http://www.vanderburghsheriff.com/recent-booking-records.aspx
ARE YOU FORFEITING PATENT PROTECTION?
PITCH PERFECT–WHEN YOU PITCH YOUR IDEA TO POTENTIAL INVESTORS?
Since the debut of Shark Tank in 2009, a number of similar contests and competitions involving entrepreneurs publicly “pitching†their idea or invention to a group of people have arisen across the country. The general premise is that a select number of entrepreneurs have a limited amount of time (say 3 minutes) to pitch their idea to those in attendance. At the end of the evening a panel, or in some cases all those in attendance, vote for their favorite and awards are given for the best pitches. In some cases, seed money is awarded to the winning entrepreneurs to help move their project forward.
For the entrepreneur, making such a public pitch before filing an application for patent protection is potentially devastating. Securing patent protection for an invention provides a huge competitive advantage to a start-up – the ability to exclude all others from making, using, importing, selling or offering to sell your patented invention for up to 20 years. In many cases, without proper patent protection, the barriers to entering the market are so low that good ideas can be legally copied by those with market influence leaving the entrepreneur/inventor empty handed. The best way to avoid such a devastating loss – file at least a provisional patent application that provides “full disclosure†of your invention prior to making your pitch.
Prior to the America Invents Act (AIA), which took effect on March 13, 2013, inventors had a one-year grace period after a public disclosure to file their application for patent in the United States before that disclosure would be considered to be prior art barring issuance of a patent. The biggest change in the AIA was going from a “first to invent†system to a “first to file†system. Accordingly, if two patent applications are filed after March 13, 2013 claiming the same invention, the USPTO does not consider who was the first to “inventâ€, but rather who won the race to the Patent Office by filing first. An inventor who publicly pitches an idea before filing for patent protection runs the risk that someone in the audience will take that idea, modify or expand on it, and file for patent protection first, effectively precluding the pitching inventor from securing patent protection.
Another potential problem that may arise when an inventor pitches before filing is the subsequent re-disclosure of the invention by a third party. Consider the following common scenario – Inventor discloses her idea at a Pitch Competition on December 22, 2016. A third party who was in attendance presents his “improvement†to the original pitch to potential investors on July 10, 2017. Inventor files her provisional application on December 21, 2017. One would think that the one-year grace period clearly applies under these circumstances. However, the answer, as is often the case in the law, is not so clear cut.
Under the AIA, the inventor’s ability to overcome the July 10, 2017 third party prior art is significantly limited. First, in order to avoid the third party prior art, the inventor must first prove that the third party did indeed obtain the information form the inventor. If third party was in attendance at the December 22, 2016 presentation, proof of that may not be too difficult. However, as is often the case, the third party may have received the information indirectly such as from another person who was in attendance. As the link to the original presentation becomes more distant, it becomes more difficult to prove the third party’s disclosure was obtained from the inventor. If such a situation arises, affidavits must be prepared and filed with the USPTO during the prosecution of the patent application, adding significant time and cost to the process of obtaining a patent.
All of this can be avoided by simply filing an “appropriate†provisional application before the pitch is made. For the application to be “appropriateâ€, it must include a written description that enables a person of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention. Thus, while a provisional application can be a useful tool for establishing an early filing date, simply filing academic papers, white papers, inventor notes or anything else that may be lying around does not necessarily provide protection. Therefore, when filing a provisional application, it is a good idea to seek the assistance of a registered patent attorney or agent who is experienced and familiar with the written description requirement of the USPTO.
To further complicate the one-year grace period, it can often times be difficult to establish just exactly when the grace period begins. Clearly, pitching your invention at a pitch completion attended by the public would trigger the start of the grace period. But looking deeper, was there some other activity that you engaged in earlier that may have triggered an earlier start to the grace period? Has there been another earlier “public†disclosure of the invention or an “offer to sell†the invention? There are a variety of risks associated with reliance on the one-year grace period that make it easy for an inventor to misjudge the actual beginning and end dates of the grace period.
Lastly, if you have global aspirations for your invention (which you should), most other countries have no such grace period, and such prior public disclosures are considered to be an “absolute bar†to obtaining patent protection. Australia and Canada operate under a 12-month grace period similar to the United States. Japan, Europe and the UK operate under a 6-month grace period, but under very limited circumstances. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) maintains a for a number of countries throughout the world. The filing of an appropriate US provisional application prior to any public disclosure as discussed above effectively gives a one-year grace period from the date of filing to the inventor for purposes of pursuing foreign patents. A knowledgeable patent attorney will be able to devise a filing strategy to best fit the needs of any inventor.
Are you about to pitch your idea to potential investors and/or the public in a pitch competition and concerned about protecting your patent rights? If so, contact us to see how we can help BEFORE you pitch and potentially compromise your patent rights.
