Copyright Law Blog

Ontario Business Attorney’s Top Ten Sarah Palin Recession Proof Businesses

August 14th, 2009 at 12:42pm Under trademark law

Here is Ontario Business Attorney Sebastian Gibson’s Top Ten:

1. LensCrafters.

 

2. Pearle Vision.

 

3. Moose McBurger.

 

4. Mavericks R Us.

 

5. Elections for Dummies trainers.

 

6. Neiman Marcus.

 

7. Saks Fifth Avenue.

 

8. Bloomindales.

 

9. Gucci.

 

10. Permanent makeup for pit bulls.

 

Now here is everything (well, almost everything) you need in business about personal injury, car accidents, brain damage, wrongful deaths, business, real estate, landlord-tenant, homeowners association law, construction, patents, trademarks, corporations, entertainment law, advertising, copyrights, food and wine, hotel and restaurant law, and litigation without making any serious legal missteps.  

If you need to know more about business, environmental, international law, election and campaign law, consumer law, class actions, constitutional, internet, publicity and privacy rights, publishing, advertising, media, employment law, estate planning, wills, trusts, water law, agricultural, insurance law, bad faith, psychologist and psychotherapist defense, education law or child accidents, you can find valuable information by searching for those subjects and adding the words Ontario business lawyer or Ontario business attorney to your search terms and looking for other articles by Sebastian Gibson.

 

You can also learn more about any of these business areas of law and how we can assist you as Ontario business attorneys, or as lawyers in any city, by calling the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson at any of the numbers which can be found on our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  .

 

1. Personal Injury, Car Accidents, Drowning Accidents, Brain Damage, Catastrophic Injuries and Wrongful Deaths in Ontario – If you’ve had a Ontario auto, motorcycle, truck, pedestrian, bicycle, bus, train, airplane or car accident of any kind, get the other driver’s information, take camera or cell phone pictures, call the police, get a report, seek medical treatment immediately, call us or another good Ontario personal injury lawyer, follow up with more medical treatment if you are still hurt, report the accident to your insurance agent, file a report with the DMV and don’t talk to anyone else or give a recorded statement until you talk with us. If you’ve lost a loved on in an accident, call us or another good Ontario personal injury lawyer immediately. If you’ve been bitten by a dog, get treatment, call animal control and then call us. If you or someone you know has come close to drowning, seek medical treatment immediately as death or serious injury can still occur hours later.

 

2. Ontario Business – Put everything in writing and preferably with our help or the help of another good Ontario business lawyer. Spend money only as you need to. A Ontario business attorney can tell you where to save costs and how to do it without risking liability. Limit your promises to employees and to customers. Buy insurance. Protect your intellectual property at the outset. Don’t disclose your inventions or any trade secrets to anyone without a non-disclosure agreement. Incorporate as soon as you are profitable. Get legal advice for problems or indications of pending lawsuits immediately. Keep all costs, including labor costs, to the bare minimum. Always use confidentiality agreements when disclosing valuable information and be careful what information you agree to receive. Tell customers they must pay in advance or on delivery. Do not agree to bill and be paid at a date after delivery. Otherwise you won’t be paid on a percentage of your products. Be wary of the potential for fraud by customers, business partners and employees.

 

3. Residential and Commercial Real Estate, Landlord Tenant Law, Mortgage Law and Homeowners Association Law in Ontario – Use a Ontario real estate lawyer who is also a Realtor, or a Realtor who is also a Ontario real estate attorney. Don’t buy or lease more than you need. Choose the right location. Choose the right mortgage. Don’t refinance if you think you may need to walk away from a home. Don’t buy more than you can afford. Check out the neighborhood carefully. Get a home inspection and a home warranty. Have a Ontario real estate lawyer look over the documents. Homeowner Associations are facing a host of problems stemming from the number of foreclosures. As fees are reduced by vacant homes and condos, projects must be trimmed back or delayed in order to save money. Some homeowner associations, who were already in trouble, may face additional problems in the future and both homeowners and their associations should consult with legal counsel to help resolve how to deal with such issues.

 

4. Construction in Ontario – With the construction industry in it’s biggest ever slump, down more than 90% from its peak in many areas, Ontario contractors need to shift their focus to energy free homes, apartment construction and to take advantage of contracts likely to be offered for bid under the new administration’s plan to create new jobs rebuilding the country’s infrastructure, construction of roads, bridges, the electrical grid and other utility projects. If you are dealing with contractors yourself, always use licensed contractors and have a Ontario construction lawyer look over your contracts. You can also investigate the contractor online to ensure he is licensed and insured and a Ontario construction attorney can do an additional investigation at little extra cost. Never pay a contractor the entire sum for a project at the start. Put all agreements in writing, including any changes.

