricians and, recently, real estate investors. But the average folks often get caught in difficult situations, and that's why the topic of asset protection should at least cross your mind.

Asset protection planning is usually the debtor's side of creditor-debtor law. While most creditors are concerned about the techniques and strategies of collection, the debtors are interested in the techniques and strategies for protecting their most valuable assets from any potential creditors.

Bearing in mind the law school adage that "The general rules are generally inapplicable", the following three rules should always be kept in mind when you are trying to take chips off the table.

1. Start Making a Plan Before A Claim Arises

You can do many things that will effectively provide you with asset protection before a a liability or claim arises, but there will be a few things that you can do afterwards. Moreover, the point that a claim arises is earlier than any layman might think-it is usually way earlier than when a process shows up or you receive a demand letter

2. Late Asset Protection Planning Usually Backfires

Conducting asset protection planning after a claim arises is going to make matters worse; take it as getting a flu shot while you already have the flu, and the flu shot itself making you feel even more woozy. It is a very common misconception that the only thing a judge could do is to unwind a fraudulent transfer, thus leaving the debtor who unsuccessfully tried late planning would be worse off than if he had done nothing. Both the person who assisted in the fraudulent transfer and the debtor can become liable for the creditor attorney fees, and thus the debtor can lose hope of getting a discharge in bankruptcy.

3. Planning for Asset Protection Is Not A Substitute For An Insurance Policy.

Asset protection planning can never be a substitute for professional insurance and liability, but rather should be a supplement to professional insurance. It is a big myth that asset protection plans could invariably scare off plaintiffs, and an Asset protection Lawyer NYC does not pay legal fees to defend against a filed lawsuit. Professional insurance also supplements asset protection plans, because it can help a debtor survive a claim of fraudulent transfer. If you end up getting get sued, let your insurance company defend it and then pay to settle it.


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