What Every Trademark Attorney Should Know About Patents

Enough to Be Dangerous: What Every Trademark Attorney Should Know About Patents (Parts 1 & 2)

Spot patentable ideas early, protect your clients’ rights, and know exactly when to call in a patent attorney.
Trademark attorneys are often the first lawyers to see a client’s new product, which means you’re also the first line of defense for patent rights. If you’ve ever wondered whether a client’s “simple” idea could be patented, what counts as public disclosure, or how to avoid the deadlines that can wipe out patent rights for good, this training is for you.

In this two-part workshop, Sonia Lakhany is joined by patent attorney, law professor and Two Weeks to Trademarks® alum John Rizvi, “The Patent Professor.” Using real examples like the Post-it note, the coffee cup sleeve and the upside-down ketchup bottle, John breaks down what makes an idea patentable, why combinations of existing products can be protected, and how coaching programs and software qualify as patentable subject matter. He also covers the most common patent pitfalls he sees other lawyers miss.
Whether you’re brand new to IP or an experienced trademark attorney, you’ll leave with practical knowledge you can use in your next client conversation.

In this training, you’ll learn how to:

• Identify utility and design patents and the three requirements for patentability
• Recognize when a combination of existing products is patentable
• Spot patentable subject matter in simple ideas clients overlook
• Protect coaching programs and software by tying them to technology
• Avoid public disclosure mistakes and the one-year filing deadline
• Use provisional patents correctly and understand what “fully enabling” means
• Avoid inventorship and joint ownership problems that can invalidate a patent
• Know when “patent pending” can (and can’t) be used
• Protect foreign rights and catch maintenance fee and assignment issues in deals
• Explore whether you may qualify to sit for the patent bar
  
  Perfect for:
• Trademark attorneys
• IP attorneys who don’t practice patent law
• Solo practitioners advising entrepreneurs and startups
• Attorneys who build coaching programs or digital products
• Lawyers curious about the patent bar
  Know enough to be dangerous, so you can catch valuable ideas early and point your clients in the right direction before their rights are lost.