 

5. Ontario Patents and Biotechnology – A patent should be applied for, for any new, and non-obvious process, or invention and to any new improvement of an invention at first opportunity. A patent is good for 20 years. Depending upon the complexity, most utility patent applications will cost between $8,000 and $12,000.00. A design patent can be applied for by a Ontario patent attorney, for the look of an item and is good for 14 years. A provisional patent can be applied for, good for one year at a cost of half of the usual utility patent cost but is only good for one year. If the inventor does not upgrade the provisional patent into a utility patent application within that period, usually for the cost of the remainder of the corresponding cost of a utility patent, the inventor loses his or her protection. A patent is pending once it has been applied for, and can be licensed, or sold outright. Without a patent, others can make and sell your invention with no compensation to you. Patent searches help the Ontario patent lawyer write an application around existing patents and cost an additional sum, usually under $1,000.00. Drawings must also be prepared for the patent application usually for under $500.00. A design patent can be sought for between $1,000 to $1,500 and a European design patent for between $2,000 to $2,500. Accelerated patent applications usually cost an additional 50% of normal patent applications. Foreign patent applications also require additional fees.

 

6. Ontario Trademarks – Trademark any original logos, designs, words, phrases, symbols or combinations that you use to identify your products or services as soon as possible. Call a Ontario trademark attorney as soon as anyone else’s trademark or service mark is so similar as to cause a likelihood of confusion in the public or if you receive a cease and desist letter from someone else accusing you of infringement. Trademark applications range from between $2,500 if there has not yet been any use of the trademark to $1,500 to apply for a trademark already in use. Therefore, to save money, create some products and advertising materials and apply for the trademark once they are ready to be sold and advertised.

 

7. Ontario Corporations – Never incorporate by yourself. Corporations will not protect you from liability if you do not follow corporate formalities correctly. Protect your intellectual property from the start with the help of a Ontario corporations attorney. Don’t borrow someone else’s employee handbook or fire problematic employees without legal advice. Don’t get investors without seeing one of our Ontario corporate attorneys. Cut costs to the bone. Use extra money to advertise, and sell in new markets. A Ontario corporations lawyer can provide you with advice as to which type of corporation or LLC to use for your business.

 

8. Entertainment Law, Sports Law, Marketing, Advertising, Media and Copyrights in Ontario – Whether you are a musician, an actor, a model, a writer, an athlete, a broadcaster or connected in any other way to the entertainment industry, contact us or another good Ontario entertainment attorney as soon as anyone gives you a contract to sign. Signing a bad contract can end your career before it’s ever begun. As soon as you have written any body of work, have it copyrighted. You can do this quite easily yourself, but if you need assistance or if someone else infringes your copyrighted work, you can then file suit against such a party.

 

9. Ontario Litigation – At the first sign that someone may sue you or your business, consult with a Ontario litigation attorney. Many times, a lawsuit can be forestalled before it has been filed or the matter resolved with letters between the litigation attorneys. If you are served with a lawsuit, hire a Ontario litigation lawyer like one from our firm who specializes in mediations and non-binding arbitrations so your litigation can be resolved at the soonest possible opportunity and limit your exposure to years of lawyer’s fees and costs as your case winds slowly through the courts.

 

10. Food and Wine Law, Hotel and Restaurant Law in Ontario – Today, hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, bars and grocery stores face an ever increasing host of new regulations they never faced previously. From the usual licensing problems they face with the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control for adherence to and violations of ABC rules, to new state regulations involving menus and calorie counts in fast food restaurants and new rules requiring groceries to show the country of origin in labels on most of their produce and meat. The worst case scenario today for an establishment serving alcohol, is to serve a minor alcohol who later dies in an auto accident. Such an establishment will need legal representation by a Ontario food, alcohol and restaurant lawyer before the ABC as well as legal defense of civil lawsuits filed against it.

 

If you have a legal matter in Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula, Murrieta, Riverside, San Bernardino, Moreno Valley, Fontana, Rialto, San Bernardino County, Redlands, Hemet, Perris, Colton, Highland, Yucaipa, Banning, Riverside County, Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead, or anywhere in the Inland Empire, our Ontario law firm has the knowledge and resources to be your Ontario Lawyers and your Ontario Attorneys. Be sure to hire a Coachella Valley law firm with experience in Personal Injury, Car Accidents, Drownings, Brain Damage, Catastrophic Injuries, Wrongful Death, Business, Real Estate and Landlord Tenant Law, Homeowner Association Law, Construction, Trademarks, Patents, Corporations, Entertainment, Sports Law, Marketing, Advertising, Media, and Copyright Law, and who will endeavor to ensure that your rights are properly represented.

