Questions and Professional Answers

• Trademark Question

  Can a generic term like ''Playground Grass'' be trademarked? Another company has trademarked this as well as other generic terms. Does not seem right.Also, how do I dispute the trademark?

  • Re: Trademark Question

    In trademark law the definitions work a little differently. "Playground Grass" is not "generic," but it might be held invalid as a trademark on the grounds it is "descriptive." For example, "aspirin" is no longer a trademark because common usage has rendered the term generic: The public no longer associates "aspirin" with any specific manufacturer. "Shredded wheat" is not a trademark because it is merely descriptive of the product.As with most other types of legal disputes, you engage the other party by retaining an attorney and suing. You would sue in federal court to have the trademark ruled invalid, or for a ruling that your use of the mark does not infringe.

    Michael Stone
    Law Offices of Michael B. Stone 310-776-7500
    3020 Old Ranch Parkway, Suite 300
    Seal Beach, CA 90740

• prescription drugs

  I am divorced and my ex wife has custody of our 16 year old gilr. I have medical insurance on her that will pay all but 10% on generic drugs but Mom says she has to have the brand name which is a whole lot higher. Am I legally responsible for the difference in the generic past the 10% of the generic brand?

  • Re: prescription drugs

    The first question is whether the divorce decree orders you to pay for medical care or does it just order that you provide health insurance. If it does order you to pay for medical care, then the question would be whether the physician has determined that the brand name medicine is necessary. If so, then you probably will be responsible for the difference. If your decree only orders you to pay health insurance or if this is just the other parent's preference, then you would most likely not have to pay.

    Gregory Napier
    Troutman & Hays, PLLC
    4740 Firebrook Blvd.
    Lexington, KY 40513

• Job Application

  If a generic application is already completed and has a resume attached and presented to a business for potential employment is it a state law that says if the business'OWN application is not filled out then it is against the law to consider the generic application. The business application is taken from a generic pad bought at the local supply store.

  • Re: Job Application

    I am not aware of any such state law.

    Michael E. Hendrickson
    Attorney & Counsellor at Law
    211 North Union Street Suite 100
    Alexandria, VA 22314

• could I patent a generic drug?

  Hello,Could you patent a generic drug for a novel method of use and make money on it as a new drug? How protect my IP?I have identified a unique mechanism of action leading to root cause of the disease (rather than treating symptoms as other drugs go). We also said that this mechanism is modulated (or suppressed) by generic drug used to treat cardiovascular disorder. The patent for this drug expired in 2003. To protect the intellectual properties for a mechanism that could be treated by a generic drug we think that we should file a patent application for a novel method of use for a generic to treat neurological disorder, and also give a brand new name for it. Does the IP weak in our case? What to do to protect ourselves better and make money on it? We can’t force physicians to prescribe our medication. How we could deal with it? Could we for ex. instead of 5 mg genetic we could suggest to take 6 or 7 mg?I would appreciate any input. Thanks a lot.

  • Re: could I patent a generic drug?

    Novel uses of existing drugs are patentable. The extent to which such patents can be enforced to bar the unlicensed use of the product is questionable (particularly if off-label), but one FDA-approved it can at least generate royalties if a manufacturer wants to advertise that use, or the ability for you, if you manufacture or have it made for you, to market the product for that use and to preclude others from doing so.

    Daniel Press
    Chung & Press, P.C.
    6718 Whittier Ave., Suite 200
    Mclean, VA 22101

• Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

  Are there generic ''Terms of Use'' and ''Privacy Policy'' documents that could be used for a new website? Also, are breaches to terms in these documents enforceable?Thanks

  • Re: Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

    In a word, no. Each set of terms of use and privacy policy should be customized to the specific needs of the website. If the terms are drafted correctly, they are indeed enforceable agreements.