EDITORS FOOTNOTES: Martin IP Law Group is not a typical law firm.  Their practice focuses on Intellectual Property – Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights and Trade Secrets. They will help you build value in your business by protecting your ideas, inventions and identity, including:
- Identifying and assessing the value of intellectual property;
- Preparing and prosecuting US and International patent and trademark applications.
- Preparing freedom-to-operate opinions, validity/invalidity opinions and infringement/ non-infringement opinions.
- Conducting due diligence of third party IP portfolios for acquisition, litigation and/or design-around.
- Conducting negotiations and drafting agreements relating to assignment, licensing, and other transactions affecting intellectual property.
-  If you have any questions concerning Patents | Trademarks | Copyrights please contact Mr. Martin at 318 Main Street | Suite 503 | Evansville, IN 47708 ( 812.492.4478  | rick@ipsolutionslaw.com or |www.IPSolutionsLaw.com
Commentary: This Shouldn’t Be About The Politicians
By John Krull
TheStatehouseFile.comÂ
INDIANAPOLIS – Not long before Congress voted on the tax reform, I talked, over the air, with two former Rexnord employees.
Rexnord, you may recall, had a plant in Indiana that made metal bearings. The company closed the plant in June, costing 300 Hoosiers their jobs.
Most of those jobs moved to the company’s plant in Mexico, where wages are much, much lower.
When he was campaigning for president here in Indiana, Donald Trump promised to save jobs such as these. After he was elected, Trump made a splash by brokering a deal that would “save†many of the jobs lost in a similar move by Carrier.
Since that announcement, many of those “saved†jobs have evaporated.
The guys from Rexnord I talked with on the radio just used their first names, Tim and John. I’ll honor that here.
They both lost their jobs in the move.
Tim, 52, has found another job, but it’s not like the one he had at Rexnord. It pays only 80 percent of what his old job did, and the benefits, he said, aren’t nearly as good. He and his wife have had to adjust their lifestyle accordingly.
Still, he said, “I’m fortunate to have a paycheck so we can keep our heads above water.â€
John, 48, hasn’t been so fortunate.
He doesn’t have a job. He draws unemployment compensation, but that sum doesn’t lift his family over the poverty line.
When he worked at Rexnord, he had two children in college. They since have had to leave school, because the family no longer can afford the expense.
He said the strain on his family has been intense.
Both men scoffed when I asked them about securing retraining designed to get them new and different jobs. They said that, while there is money available to pay for that training, there isn’t any funding available to keep their families afloat while they’re going to school.
Tim said he can’t afford to give up his job, even though it pays far less than he’s used to, to get more training because doing so would bankrupt his family.
John said he would love to go to school, but his top priority is to find work of any kind so his children can resume their educations.
Both men expressed a sense of betrayal. They didn’t do anything wrong. They did their jobs. They worked hard. The company they worked for made money – lots of money.
That’s why, Tim said, he supports President Trump.
It’s time, Tim argued, to put America and Americans first.
And that’s why I paid close attention to the tax reform battle.
I watched to see when guys like Tim and John were going to see their faith in President Trump and other leaders rewarded. I waited to see when this nation’s leaders – Republican or Democrat – would devote some care and attention to these guys’ needs.
I waited in vain.
I saw the president and his fellow Republicans reward companies such as Rexnord and Carrier with a 40 percent tax cut – down from 35 percent to 21 percent. I watched while they voted to deny 13 million Americans healthcare, with 4 million of them losing those benefits almost immediately.
And I saw U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, take a “principled†stand against the tax bill because it would add nearly $1.5 trillion to the national debt – and then saw him do an about-face when a last-minute change in the bill put more than $1 million in his own pocket.
Partisans of both sides want to make this discussion about Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama or Paul Ryan or Mitch McConnell.
But it isn’t about them.
Or, at least it shouldn’t be.
It should be about guys like Tim and John and the millions of other Americans who are terrified. They’re terrified that not just their lives but the lives of their children and grandchildren are about to take a long hard fall from which they may never recover.
Where’s their 40 percent tax cut? Who’s going to care for them if they get sick? When do they get their sweetheart deals like Bob Corker did?
Who’s going to speak for them?
Who’s going to stand up for them?
FOOTNOTE:  John Krull is director of Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism, host of “No Limits†WFYI 90.1 Indianapolis and publisher of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
Messer Calls on Senate to Release Sexual Harassment Payouts
U.S. Rep. Luke Messer (IN-06) today called on the U.S. Senate to publicly release information about tax dollars used to settle sexual harassment claims against members of the Senate.
Politico reported yesterday that while the House has release its settlement totals going back a decade, the Senate is refusing to do so.
“The Senate should not shield its members from the consequences of their own actions,†Messer said. “It was never OK that taxpayer dollars were used to settle harassment claims against members of Congress, and we need to get to the bottom of it. The Senate should immediately release this information to taxpayers, empower the victims and make sure it does not happen again.â€
The Committee on House Administration recently disclosed that more than $340,000 in taxpayer funds was used to settle sexual harassment and discrimination claims against House members going back to fiscal year 2008. This disclosure followed an Associated Press report that the government has paid more than $17 million in taxpayer money over the last 20 years to settle sexual harassment claims and other workplace violations filed by employees of Congress.
