Intellectual Property
TRADEMARK REGISTRATION AND RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT
A trade (or service) mark can be a name, slogan or design or a combination of those elements that is used to identify the source of goods (or in the case of a service mark, services) and to distinguish that source from any other source providing the same or similar goods and services.
A combination of federal and state law affords protection for certain type of trade and service marks to prevent confusion by consumers as to the source of the particular goods or services.
If someone else uses such a mark in way that will likely cause confusion, that other person may be infringing upon that mark and may be liable as a result. Registration of a mark, particularly under federal law, affords extra protection to the owner of the mark. Unlike rights of patent or copyright, which expire after a certain time, trademarks can grow more valuable as time passes and be protected indefinitely.
The rights of the trademark owner often depend upon actions taken to protect the mark. A person or business entity is likely to expend time and money to have consumers associate the mark with the owner’s particular goods and services. The Firm advises clients that are wish to use to a name or mark to identify good and services. The Firm performs searches to try to determine if marks were previously registered anywhere or being otherwise used.
If a trade or service mark is a candidate for registration, the Firm performs the necessary work to seek such registration and then will assist its clients continue to protect the valuable rights in trade or service mark
COPYRIGHT
Those who create "original expression" are entitled to protect that expression and profit from its sale or use. Copyright protection may extend to the written word, computer code, film, graphical artwork, audio and many other forms of expression. We assist our clients to protect, license and otherwise ensure the full protections that copyright law affords to them.
PATENT PROSECUTION, LICENSING, AND LITIGATION
The Chapar Firm is a full service patent protection firm. We represent clients in all phases of a patent lifecycle, including prosecuting the patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, licensing the invention, and representing parties in patent litigation.
A client who has an invention may choose to patent it. A patent gives a client the right to prevent others from using his or her invention.
To obtain this right, one must file and pursue a non-provisional patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in a process called patent prosecution. A patent application includes a description of the invention that explains to others how to implement the invention and the claims. The claims are the unique parts of the invention that the inventor wishes to protect.
A provisional patent application is a less rigorous application. A non-provisional application must be filed within a year, but the provisional application can be useful in some cases to reserve a “priority date” for whatever is contained in the provisional application.
The Firm aids clients in deciding what form of intellectual property protection is appropriate. When that is a patent, we prepare and prosecute the patent application, guiding clients through the requirements of obtaining a patent.
With respect to issued patents, we aid clients with licensing and patent litigation.