Word: trademarking
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...treatment of Mahaffey wasn't illegal. However, experts say it is among the nicer things that happen to naive inventors who rely on any one of the dozen or so major players in the industry. Richard Apley, director of the Independent Inventor Programs for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, says flatly that the majority of companies now advertising these inventor services, which generate about $200 million a year, are scams. "They offer a service of sorts but don't really do what they say they will do," says Apley. Nearly every one of their patent searches comes back with...
...learned one thing," says Mahaffey, who only too late began to do some research on the industry. "These companies don't do what they promise. They just make sure they get the money and you don't." Or, as Todd Dickinson, director of the Patent and Trademark Office, says, "Their best invention is themselves...
Beginning this September, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has been revising some of its rules in an effort to simplify the process of getting a patent. Its aims were to reduce the time needed to apply by cutting unnecessary paperwork; to allow for easier electronic filing; and to reduce costs, both to the public and the government...
...Whether or not you get an attorney, you should familiarize yourself with the patent process. Many websites, such as uspto.gov patentcafe.com nolo.com and delphion.com--or sites listed under the category "intellectual property"--are helpful. Or you can do it the old-fashioned way, by going to a patent and trademark depository library...
Further information is available at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office at 1-800-786-9199 or on its website, uspto.gov...