In November, Messer filed legislation that would stop this taxpayer-funded slush fund, and ensure victims of harassment by members of Congress aren’t silenced by non-disclosure agreements.
The bipartisan Empowering Victims of Sexual Misconduct Act would release Congressional staff from current non-disclosure agreements signed as part of a sexual assault settlement with a Member of Congress, and prohibit non-disclosure agreements like this in the future. It would also prevent taxpayer dollars from being used to settle sexual harassment claims by a member of Congress or employee of the House or Senate. Additionally, the bill would require members who used taxpayer dollars to settle a previous claim to fully reimburse the U.S. Treasury out of their own pocket.
Supreme Court Raises Minimum Senior Judge Days To 15
IL for www.theindianalawyer.com
The Indiana Supreme Court is increasing the minimum number of senior judge service days available to the state’s courts as a means of enabling courts to provide timely justice to litigants.
The high court announced this week it is increasing the minimum number of days allotted to courts from 10 to 15 and is reviewing other factors in allotting senior judge days. Specifically, the court’s chief administrative officer will now consider committee and judicial conference assignments, prior usage and medical needs, among other factors, when recommending the permissible number of senior judge days. Those factors will be considered in addition to the weighted caseload measurement system and annual statistical reports, pursuant to Administrative Rule 5(B)(2).
“With this increase in Senior Judge days and other adjustments, the Court hopes to encourage the use of Senior Judges in lieu of the utilization of attorneys as pro tem judges,†Chief Justice Loretta Rush wrote in a Dec. 20 order.
The court’s order also changed the process by which courts can request additional senior judge days. Now, all such requests must be made in writing to the CAO prior to a court exceeding its annual allotment. Rush also noted the senior judge webpage provides a spreadsheet of reported usage for each court, so judges should look to that resource to review their usage by July of each year.
 “Requests for additional senior judge service days made after the court’s allotment has already been exceeded will be frowned upon,†the chief justice wrote.
Finally, the order allowed the chief judges in counties with unified courts to assign the total number of senior judge days to those courts “without reference to limitations imposed upon individual courts by this Order.†The Indiana Court of Appeals and Tax Court were also authorized to use senior judge days to facilitate their court business.
Hershman To Leave Senate For Position With Barnes
olivia Covington for www.theindianalawyer.com
Indiana Sen. Brandt Hershman has announced he is resigning his position as Senate majority floor leader to take a position with Barnes & Thornburg, LLP.
The Republican senator from Buck Creek announced Friday he will resign effective Jan. 2, one day before the legislature reconvenes for the 2018 session. Hershman has served since 2000, focusing his tenure in the statehouse on tax reform and other economic development issues. Upon his departure from the statehouse, Hershman will serve as a practicing attorney in Barnes’ D.C. office.
“Throughout my tenure, I have focused on making sure Hoosiers are getting the best and most efficient government services for the smallest cost,†Hershman, who is the chair of the Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee, said in a Friday statement. “It’s been a privilege to work alongside so many dedicated public servants to help enact meaningful conservative reforms that have made our state the fiscal envy of the nation.â€
Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, who was Hershman’s mentor when he first came to the Senate, praised the departing senator as “one of the brightest, most accomplished individuals (he’s) ever known.â€
“He is leaving the Senate with a record that few others in the history of the Indiana State Legislature can match,†Long said in a statement. “His legacy as a national leader on such state issues as tax reform, telecom reform, and as a strong and consistent advocate for agricultural community speaks for itself. I will miss his wise counsel; his terrific sense of humor; his ability to speak effectively and persuasively on most any subject; but most of all, I will miss my friend.â€
House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, also praised Hershman for his “command of tax and fiscal policy along with his prowess on technology and communications issues… .â€
Hershman began his professional career as a newspaper reporter, then transitioned into a writing job in the George H.W. Bush administration. He then returned to Indiana to work on congressional staffs and campaigns, and eventually chose to enroll in the night school program at the Robert H. McKinney School of Law while also serving as a senator. After graduating in 2009, Hershman credited his legal training with his ability to better understand the judicial implications of legislative decisions.
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Adopt A Pet
Ralphy is a 5-year-old male potbellied pig! He’s a very large dude, weighing in at 113 lbs. But he walks well on a leash and will follow you everywhere if you leave a trail of Honey Nut Cheerios! He has also done a little bit of work learning to walk up & down a ramp into a vehicle for easy travel. Ralphy is neutered & has already had his piggie vaccines. Neutered potbellied pigs will do just fine as indoor pets, but he’s so large he would do fine with some outside time mixed in too in nice weather. His adoption fee is only $100 and he can now be adopted in or out of Evansville city limits. Contact Vanderburgh Humane at (812) 426-2563 for adoption details!