 

Additionally, if you have a legal matter which involves Environmental and Toxic Tort Law, Litigation, International, Shipping and Maritime Law, Employment, Election and Campaign Finance Law, Consumer Law and Class Actions, Constitutional, Publishing, Publicity, Privacy Rights, Internet Law, Advertising and Media Law, Food and Wine Law, Hotel and Restaurant Law, Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts, Water, Agricultural and Natural Resource Law, Insurance Law, Bad Faith and Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist Defense, Education Law or a Child Accident in Ontario or anywhere in Southern California, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  and learn how a Ontario attorney from our offices can assist you.

Rancho Cucamonga Business Attorney’s Top Ten Calls You Don’t Want to Take if You’re Sarah Palin

August 14th, 2009 at 06:43am Under trademark law

Here is Rancho Cucamonga Business Attorney Sebastian Gibson’s Top Ten:

1. Vladimir Putin on line one.

 

2. The President of France on line two, again. He says he’s the real one.

 

3. John McCain wants you to be his running mate, again.

 

4. It’s the GOP. They want their clothes back.

 

5. It’s Katie Couric asking for another interview.

 

6. It’s George Bush wanting to endorse you, again.

 

7. It’s Neiman Marcus wanting payment for those other purchases you made.

 

8. It’s Afghanistan. They want you to know they aren’t a neighboring country.

 

9. It’s Joe the Plumber – he says he’s ready to be your running mate in 2012.

 

10. It’s John McCain. He says he still thinks you’re a whack job.

 

Now here is everything (well, almost everything) you need in business about personal injury, car accidents, brain damage, wrongful deaths, business, real estate, landlord-tenant, homeowners association law, construction, patents, trademarks, corporations, entertainment law, advertising, copyrights, food and wine, hotel and restaurant law, and litigation without making any serious legal missteps.  

If you need to know more about business, environmental, international law, election and campaign law, consumer law, class actions, constitutional, internet, publicity and privacy rights, publishing, advertising, media, employment law, estate planning, wills, trusts, water law, agricultural, insurance law, bad faith, psychologist and psychotherapist defense, education law or child accidents, you can find valuable information by searching for those subjects and adding the words Rancho Cucamonga business lawyer or Rancho Cucamonga business attorney to your search terms and looking for other articles by Sebastian Gibson.

 

You can also learn more about any of these areas of law and how we can assist you as Rancho Cucamonga business attorneys, or as lawyers in any city, by calling the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson at any of the numbers which can be found on our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  .

 

1. Personal Injury, Car Accidents, Drowning Accidents, Brain Damage, Catastrophic Injuries and Wrongful Deaths in Rancho Cucamonga – If you’ve had a Rancho Cucamonga auto, motorcycle, truck, pedestrian, bicycle, bus, train, airplane or car accident of any kind, get the other driver’s information, take camera or cell phone pictures, call the police, get a report, seek medical treatment immediately, call us or another good Rancho Cucamonga personal injury lawyer, follow up with more medical treatment if you are still hurt, report the accident to your insurance agent, file a report with the DMV and don’t talk to anyone else or give a recorded statement until you talk with us. If you’ve lost a loved on in an accident, call us or another good Rancho Cucamonga personal injury lawyer immediately. If you’ve been bitten by a dog, get treatment, call animal control and then call us. If you or someone you know has come close to drowning, seek medical treatment immediately as death or serious injury can still occur hours later.

 

2. Rancho Cucamonga Business – Put everything in writing and preferably with our help or the help of another good Rancho Cucamonga business lawyer. Spend money only as you need to. A Rancho Cucamonga business attorney can tell you where to save costs and how to do it without risking liability. Limit your promises to employees and to customers. Buy insurance. Protect your intellectual property at the outset. Don’t disclose your inventions or any trade secrets to anyone without a non-disclosure agreement. Incorporate as soon as you are profitable. Get legal advice for problems or indications of pending lawsuits immediately. Keep all costs, including labor costs, to the bare minimum. Always use confidentiality agreements when disclosing valuable information and be careful what information you agree to receive. Tell customers they must pay in advance or on delivery. Do not agree to bill and be paid at a date after delivery. Otherwise you won’t be paid on a percentage of your products. Be wary of the potential for fraud by customers, business partners and employees.

