Welcome

Welcome to the intellectual property blog for West & Associates. As experts working on the cutting edge of legal matters we will work diligently to provide the most current information available about Patent, Trademark and Copyright Licensing, Procurment (Prosecution) and Litigation. Additional information can always be accessed directly on the United States Patent & Trademark Office website (www.uspto.gov), the U.S. Copyright Office website (www.copyright.gov) or the website for West & Associates (www.westpatentlaw.com).



Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Have you received a document similar to this?

This document is a scam! This type of document has two functions, to:
  1. Get your money; as it is requesting a payment of $2,717.00 USD
  2. Transfer the ownership of your Patent to someone else, in this case the " UNIVERSITY OF WITWATERSRAND, JOHANNESBURG [ZA/ZA]
Be aware that any document that is relating to your patent application, issued patent, and/or PCT, should be strictly from the "United States Patent and Trademark Office," "The World Intellectual Property Office,"  or your attorney. In addition, if you still have questions about a document like this, read the fine print. For example, in this document it says "by paying the amount stated below you will benefit from our cd rom publication and you confirm having read our General Terms and Conditions. THIS IS NOT A BILL, IT IS A SOLICITATION FOR SERVICES OFFERED, YOU ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO PAY THE AMOUNT STATED BELOW UNLESS YOU ACCEPT THIS OFFER."
Be very careful...

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Claim Drafting In View of Bilski

The CCCBA IP section meeting was pretty well attended and thanks to one of our attendees, we received a copy of the new interim guidelines for patent examiners related to the Bilski case and, in general, the patentability of business method and software claims.

I've attached a link to the document at the USPTO:  http://www.uspto.gov/news/pr/2010/10_35.jsp

You'll note that the public comment period is still open.  So, if you'd like to comment on the proposed guidelines I'd recommend you do so now.

Monday, August 16, 2010

What to Expect!

Stuart J. West of West & Associates, A PC has published a guide of what to expect when you file a patent, trademark or copyright application.  This is a simple chart with basic information on the second page that gives you a high-level overview of the basics of what to expect when you file any application in each type of intellectual property.  The guide can be found here: http://www.westpatentlaw.com/documents/IntellectualProperty-WhatToExpect.pdf

You can also request your free 30-minute initial consultation directly through our website here: http://www.westpatentlaw.com/bigidea.html

I hope you find this helpful and I hope to talk to you soon.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

General Matters

This section of our Blog is devoted to current and common questions about General Intellectual Property matters.  For additional information you can always reference both the United States Patent & Trademark Office (http://www.uspto.gov/), the U.S. Copyright Office (http://www.copyright.gov/) and the home website for West & Associates (http://www.westpatentlaw.com/).