Plain-English Answers to Real IP Questions

Ideas alone are not patentable; inventions are. If you can describe a specific way of doing or building something that is new and not obvious over what came before, you may have a patentable invention. A patentability search ($1,200) answers this with evidence instead of guessing. Start with this article.

Usually not. The law requires a description that teaches others how to make and use the invention, not a working model. More here.

It means an application is on file, which locks your priority date and deters some copycats. It is not an enforceable patent yet. Full explanation.

A provisional is a lower-cost placeholder that buys 12 months; a utility application starts examination now. The right answer depends on how settled the invention is and your funding timeline. The fork, explained.

Maybe not, but the clock may be running. In the U.S. a public disclosure generally starts a one-year deadline to file, and most foreign rights can be lost immediately. If you have disclosed, treat filing as urgent.

Carefully, and with real guardrails: confidentiality, accuracy, and inventorship all get complicated. I wrote a step-by-step guide for DIYers, and I review AI-assisted drafts before filing.

You need a cleared name before launch; registering before launch is often smart but budget-dependent. An availability search ($700) tells you whether the name is safe to build on, and an intent-to-use filing can reserve it.

Anyone can use TM on a brand they claim; the R in a circle is reserved for federally registered marks. Registration is what unlocks nationwide priority and the strongest enforcement tools.

First we assess who has priority and how close the marks and goods really are, then choose from a ladder of responses: coexistence, a demand letter, marketplace takedowns, or a TTAB proceeding. Panicking and emailing them yourself is rarely the best first move.

$1,150 in attorney fees for one class, plus the USPTO fee of $350 per class at cost: $1,500 all-in for a typical single-class registration, $2,000 for two classes. Office actions, if they come, are quoted separately before any work.

Protection is automatic on creation, but U.S. authors must register before suing, and timely registration unlocks statutory damages that make enforcement affordable. Registration is the $250-plus-government-fee upgrade that makes rights usable.

Usually the contractor, unless a written agreement assigns it. This is the most common ownership surprise in small business, and it is fixable with paperwork.

Purely AI-generated material is not copyrightable; human contributions are. Mixed works can often be registered with the right disclosures and strategy.

Information with economic value because it is secret, protected by reasonable measures. Formulas, processes, pricing, customer data, and algorithms all can qualify; nothing qualifies without the measures.

If competitors can reverse-engineer it from your product, secrecy fails and patents win. If it is invisible know-how, secrecy can protect it forever for the cost of discipline. The guide walks the decision.

No; I build protection programs and handle pre-litigation response, and I refer courtroom disputes to experienced litigation counsel, staying involved on strategy.

An inventory of how your business actually uses AI, a mapping against your policies and the laws that reach you, and a written gap report with fixes, followed by policies and training if you want them. Flat fees, described on the AI governance page.

Yes: Oregon's privacy act and consumer-protection law already apply, federal law covers AI claims and AI hiring tools, and other states' rules reach you when you sell there. The current list is maintained on the AI governance page.

It is the most common self-inflicted leak in modern business: it can waive trade secret protection and violate customer promises. It is also very fixable with a policy, approved tools, and one training session.

You describe what you are building in general terms; I tell you whether legal protection is worth your money right now, which kind, and what it would cost. No pressure, and if I am not the right fit I will say so and point you to someone who is.

Flat fees for most defined work, listed publicly on the pricing page; $405 per hour with a written scope for everything else; government fees always separate and at cost. No surprise invoices.

No. Most work happens by video, phone, and email. When in-person matters, I meet clients by appointment in Medford.

Before an engagement, limited prospective-client protections apply, and I ask you not to send confidential details yet; a general description is enough to get started. Once we sign an engagement, full attorney confidentiality duties apply. Details in the disclaimer.

Me. There is no associate, no intake team, and no handoff. The person on the strategy call is the person drafting your application.