    Daniel Pepper
    Pepper Law Group, LLC
    72 West End Avenue
    Somerville, NJ 08876

• cialis generic levitra viagra

  Check with your employer to see if one is offered a href=http://yucanima.100free.com/cialis-generic-levitra-viagra.htmCialis generic levitra viagra/a and how it works. http://yucanima.100free.com/cialis-generic-levitra-viagra.htm

• Trademarks that become generic denominations

  I want to know the followingwhere in the us law it states that trademarks that boceme generic denominations lose their protection.are tehre any examples of thisare there any present trials of this

  • Re: Trademarks that become generic denominations

    1. Where in u.s. law is that said?It is in case law; I don't think it is 'codified' generally. Trademark protection in general is case law (that is, common law), most of which derives from England and I assume is also true in your Commonwealth, is it not?There are many cases and probably some in most states. 2. Are there examples?Kleenex and Xerox come to mind.3. Any present trials?It'd be very hard to find that out but also probably useless. Why would you want present trials (whichdo not have legal bearing on your situation) instead of past trials, or, rather, past appeals which have precedential effectunder U.S. law?------------What is your situation? What's the name you're concerned about?

    Stuart Williams
    Law Offices of Stuart J. Williams
    PRACTICE CLOSED
    Newton, MA 00000

• Forming an LLC

  I am starting three ecommerce websites with different names and products. I will like to form an LLC, however, I will like to use one generic name for all these three ecommerce sites (DBA).How do I go about doing this? Register the three different names seperatley or one generic name as DBA?

  • Re: Forming an LLC

    I'm not sure if I completely understand what you mean by names for your sites. You have to register a trade name if it is not obvious from the name who the owner is of that name. So, you would register one name as the LLC and simply disclose on the website who owns the website and provides the service. However, if you are using some trade name in the context of the site or anywhere else in commerce, it must be registered with the superior court as a trade name.If you would like to discuss any issues further, please feel free to contact my office. My contact information is below. Thank you.The foregoing is general information only, not specific legal advice. No attorney/client relation has been created or should be implied.

    Glenn M. Lyon, Esq.
    MacGREGOR LYON, LLC
    7 Lenox Pointe, NE, Building Seven
    Atlanta, GA 30324

  • Re: Forming an LLC

    This is going to be very complicated but it can be done. Feel free to give me a call to discuss.

    Charles W. Field
    Charles W. Field, Attorney at Law
    911 Duluth Hwy., Ste. D-3211
    Lawrenceville (north Atlanta), GA 30043

• Is this trademark just weak, or is it downright generic?

  I want to use the composite word ''BeatTeach'' as a service mark. (no space between ''Beat'' and ''Teach''.)The word ''Beat'' is common slang describing the type of music that I will be teaching.In this context, is the service mark ''BeatTeach'' just weak, or is it generic?I read NOLO's Trademark book, so I understand the legal implications of weak and generic marks. I just am a bit fuzzy on which type of mark a word like ''BeatTeach'' would qualify as in this context.Thanks, any help is much appreciated.

  • Re: Is this trademark just weak, or is it downright generic?

    I don't think it's generic, but I don't work for the PTO reviewing applications. You won't find out for sure until you submit it for registration.

    Noelle Ansley
    Noelle Ansley
    P.O. Box 1725
    Chicago, IL 60690-1725

• how can I protect my idea(s) in discussion, before I get a copyright?

  I have an idea which I have been discussing in generic terms to other professionals I work with. It has drawn a lot of interest. Is there any way that I can demonstrate that my idea existed at a particular time, if someone I spoke to used the same idea and claimed it as their own. This would also answer if I should do this before I discuss in detail my idea with an attorney.<p>Thanks.

  • Documentation for an "Idea"

    There are three legal tools that I can think of that might be relevant to protecting a useful "idea" that might be commercially valuable. If the "idea" is expressed in a unique way by words or graphics, then copyright would protect it against someone else's copying and republishing it. If the "idea" is subject matter that might be an invention, then a patent would protect against someone else making, using or selling it, after a patent issues in the relevant jurisdiction (e.g. U.S.A. or some other country). If the "idea" is commercially useful information that is not generally known in a particular trade, then it can be protected as a trade secret against use or further disclosure, and if it is a trade secret, it would be appropriate to refrain from disclosing it unless the recipient signs a confidentiality agreement.

    The question you pose is one of evidence: how to prove that someone was in possession of the particular "idea" as of a certain date. There are a couple of strategies in that regard. First, commit it to writing (or tape recording or videotaping or a file on a diskette) and send it to someone else who will "datestamp" it and take custody of it until proof of the date is needed. The someone else can be a government agency, such as the copyright office (as by filing a copyright application) or the Patent and Trademark Office (as by filing a Disclosure Document or a patent application). Or it could be a commercial entity that does such things as "source code escrow" or your local bank or an attorney, or even just an acquaintance who would be believable when testifying in court or some other proceeding.

