Heilbut LLP

Founder PSA: did you know that a contract is a simple step towards protecting your IP? When we talk about intellectual property (IP) protection, people most often think of “registrable” intellectual property, like trademarks, copyrights and patents. While safeguarding each of these forms of intellectual property is crucial for protecting your business, the conversation doesn’t stop there. When you think about IP protection, you should also be thinking about the more opaque intellectual property that permeates the day-to-day of your growing business: your proprietary information. Proprietary information is sometimes referred to as “know-how”, and it’s the amalgamation of the practical knowledge, technical skills and trade secrets that make up your business. It includes things like internal project management and development processes, customer lists, manufacturing data, and all of the data, methods, information, and formulas that make your business unique. Your proprietary information helps your business run and scale, and protecting it is just as important as protecting any other piece of your intellectual property. Unlike patents, copyrights and trademarks, however, proprietary information protection does not come through registration at the USPTO or Copyright Office; instead, you protect proprietary information through a series of contracts, often referred to as proprietary information and invention assignment agreements (or PIIAAs). Once your company has a form version of a PIIAA, you want to use it with anyone who has access to your company’s know-how: most commonly, your employees, board members, advisors, and independent contractors. By simply including the PIIAA in your hiring documents, advisor agreement packages, and contracts with service providers, you can take one big, simple step towards protecting your business’ IP.?

What 2025 Brought to the Public Domain As of January 1, new works entered the public domain allowing others to freely use and share them. The works that entered the public domain this year are those whose copyright expired and include film, literary works, music, and other media published in 1929. Their inclusion in the public domain gives the public a growing repertoire of works which can be used to create and adapt into new works. As a stated mission of copyright protection, ownership rights coming to an end furthers copyright law’s goal of promoting creativity. See link below to learn more: https://lnkd.in/e92aqgng

Happy Galentine’s Day! Coined by Parks and Recreation character Leslie Knope in the show’s second season, the formerly fictional holiday has taken on a life of its own. Fifteen years later, February 13 is widely recognized as a day to honor the love and friendship that women share. With the popularity of the holiday, some have even attempted to register GALENTINE’S DAY as a trademark. However, securing a trademark for the phrase has not been as easy as some may think, and many applicants have been unsuccessful. Why? For many applicants, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) found the term “Galentine’s Day” to be descriptive of the claimed goods and services, especially those relating to Galentine’s Day celebrations (think candy, chocolates, pajamas, and events planning). For others, GALENTINE’S DAY has failed to function as a trademark, with the USPTO viewing the term as merely an informational message. This is in part because of the widespread use of “Galentine’s Day” in connection with general holiday festivities since the term entered popular culture in 2010. This is not to say that GALENTINE’S DAY is not protectable as a trademark. For example, male revue entertainment brand Strippendales has a pending application for GALENTINE’S DAY for dance performance and other entertainment services. While the application has some outstanding issues, the USPTO did not view these services as descriptive of the GALENTINE’S DAY trademark. While “Galentine’s Day” may be a popular term, attempts to register it remind us that how a trademark is used and whether consumers can associate the trademark with a particular source of goods or services are essential to establishing trademark rights. #GalentinesDay #Trademark #TrademarkProtection #Branding

We stand proudly diverse. Beyond taglines or measures, quotas or pressures, we know that more viewpoints means more considerations, and more considerations means more options, and more options means better results, and better results, well, those speak for themseves. As a proudly women-owned (actually 100% MOTHER owned) business, we pride ourselves on bringing fresh viewpoints into a static industry. See link below to learn more: https://lnkd.in/dUPxV8_Y

It is not news that the NFL is a savvy and litigious intellectual property owner, especially in the run-up to the Super Bowl. The league owns a federal trademark registration for SUPER BOWL and routinely objects to any unlicensed third-party advertising that makes use of the SUPER BOWL name. This is why you will see advertisers refer instead to “the big game.” However, it is not often that we see the NFL on the other side of the negotiation table, seeking to become a trademark licensee. Miami Heat team president Pat Riley recently struck a deal with the NFL, to allow the league to use his registered THREE-PEAT trademark (and several variations thereof) if the Chiefs win their third straight Super Bowl game this Sunday. Riley has raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years as teams like the Chicago Bulls and New York Yankees used the trademark after winning three consecutive titles. Monetizing your brand through quality-controlled licenses is a game changer! #thebiggame #threepeat #NFLtrademarks #trademarklaw #trademarklicense #IPlaw

Intellectual property (IP) protection is crucial to preserving competitive advantages and incentivizing innovation. This is especially so in the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence (AI). While patents may offer IP protection for certain...

When thinking about protection for your company’s trademark portfolio, it is important to evaluate more than just your house mark. While a registration for the standard character mark will certainly protect the company’s greatest trademark asset and...

Join us for a thought-provoking discussion on AI's transformative role in brand building, marketing, and intellectual property. ? This session offers practical insights and strategies for business owners, in-house counsel, and marketing practitioners. Learn how to: Protect your brand Navigate the evolving AI landscape Leverage AI for growth ? Date: 2/5/2025 Time: 12:00pm ET Where: Online Reserve your spot now: https://lnkd.in/efxpaXCd?

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has increased its focus on the threats that artificial intelligence (AI) pose to consumers. With consumers encountering AI systems across multiple sectors, there is a growing risk of AI-related harms including fraud,...

Let us know if you are curious about the The New York Times copyright infringement case against OpenAI and its ChatGPT technology. We're ?? watching closing to see what develops...