 

3. Residential and Commercial Real Estate, Landlord Tenant Law, Mortgage Law and Homeowners Association Law in Rancho Cucamonga – Use a Rancho Cucamonga real estate lawyer who is also a Realtor, or a Realtor who is also a Rancho Cucamonga real estate attorney. Don’t buy or lease more than you need. Choose the right location. Choose the right mortgage. Don’t refinance if you think you may need to walk away from a home. Don’t buy more than you can afford. Check out the neighborhood carefully. Get a home inspection and a home warranty. Have a Rancho Cucamonga real estate lawyer look over the documents. Homeowner Associations are facing a host of problems stemming from the number of foreclosures. As fees are reduced by vacant homes and condos, projects must be trimmed back or delayed in order to save money. Some homeowner associations, who were already in trouble, may face additional problems in the future and both homeowners and their associations should consult with legal counsel to help resolve how to deal with such issues.

 

4. Construction in Rancho Cucamonga – With the construction industry in it’s biggest ever slump, down more than 90% from its peak in many areas, Rancho Cucamonga contractors need to shift their focus to energy free homes, apartment construction and to take advantage of contracts likely to be offered for bid under the new administration’s plan to create new jobs rebuilding the country’s infrastructure, construction of roads, bridges, the electrical grid and other utility projects. If you are dealing with contractors yourself, always use licensed contractors and have a Rancho Cucamonga construction lawyer look over your contracts. You can also investigate the contractor online to ensure he is licensed and insured and a Rancho Cucamonga construction attorney can do an additional investigation at little extra cost. Never pay a contractor the entire sum for a project at the start. Put all agreements in writing, including any changes.

 

5. Rancho Cucamonga Patents and Biotechnology – A patent should be applied for, for any new, and non-obvious process, or invention and to any new improvement of an invention at first opportunity. A patent is good for 20 years. Depending upon the complexity, most utility patent applications will cost between $8,000 and $12,000.00. A design patent can be applied for by a Rancho Cucamonga patent attorney, for the look of an item and is good for 14 years. A provisional patent can be applied for, good for one year at a cost of half of the usual utility patent cost but is only good for one year. If the inventor does not upgrade the provisional patent into a utility patent application within that period, usually for the cost of the remainder of the corresponding cost of a utility patent, the inventor loses his or her protection. A patent is pending once it has been applied for, and can be licensed, or sold outright. Without a patent, others can make and sell your invention with no compensation to you. Patent searches help the Rancho Cucamonga patent lawyer write an application around existing patents and cost an additional sum, usually under $1,000.00. Drawings must also be prepared for the patent application usually for under $500.00. A design patent can be sought for between $1,000 to $1,500 and a European design patent for between $2,000 to $2,500. Accelerated patent applications usually cost an additional 50% of normal patent applications. Foreign patent applications also require additional fees.

 

6. Rancho Cucamonga Trademarks – Trademark any original logos, designs, words, phrases, symbols or combinations that you use to identify your products or services as soon as possible. Call a Rancho Cucamonga trademark attorney as soon as anyone else’s trademark or service mark is so similar as to cause a likelihood of confusion in the public or if you receive a cease and desist letter from someone else accusing you of infringement. Trademark applications range from between $2,500 if there has not yet been any use of the trademark to $1,500 to apply for a trademark already in use. Therefore, to save money, create some products and advertising materials and apply for the trademark once they are ready to be sold and advertised.

 

7. Rancho Cucamonga Corporations – Never incorporate by yourself. Corporations will not protect you from liability if you do not follow corporate formalities correctly. Protect your intellectual property from the start with the help of a Rancho Cucamonga corporations attorney. Don’t borrow someone else’s employee handbook or fire problematic employees without legal advice. Don’t get investors without seeing one of our Rancho Cucamonga corporate attorneys. Cut costs to the bone. Use extra money to advertise, and sell in new markets. A Rancho Cucamonga corporations lawyer can provide you with advice as to which type of corporation or LLC to use for your business.

 

8. Entertainment Law, Sports Law, Marketing, Advertising, Media and Copyrights in Rancho Cucamonga – Whether you are a musician, an actor, a model, a writer, an athlete, a broadcaster or connected in any other way to the entertainment industry, contact us or another good Rancho Cucamonga entertainment attorney as soon as anyone gives you a contract to sign. Signing a bad contract can end your career before it’s ever begun. As soon as you have written any body of work, have it copyrighted. You can do this quite easily yourself, but if you need assistance or if someone else infringes your copyrighted work, you can then file suit against such a party.

