Without question, patent protection is complicated and expensive. That complexity and expense dramatically increases when patent protection is desired both in the U.S. as well as abroad. Developing the right patent filing strategy at the outset is necessary to achieve the client's goals.

For businesses expanding internationally, intellectual property often becomes an unfortunate afterthought—something “we’ll deal with later.” But as more Iowa companies get drawn in global markets, the need for a clear, intentional and effective IP strategy is more important than ever.

This should be important to every business and brand. Starting January 18, 2025, it will be more expensive and more difficult to thoroughly protect your trademarks. The summary is, you should revisit your trademark protection now, to make sure you have thoroughly protected all your trademarks. In addition, you should file, now, any marks that you plan on using in the future.

Anyone can file a trademark whether the mark is being used or not. However, a trademark will only be “Registered” after proof of use is submitted to the USPTO through what is called a “Specimen of Use”. A Specimen of Use is exactly that, an example that is submitted to the USPTO showing how the trademark is actually being used in commerce. Sounds simple, right? Well, unfortunately...

As an Intellectual Property Attorney, there are three unavoidable forces in the universe: (1) Death, (2) Taxes, and (3) Trademark Scam Letters. An unfortunate reality today is that at least one Trademark Scam Letter follows virtually every trademark filing.