Blawg IT

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Iowa Judicial Branch Website Wins Award
2006-09-23 03:42:02
The IOWA JUDICIAL BRANCH has won the Justice Served website award for being one of the top ten court websites in the country. The Iowa Judicial Branch earned the distinction for its "clean, well organized site that boasts video appellate arguments, appellate opinions, trial court records, payment of traffic a High rating is given to sites containing feedback forms online. Congratulations to
More About: Website , Site , Webs , War

Should I register my logo?
2006-09-21 21:33:03
So. You have a new logo and you want to protect it with a federal trademark registration. Should you register the words in the logo? The design? Both? A trademark registration on words covers the use of those words regardless of the font, size, color or configuration of the words. So why then would you not just register the words? Regis tration of a logo protects you against someone using your
More About: Logo , Register

Des Moines Lawpportunities
2006-09-18 21:09:03
People have been asking fellow Des Moines blogger Rush Nigut and me a lot about our blogs and the success the blogs have been generating for us. Just Google Iowa Patent Attorney or Iowa Franchise Attorney and see what pops up. Rush and I have top five Google placements for several categories. We achieved this success not through paid advertising, but through blogging. Rush and I have put in
More About: Port , Unit

The Long Tail of Patents
2006-09-14 20:42:03
Chris Anderson is the author of the wildly popular book The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More. The Long Tail refers to the shape of the long, downward-sloping curve which graphs the number of different types of products available, against the demand for those products. Bricks and mortar companies only have a limited amount of shelf space. These companies, therefore,
More About: Patents , Patent , Long tail

The Best Patent Lawyer in the World
2006-09-14 02:39:04
How do you find the best patent attorney in the world? You make one. Lawyer s have been around for thousands of years. They have always been perceived as having access to information not accessible to the common man. Well not anymore. Almost any law, statute, regulation or fact available to your lawyer is now available to you online. Now having all of that information is one thing. Using it is
More About: World , Best , The World , Patent

How to Pick a Trademark
2006-09-12 20:33:03
You work with your marketing group and come up with a great name, but it is descriptive of your product and therefore not protectable as a trademark. Your trademark lawyer then shoots it down. What do you do? Do you let your trademark lawyer pick your trademark? No. Even the best trademark lawyer cannot pick your name for you. Trade mark lawyers look for the easiest trademark to protect, not the
More About: How To , Pick , Demark , Mark

Iowa Supreme Court Issues New Rules on Confidential Informat
2006-09-11 02:21:08
Rush Nigut has a new interesting blog post. Rush notes that the Iowa Supreme Court has promulgated new Rule 1.422(1)(a)(2) of the Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure designed to ensure that lawyers redacted or eliminate private information from court documents. The Clerk of Court, however, still does not review filings to ensure pleadings do not contain private information. Rush notes that the new
More About: Issues , Info , Inform

Computer Forensics in Iowa
2006-09-08 20:06:04
In virtually any complex technology litigation the ability to obtain, preserve and process electronic discovery is the difference between winning and losing. Comp uter forensics is also crucial in protecting clients from cybercrime and providing authorities with the information they need to pursue criminals stealing from your clients. The FBI now places cybercrime as one of its top three
More About: Forensics , Iowa , Fore

New Book on Blogging
2006-09-08 02:00:12
Ted Demopoulos, author of Blog ging for Business has released a new book entitled What No One Ever Tells You About Blogg ing and Podcasting: Real-Life Advice from 101 People who Leverage the Power of The Blogosphere. The book is now available for presale on Amazon.com and will be "on the shelves" by Nov 1st. Best of all, your humble blog poster, Brett Trout, is a featured contributor to the book.
More About: Book

Another Video Game Ban Struck Down
2006-08-31 18:57:07
A Louisiana judge has struck down yet another state ban on the sale of violent video games to minors. Judge James issued a preliminary injunction against the Louisiana law noting the long line of cases holding video games are constitutionally protected free speech. Entertainment Software Association president Douglas Lowenstein applauded the ruling, noting the irony in giving video game companies
More About: Video , Truck , Other , Game , Video Game

Justice Department on the Prowl for Software Pirates
2006-08-30 18:51:03
The Justice Department is cracking down on software pirates. No longer is the penalty a slap on the wrist. Software pirates are now doing real time in prison and paying millions of dollars in fines. As there is no telling when the Justice Department may expand its focus from distributors to users of illegally pirated software, now is the time for due diligence. Check with your head of
More About: Pirates , Pirate