 

9. Rancho Cucamonga Litigation – At the first sign that someone may sue you or your business, consult with a Rancho Cucamonga litigation attorney. Many times, a lawsuit can be forestalled before it has been filed or the matter resolved with letters between the litigation attorneys. If you are served with a lawsuit, hire a Rancho Cucamonga litigation lawyer like one from our firm who specializes in mediations and non-binding arbitrations so your litigation can be resolved at the soonest possible opportunity and limit your exposure to years of lawyer’s fees and costs as your case winds slowly through the courts.

 

10. Food and Wine Law, Hotel and Restaurant Law in Rancho Cucamonga – Today, hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, bars and grocery stores face an ever increasing host of new regulations they never faced previously. From the usual licensing problems they face with the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control for adherence to and violations of ABC rules, to new state regulations involving menus and calorie counts in fast food restaurants and new rules requiring groceries to show the country of origin in labels on most of their produce and meat. The worst case scenario today for an establishment serving alcohol, is to serve a minor alcohol who later dies in an auto accident. Such an establishment will need legal representation by a Rancho Cucamonga food, alcohol and restaurant lawyer before the ABC as well as legal defense of civil lawsuits filed against it.

 

If you have a legal matter in Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Temecula, Murrieta, Riverside, San Bernardino, Moreno Valley, Fontana, Rialto, San Bernardino County, Redlands, Hemet, Perris, Colton, Highland, Yucaipa, Banning, Riverside County, Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead, or anywhere in the Inland Empire, our Rancho Cucamonga law firm has the knowledge and resources to be your Rancho Cucamonga Lawyers and your Rancho Cucamonga Attorneys. Be sure to hire a Coachella Valley law firm with experience in Personal Injury, Car Accidents, Drownings, Brain Damage, Catastrophic Injuries, Wrongful Death, Business, Real Estate and Landlord Tenant Law, Homeowner Association Law, Construction, Trademarks, Patents, Corporations, Entertainment, Sports Law, Marketing, Advertising, Media, and Copyright Law, and who will endeavor to ensure that your rights are properly represented.

 

Additionally, if you have a legal matter which involves Environmental and Toxic Tort Law, Litigation, International, Shipping and Maritime Law, Employment, Election and Campaign Finance Law, Consumer Law and Class Actions, Constitutional, Publishing, Publicity, Privacy Rights, Internet Law, Advertising and Media Law, Food and Wine Law, Hotel and Restaurant Law, Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts, Water, Agricultural and Natural Resource Law, Insurance Law, Bad Faith and Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist Defense, Education Law or a Child Accident in Rancho Cucamonga or anywhere in Southern California, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  and learn how a Rancho Cucamonga attorney from our offices can assist you.

Temecula Business Attorney’s Top Ten Business Things That Confuse Sarah Palin About Business

August 14th, 2009 at 12:42am Under trademark law

Here is Temecula Business Attorney Sebastian Gibson’s Top Ten:

1.What’s wrong with a bridge to nowhere?

 

2. What’s this internet thing everyone is talking about?

 

3. How can you communicate with a piece of fruit, even if it is a blackberry?

 

4. How do you get your cell phone to stop ringing in the middle of important mavericky business meetings?

 

5. What’s wrong with showing how turkeys are slaughtered while you’re being interviewed?

 

6. Why doesn’t everyone shop at Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue?

 

7. How come there are so few businesses and so much fewer people in Alaska than in those other states or countries or whatever they were that I visited on the campaign trail?

 

8. Just where the heck is Afghanistan and do you think they’d be interested in some Eskimo souvenirs?

 

9. If you want to make it in business, don’t you have to go rogue on your own company?

 

10. Why would anyone want to be a plumber and deal with clogged up toilets all day?

 

Now here is everything (well, almost everything) you need in business about personal injury, car accidents, brain damage, wrongful deaths, business, real estate, landlord-tenant, homeowners association law, construction, patents, trademarks, corporations, entertainment law, advertising, copyrights, food and wine, hotel and restaurant law, and litigation without making any serious legal missteps.  

If you need to know more about business environmental, international law, election and campaign law, consumer law, class actions, constitutional, internet, publicity and privacy rights, publishing, advertising, media, employment law, estate planning, wills, trusts, water law, agricultural, insurance law, bad faith, psychologist and psychotherapist defense, education law or child accidents, you can find valuable information by searching for those subjects and adding the words Temecula business lawyer or Temecula business attorney to your search terms and looking for other articles by Sebastian Gibson.

