Word: patents
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Remember Birkenstocks, those clunky but comfy sandal-shoes so ubiquitous in the '70s? Their time has come again. Updated with slightly sleeker styling and trendy materials like black patent leather, the shoes have increased in sales 30% during each of the past three years. This year Birkenstock Footprint Sandals expects a 40% increase, to about 1.4 million pairs. They are still made with layers of suede, jute and cork, with the sole contoured to the natural shape of the foot and a shock-absorbent foot bed. Prices range from $50 to $130 for adult sizes...
...intellectual property becomes more valuable and secure, people naturally create more of it. Evidence: filings for patents, trademarks and copyrights are hitting record highs. Last year some 174,700 patents were filed in the U.S., a 39% jump over 1985. The number of copyrights registered soared to 643,000 last year, in contrast to 401,000 in a five-year period ending in 1975. Overseas filings are also up. In Japan the number of patent applications nearly doubled between 1980 and 1988 as that government signaled its intention to enforce property laws more strictly. After a 29-year delay, Texas...
Protecting intellectual property has become a growth industry in itself. New York City's Weil, Gotshal & Manges two years ago became the first major law firm to establish a separate group specializing in patents, trademarks and copyrights. It has some 35 intellectual-property attorneys on staff. Fish & Neave, also in New York City, runs the biggest intellectual-property practice, with some 110 attorneys specializing in the field. General Electric, America's biggest exporter and No. 1 patent holder, has added some 25 patent attorneys to its staff since 1985, for a total of 125. It still ranks second...
...time attorneys can find advice in a growing number of how-to books and videos. Accounting firms hold seminars and give private counseling. Insurance companies, such as HLPM in Louisville, are even beginning to carry policies to protect intellectual property from infringers and legal challenges by insuring a patent for up to $1 million...
With the cost of litigation soaring -- defending a patent in court can cost ( $250,000 to $2 million -- entrepreneurs are financing lawsuits for inventors in exchange for a piece of future royalties. A New York City company, Refac Technology, has sued more than 2,000 companies, including IBM, Kodak, Sears, Exxon and Sony, on behalf of small inventors. Refac raised more than $3 million from investors to finance a series of suits by Gordon Gould, inventor of the laser, against the likes of AT&T and Xerox. The companies settled. Refac's revenues last year, mainly from royalty fees, exceeded...