Are You Watching Your Employees Surf the Web
2006-08-28 18:48:03
In the past, employees might have had a reasonable expectation that their employers were not allowed to monitor surfing practices. Not so anymore. Internet surfing has become so ubiquitous, and the potential liability and loss of productivity so large, courts are siding with employers in cases where they have fired employees for surfing activities. While it would obviously be best to include the
More About: Watch , Surf , Employees , Your , The Web

eBay and After the Auction Contracts
2006-08-24 18:39:03
You purchase a car on eBay, you discover something is not right and all attempts to resolve the issue are unsuccessful. You decide to sue the seller . . . but wait a minute; there is a clause in the purchase agreement that says you cannot sue, you have to arbitrate. Was the deal done when the seller made an offer and you accepted it. Not so according to U.S. District Judge C. Weston Houck.
More About: Auction , Ebay , Contract , After , Contra

Shop Rights
2006-08-24 18:39:03
You use your employer?s computer and development software to develop a great new software program after work. Who owns the software? To balance the rights of employers and employees, and to maximize the incentive to invent, courts have developed the ?common law? (a court made law not passed by lawmakers) of ?shop rights.? Shop rights give the employee ownership of the invention, but give the employer the non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free right to use the invention in the employer?s business. The employer cannot sell or transfer its shop rights, use the invention outside the business or prohibit the employee from exploiting the invention. If the employee leaves, the employee can take the invention, but must leave the shop rights with the employer. In determining whether an employer is entitled to shop rights, courts examine each case individually. Among other things, courts look at:1) what time (on the clock or off) and tools went into the development of the invention:2)...
More About: Rights , Right

Wholaw Blawg Seminars
2006-08-24 18:39:03
Wholaw is a new blog promoting legal seminars in Des Moines, as well as other cities in Iowa. Attorney Rush Nigut of Sullivan and Ward and I have teamed up to unveil the first in a series of seminars dedicated to twenty-first century legal issues. Our first seminar covers the nuts and bolts of "blawging" and why it should be important to the lawyers in your firm. The blawg seminar will include not only getting your blawg up and running quickly, but also tips on how to generate quality content and a base of avid readers.Other Related Topics:Des Moines, Iowa, lawyer, Blawg, CLE
More About: Seminars , Seminar , Semi , Hola , Semin

Patent Examining with Wikis
2006-08-21 18:33:02
CNN Money has posted an article by Fortune senior writer Nicholas Varchaver who reports the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is embarking on a pilot software patent examination program. The program will allow those complaining about overly broad software patents to become part of the solution. The problem stems from patent examiners having too little time to review patent
More About: Mining , With , Mini , Wikis , Exam

How to Draft a Patent Application
2006-08-18 18:30:30
Patent Application s are tricky. Even the United States Patent and Trademark Office recommends you get an expert to draft your patent application. It is possible to draft your own patent, heck if the late night informercial lackeys can do it, anyone can. While you do have to be a federally registered patent attorney or patent agent to draft a patent application for someone else, you can draft your own application yourself. Although you might draft your application, and might even get the patent, it would be very unusual to get a patent with broad coverage. Most likely, you will end up with a very narrow patent, unlikely to be useful in stopping anyone from doing anything. Even if you did obtain some coverage, even a slight error in the your dealings with the USPTO in getting the patent could later invalidate the patent altogether. For those interested, I did find some information on drafting your own patent. I provide this link, however, as more informational than instructional. I wo...
More About: How To , Cat , Draft , Patent

Free Book!
2006-08-18 18:30:30
If you have not already, be sure to check out my book Internet Laws Affecting Your Company. Receiving rave reviews since its publication, Internet Laws Affecting Your Company answers many of the questions you would otherwise have to pay an expert $300/hr or more to answer. While not a substitute for the advice of an attorney, Internet Laws Affecting Your Company brings you up to speed on the
More About: Free , Book , E Book

Digital Millennium Copyright Act Take Down Notice
2006-08-16 18:30:20
On October 28, 1998, President Bill Clinton signed HR 2281, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) DMCA into federal law. Title II of that law, otherwise known as the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (OCILLA) provides network service providers, such as internet service providers (ISPs) with a ?safe harbor? to avoid conflicting suits for keeping infringing material on their network, or removing content erroneous accused of being infringing.OCILLA contains specific procedures a copyright holder must follow to get infringing uses of their work removed under the DMCA. To gain the safe harbor provisions of the DMCA, ISPs must designate an ?agent? to receive ?take down notices? of infringement. If you identify an online infringing use of your copyrighted work, you can send a take down notice to the designated agent of the associated ISP to have the work removed under the DMCA. An appropriate take down notice must include:1 A signature of the copyright owner or ...
More About: Take , Down , Right , Notice