 

You can also learn more about any of these business areas of law and how we can assist you as Temecula business attorneys, or as lawyers in any city, by calling the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson at any of the numbers which can be found on our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  .

 

1. Personal Injury, Car Accidents, Drowning Accidents, Brain Damage, Catastrophic Injuries and Wrongful Deaths in Temecula – If you’ve had a Temecula auto, motorcycle, truck, pedestrian, bicycle, bus, train, airplane or car accident of any kind, get the other driver’s information, take camera or cell phone pictures, call the police, get a report, seek medical treatment immediately, call us or another good Temecula personal injury lawyer, follow up with more medical treatment if you are still hurt, report the accident to your insurance agent, file a report with the DMV and don’t talk to anyone else or give a recorded statement until you talk with us. If you’ve lost a loved on in an accident, call us or another good Temecula personal injury lawyer immediately. If you’ve been bitten by a dog, get treatment, call animal control and then call us. If you or someone you know has come close to drowning, seek medical treatment immediately as death or serious injury can still occur hours later.

 

2. Temecula Business – Put everything in writing and preferably with our help or the help of another good Temecula business lawyer. Spend money only as you need to. A Temecula business attorney can tell you where to save costs and how to do it without risking liability. Limit your promises to employees and to customers. Buy insurance. Protect your intellectual property at the outset. Don’t disclose your inventions or any trade secrets to anyone without a non-disclosure agreement. Incorporate as soon as you are profitable. Get legal advice for problems or indications of pending lawsuits immediately. Keep all costs, including labor costs, to the bare minimum. Always use confidentiality agreements when disclosing valuable information and be careful what information you agree to receive. Tell customers they must pay in advance or on delivery. Do not agree to bill and be paid at a date after delivery. Otherwise you won’t be paid on a percentage of your products. Be wary of the potential for fraud by customers, business partners and employees.

 

3. Residential and Commercial Real Estate, Landlord Tenant Law, Mortgage Law and Homeowners Association Law in Temecula – Use a Temecula real estate lawyer who is also a Realtor, or a Realtor who is also a Temecula real estate attorney. Don’t buy or lease more than you need. Choose the right location. Choose the right mortgage. Don’t refinance if you think you may need to walk away from a home. Don’t buy more than you can afford. Check out the neighborhood carefully. Get a home inspection and a home warranty. Have a Temecula real estate lawyer look over the documents. Homeowner Associations are facing a host of problems stemming from the number of foreclosures. As fees are reduced by vacant homes and condos, projects must be trimmed back or delayed in order to save money. Some homeowner associations, who were already in trouble, may face additional problems in the future and both homeowners and their associations should consult with legal counsel to help resolve how to deal with such issues.

 

4. Construction in Temecula – With the construction industry in it’s biggest ever slump, down more than 90% from its peak in many areas, Temecula contractors need to shift their focus to energy free homes, apartment construction and to take advantage of contracts likely to be offered for bid under the new administration’s plan to create new jobs rebuilding the country’s infrastructure, construction of roads, bridges, the electrical grid and other utility projects. If you are dealing with contractors yourself, always use licensed contractors and have a Temecula construction lawyer look over your contracts. You can also investigate the contractor online to ensure he is licensed and insured and a Temecula construction attorney can do an additional investigation at little extra cost. Never pay a contractor the entire sum for a project at the start. Put all agreements in writing, including any changes.

 

5. Temecula Patents and Biotechnology – A patent should be applied for, for any new, and non-obvious process, or invention and to any new improvement of an invention at first opportunity. A patent is good for 20 years. Depending upon the complexity, most utility patent applications will cost between $8,000 and $12,000.00. A design patent can be applied for by a Temecula patent attorney, for the look of an item and is good for 14 years. A provisional patent can be applied for, good for one year at a cost of half of the usual utility patent cost but is only good for one year. If the inventor does not upgrade the provisional patent into a utility patent application within that period, usually for the cost of the remainder of the corresponding cost of a utility patent, the inventor loses his or her protection. A patent is pending once it has been applied for, and can be licensed, or sold outright. Without a patent, others can make and sell your invention with no compensation to you. Patent searches help the Temecula patent lawyer write an application around existing patents and cost an additional sum, usually under $1,000.00. Drawings must also be prepared for the patent application usually for under $500.00. A design patent can be sought for between $1,000 to $1,500 and a European design patent for between $2,000 to $2,500. Accelerated patent applications usually cost an additional 50% of normal patent applications. Foreign patent applications also require additional fees.

