This is a guest Post from Margaret Theranger, student at the Earle Mack School of Law at Drexel University, based on her experience at Startup Weekend Philadelphia law clinic last fall. Recently, I attended Startup Weekend Philadelphia, a 54-hour startup event for entrepreneurs to meet and form the basis of a credible business over the course of a weekend. The
small business Archive
Startup Patent Report for week of February 28, 2012
For the week of Tuesday, February 28, 20122, there were 5,271 patents issued by the USPTO. Below are nine interesting patents issued to small businesses. These patents are assigned to Rebit, Cross Loop, Zoombak, Roundbox, MeLLmo, Talari Networks, Perceptive Pixel and OnLive
Startup Patent Report for February 21, 2012 (Part 2/2)
In part 1 of this week’s Startup Patent Report, we looked at newly issued patents from Convey Computer, Ekinops, Kingsisle Entertainment, Better Place and Avalanche Technology. Part 2 examines several additional interesting patents issued this week to Kosmix, Caustic Graphics, DesignIn, and Kryptiq
Startup Patent Report for February 21, 2012 (Part 1/2)
For the week of February 21, 2012, the USPTO issued 5,284 patents. This was a good week for young companies, so I am dividing the report into two parts. In part 1 below, I discuss five patents issued to young companies Convey Computer, Ekinops, Kingsisle Entertainment, Better Place and Avalanche Technology that I found interesting.
Startup Patent Report (Patents issued Feb 14, 2012)
For the week of February 14, 2012, there were 5,272 patents issued in all. Below are six of those patents that caught my attention. Most of the companies presented below are younger, independent, companies. RingCube, acquired by Citrix systems last year, was included to illustrate the effect a strong IP portfolio can have in making
Apple Mountain Lion Messages and HipChat
TechCrunch has an interesting post this morning regarding the similarities between the new Messages icon and the HipChat icon: The similarities are obvious. Both color schemes are similar and both have two bubbles overlaid, but in a reverse order. In the TechCrunch piece, HipChat’s CEO, Pete Hurley, is quoted as saying, “I doubt we’re on Apple’s
Trademark Registration and which symbol to use on websites, blogs or mobile apps?
A quick refresher on registered and unregistered trademarks for those with websites and mobile apps. Are you using the proper symbols with your marks
Announcing the Startup Patent Report (This Week: Expressor, Billeo, Afterbot, Veveo, TimeSight)
As you may be aware, the United States Patent & Trademark Office issues new patents every Tuesday. Approximately 8,000 patents are issued by the USPTO every week. Many of these patents are issued to big companies. However, some are granted to startups. I will be highlighting some of these patents here every week. Check back
Help! There’s a patent on my idea! What now?
One of the most frequent questions I get goes something like this: “I have a really cool idea, but (name of big company or university) has a patent on that.” With over 8,000,000 patents issued to date and thousands of new patents issued weekly, the chances are good that there are patents out there that
SOPA & PIPA and why you should care
In the past several weeks, as the SOPA/PIPA debate heated up in Congress, a clear majority of entrepreneurs and engineers have come out against both of these pieces of legislation, culminating in today’s Black Out of various sites. The concern involves damage that these laws could do to the freedoms enjoyed by Americans on the