How to Draft a Patent Application
2006-08-16 18:30:20
Patent Application s are tricky. Even the United States Patent and Trademark Office recommends you get an expert to draft your patent application. It is possible to draft your own patent, heck if the late night informercial lackeys can do it, anyone can. While you do have to be a federally registered patent attorney or patent agent to draft a patent application for someone else, you can draft your
More About: How To , Cat , Draft

Criminals Making Real Money Stealing My Virtual Stuff
2006-08-15 18:27:01
Games such as World of Warcraft allow players to increase their strength and abilities with gold which they gain through various in-game activities. Some players bypass the rules of the game and purchase gold directly from of other players. This buying virtual gold with real money has led to a cottage industry of players playing for gold, rather than fun. Although Blizzard Entertainment, the
More About: Money , Stuff , Virtual , Real , King

Sansone Blogging Workshop
2006-08-09 18:15:02
Des Moines blog guru Mike Sansone is offering a FREE two hour business blogging workshop on August 17, and you are invited. The workshop will cover topics like: ? How to follow the conversations using social media search tools ? Why your company should engage in these conversations ? What are the differences between blog sites and (cob)web sites ? Questions to answer before you begin blogging If
More About: Blogging , Workshop , Work , Blog , Shop

How Good Is My Patent Attorney?
2006-08-07 18:15:03
A patent is not simply a form your patent attorney fills out for you. It is a complex document detailing the scope of your invention. Too broad and the United States Patent and Trademark Office will not grant you a patent. Too narrow and your competitors can simply make a few changes to avoid the patent. Getting the mix just right is why patent attorneys with years of experience, like myself, can
More About: Attorney , Good , Atto , Tent

Small Inventors - Let Your Voice Be Heard
2006-08-07 18:15:03
The Professional Inventors Alliance (PIA) is very concerned that a patent reform bill introduced last week by Republican Orrin Hatch from Utah and Democrat Patrick Leahy from Vermont, is really just a "wish list" for "antipatent, washed-up tech companies" reports CNET. The PIA believes the bill undermines the protections patents provide to individual inventors. According to CNET, PIA president
More About: Voice , Hear , Your , Small

Help me with my patent application
2006-08-07 18:15:03
I get a lot of inquiries from potential clients asking for me to "review" the patent application they drafted themselves. They are often nonplused to hear that we cannot help them. After fifteen years of patent drafting it still takes me about 5-8 hours to draft a single sentence for the first claim of the patent application. Just as I would caution someone not to trust an open heart
More About: Cat , With , Help , Help Me , Application

Be the First Blog on Your Block with a Trademark
2006-08-07 18:15:03
You have a great name for your blog, you have dozens of posts, your readership is growing by the day, your Google rank is climbing, then it all comes crashing down. Now, a competing blog using the same name ranks higher in Google, your readership dwindles and you have no recourse. What can you do? Well, if you had gotten a federal trademark registration on your domain name, you could simply write
More About: Blog , With , Your , Trade , Bloc

Get Your Patents Faster
2006-08-07 18:15:03
The Department of Commerce?s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) now gives patent applicants the option of getting a final decision on patentability within 12 months. To qualify for this ?accelerated examination,? patent applicants who file under this procedure must conduct a patent search to determine the closest "prior art," submit all prior art that is closest to their
More About: Your , Fast , Patents , Tent

Get More Out of Your Inventors
2006-08-07 18:15:03
Inventor s are typically overworked and underpaid. They do their job because they love the work. Encouraging inventors to be more creative or spend more time on patent protection paperwork can be difficult. I mean, who WANTS to talk to a patent attorney? Fortunately, time and money do not drive most inventors. What inventors really desire is recognition of their creative efforts and their
More About: Your , More , Vent

Blawg IT #1
2006-08-07 18:15:03
Thanks for making Blawg IT number one on blawg.org under the Software and Information Technology catagories. Blawg IT also ranks #3 in the Patent and Trademark catagories. Thanks to all of my loyal readers!Other Related Topics:Patent, Trademark, Information Technology, Blawg, Software