 

6. Temecula Trademarks – Trademark any original logos, designs, words, phrases, symbols or combinations that you use to identify your products or services as soon as possible. Call a Temecula trademark attorney as soon as anyone else’s trademark or service mark is so similar as to cause a likelihood of confusion in the public or if you receive a cease and desist letter from someone else accusing you of infringement. Trademark applications range from between $2,500 if there has not yet been any use of the trademark to $1,500 to apply for a trademark already in use. Therefore, to save money, create some products and advertising materials and apply for the trademark once they are ready to be sold and advertised.

 

7. Temecula Corporations – Never incorporate by yourself. Corporations will not protect you from liability if you do not follow corporate formalities correctly. Protect your intellectual property from the start with the help of a Temecula corporations attorney. Don’t borrow someone else’s employee handbook or fire problematic employees without legal advice. Don’t get investors without seeing one of our Temecula corporate attorneys. Cut costs to the bone. Use extra money to advertise, and sell in new markets. A Temecula corporations lawyer can provide you with advice as to which type of corporation or LLC to use for your business.

 

8. Entertainment Law, Sports Law, Marketing, Advertising, Media and Copyrights in Temecula – Whether you are a musician, an actor, a model, a writer, an athlete, a broadcaster or connected in any other way to the entertainment industry, contact us or another good Temecula entertainment attorney as soon as anyone gives you a contract to sign. Signing a bad contract can end your career before it’s ever begun. As soon as you have written any body of work, have it copyrighted. You can do this quite easily yourself, but if you need assistance or if someone else infringes your copyrighted work, you can then file suit against such a party.

 

9. Temecula Litigation – At the first sign that someone may sue you or your business, consult with a Temecula litigation attorney. Many times, a lawsuit can be forestalled before it has been filed or the matter resolved with letters between the litigation attorneys. If you are served with a lawsuit, hire a Temecula litigation lawyer like one from our firm who specializes in mediations and non-binding arbitrations so your litigation can be resolved at the soonest possible opportunity and limit your exposure to years of lawyer’s fees and costs as your case winds slowly through the courts.

 

10. Food and Wine Law, Hotel and Restaurant Law in Temecula – Today, hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, bars and grocery stores face an ever increasing host of new regulations they never faced previously. From the usual licensing problems they face with the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control for adherence to and violations of ABC rules, to new state regulations involving menus and calorie counts in fast food restaurants and new rules requiring groceries to show the country of origin in labels on most of their produce and meat. The worst case scenario today for an establishment serving alcohol, is to serve a minor alcohol who later dies in an auto accident. Such an establishment will need legal representation by a Temecula food, alcohol and restaurant lawyer before the ABC as well as legal defense of civil lawsuits filed against it.

 

If you have a legal matter in Temecula, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Murrieta, Riverside, San Bernardino, Moreno Valley, Fontana, Rialto, San Bernardino County, Redlands, Hemet, Perris, Colton, Highland, Yucaipa, Banning, Riverside County, Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead, or anywhere in the Inland Empire, our Temecula law firm has the knowledge and resources to be your Temecula Lawyers and your Temecula Attorneys. Be sure to hire a Coachella Valley law firm with experience in Personal Injury, Car Accidents, Drownings, Brain Damage, Catastrophic Injuries, Wrongful Death, Business, Real Estate and Landlord Tenant Law, Homeowner Association Law, Construction, Trademarks, Patents, Corporations, Entertainment, Sports Law, Marketing, Advertising, Media, and Copyright Law, and who will endeavor to ensure that your rights are properly represented.

 

Additionally, if you have a legal matter which involves Environmental and Toxic Tort Law, Litigation, International, Shipping and Maritime Law, Employment, Election and Campaign Finance Law, Consumer Law and Class Actions, Constitutional, Publishing, Publicity, Privacy Rights, Internet Law, Advertising and Media Law, Food and Wine Law, Hotel and Restaurant Law, Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts, Water, Agricultural and Natural Resource Law, Insurance Law, Bad Faith and Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist Defense, Education Law or a Child Accident in Temecula or anywhere in Southern California, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  and learn how a Temecula attorney from our offices can assist you.