    Indeed, if someone creates a writing that is unalterable (e.g. ink on paper) with a date that is trustworthy (e.g. a notarization, or even the signature and date affixed by a trustworthy acquaintance) it wouldn't be absolutely necessary that the creator of the document actually part with it. This is the customary technique used to create signed and witnessed lab notebooks that are used to support the date of invention when needed in certain patent proceedings.

    I should point out that the reference to copyright in the question is a bit misplaced, in that it doesn't take any time to obtain a copyright. Under U.S. federal law, the "copyright" is automatically created when a work of authorship is written down or otherwise fixed in a tangible medium of expression. The copyright REGISTRATION can come later.

    You mention speaking with an attorney. That's absolutely the best thing to do. The attorney can help you determine which of the legal tools best fits your "idea" and commercial strategy. The attorney is obligated professionally to maintain confidential whatever the client tells him/her, so one doesn't need a separate confidentiality agreement with one's own attorney -- it comes "with the territory."

    Gerry Elman
    Elman Technology Law, P.C.
    Intellectual Property & Internet Business Law, PO Box 209
    Swarthmore, PA 19081-0209

  • Protecting your idea

    Mr. Elfman did a fine job covering the territory in his answer. I might only add that if you came up with this "idea" while on the job in your usual duties for your employer, it may be your employer's to commercialize as a "work made for hire" if a copyrightable item. Further, if patentable or a trade secret, your employer may have a "shop right" (a right to a non-exclusive license in the "idea"). Also, depending how tangible your idea is, you may want to have those you share it with sign a confidentiality agreement. Given the limited amount of information here, you really need to sit down with an intellectual property attorney and give your attorney the facts so they can render a reasoned opinion as to your options.

    Todd Epp
    Abourezk & Epp Law Offices
    PO Box 1164
    Sioux Falls, SD 57101-1164

  • "Ideas" per se are not protectible.

    You generally have to commit them to a tangibleexpression to use either copyright law or trademarklaw to protect your 'idea'. But the idea itself cannot be protected by these laws ....

    For patent law, there's often a race to create a firstworking model and sometimes another race to sell / use it for interstate commerce, etc. (There are other racesinvolved, too.) The protection depends amongst other things the novelty of your 'idea', but generally you have to 'prove' that your idea works by creating the darned thing and running it (or whatever) before you can get a patent.

    For copyright, the level of protection you get is a bit lower and relates more to the expression (choice of words, visual appearance) of your idea than the idea itself. To enforce copyright of for example a story, e.g., a novel with a novel plots or a movie idea, you might even need to show that the infringer actually saw yours before he created his.

    You ought to confide in an attorney locally. May I suggestthat you do not fall for those ads for inventors to get theirideas manufactured and patented by some organization withoutfirst obtaining your own protection with the guidance of yourown personal attorney ... assuming you can afford it!

    Stuart Williams
    Law Offices of Stuart J. Williams
    PRACTICE CLOSED
    Newton, MA 00000

  • Copyright protects expression, Patent protects the idea

    Gerry Elman wrote a very good synopsis of the various forms of protection. One common misconception of patent law in the United States is that the first to the patent Office gets the patent. In the US, this is not true. The first to "invent" gets the patent, PROVIDED the inventor diligently reduces his invention to practice. There are also portions of the patent laws that prohibit a patent if the invention has been published or if you attempted to sell it more than a year prior to applying for the patent. Many inventors lose the right to patent their idea because they present their idea to others, and then wait too long to apply for a patent.

    In the United States, only a patent agent or a patent attorney can represent an individual before the Patent office. Both a patent agent and a patent attorney are licensed to practice before the Patent Office, having taken a separate exam for the privilege of representing clients before the patent office. You should ask your attorney if they are licensed to represent you before the patent office, and if they are not, ask for a referral to an attorney who is licensed. A Patent Agent is a non-attorney who can prepare an application, but cannot practice law. A Patent Attorney is an attorney who is also licensed to prepare patent applications (and do other things for clients, before the Patent Office).

    Patent law is federal law, so unlike other areas of the law, it is uniform in all 50 states. Contact a Patent Attorney soon, to preserve your rights in your invention.

    Thomas Workman
    Law Offices of Thomas Workman
    41 Harrison Street, Taunton, MA
    Taunton, MA 02780