Murrieta Business Attorney’s Top Ten Business Signs Your State is Bankrupt

August 13th, 2009 at 06:42pm Under trademark law

Here is Murrieta Business Attorney Sebastian Gibson’s Top Ten:

1. Everyone is on the bridge to nowhere.

 

2. Joe the Plumber is out of work.

 

3. Oil is ten cents a gallon.

 

4. The lines are longer for food than they were to vote.

 

5. Your state looks like Afghanistan.

 

6. People are trading food stamps like baseball cards.

 

7. It takes a hundred dollars to buy a peso.

 

8. Your house is worth about the same as a dog house.

 

9. Your credit cards are no longer accepted everywhere. They’re accepted no where.

 

10. Car dealerships are selling bicycles.

 

Now here is everything (well, almost everything) you need in business about personal injury, car accidents, brain damage, wrongful deaths, business, real estate, landlord-tenant, homeowners association law, construction, patents, trademarks, corporations, entertainment law, advertising, copyrights, food and wine, hotel and restaurant law, and litigation without making any serious legal missteps.  

If you need to know more about business, environmental, international law, election and campaign law, consumer law, class actions, constitutional, internet, publicity and privacy rights, publishing, advertising, media, employment law, estate planning, wills, trusts, water law, agricultural, insurance law, bad faith, psychologist and psychotherapist defense, education law or child accidents, you can find valuable information by searching for those subjects and adding the words Murrieta business lawyer or Murrieta business attorney to your search terms and looking for other articles by Sebastian Gibson.

 

You can also learn more about any of these business areas of law and how we can assist you as Murrieta business attorneys, or as lawyers in any city, by calling the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson at any of the numbers which can be found on our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  .

 

1. Personal Injury, Car Accidents, Drowning Accidents, Brain Damage, Catastrophic Injuries and Wrongful Deaths in Murrieta – If you’ve had a Murrieta auto, motorcycle, truck, pedestrian, bicycle, bus, train, airplane or car accident of any kind, get the other driver’s information, take camera or cell phone pictures, call the police, get a report, seek medical treatment immediately, call us or another good Murrieta personal injury lawyer, follow up with more medical treatment if you are still hurt, report the accident to your insurance agent, file a report with the DMV and don’t talk to anyone else or give a recorded statement until you talk with us. If you’ve lost a loved on in an accident, call us or another good Murrieta personal injury lawyer immediately. If you’ve been bitten by a dog, get treatment, call animal control and then call us. If you or someone you know has come close to drowning, seek medical treatment immediately as death or serious injury can still occur hours later.

 

2. Murrieta Business – Put everything in writing and preferably with our help or the help of another good Murrieta business lawyer. Spend money only as you need to. A Murrieta business attorney can tell you where to save costs and how to do it without risking liability. Limit your promises to employees and to customers. Buy insurance. Protect your intellectual property at the outset. Don’t disclose your inventions or any trade secrets to anyone without a non-disclosure agreement. Incorporate as soon as you are profitable. Get legal advice for problems or indications of pending lawsuits immediately. Keep all costs, including labor costs, to the bare minimum. Always use confidentiality agreements when disclosing valuable information and be careful what information you agree to receive. Tell customers they must pay in advance or on delivery. Do not agree to bill and be paid at a date after delivery. Otherwise you won’t be paid on a percentage of your products. Be wary of the potential for fraud by customers, business partners and employees.

 

3. Residential and Commercial Real Estate, Landlord Tenant Law, Mortgage Law and Homeowners Association Law in Murrieta – Use a Murrieta real estate lawyer who is also a Realtor, or a Realtor who is also a Murrieta real estate attorney. Don’t buy or lease more than you need. Choose the right location. Choose the right mortgage. Don’t refinance if you think you may need to walk away from a home. Don’t buy more than you can afford. Check out the neighborhood carefully. Get a home inspection and a home warranty. Have a Murrieta real estate lawyer look over the documents. Homeowner Associations are facing a host of problems stemming from the number of foreclosures. As fees are reduced by vacant homes and condos, projects must be trimmed back or delayed in order to save money. Some homeowner associations, who were already in trouble, may face additional problems in the future and both homeowners and their associations should consult with legal counsel to help resolve how to deal with such issues.

 

4. Construction in Murrieta – With the construction industry in it’s biggest ever slump, down more than 90% from its peak in many areas, Murrieta contractors need to shift their focus to energy free homes, apartment construction and to take advantage of contracts likely to be offered for bid under the new administration’s plan to create new jobs rebuilding the country’s infrastructure, construction of roads, bridges, the electrical grid and other utility projects. If you are dealing with contractors yourself, always use licensed contractors and have a Murrieta construction lawyer look over your contracts. You can also investigate the contractor online to ensure he is licensed and insured and a Murrieta construction attorney can do an additional investigation at little extra cost. Never pay a contractor the entire sum for a project at the start. Put all agreements in writing, including any changes.

 

5. Murrieta Patents and Biotechnology – A patent should be applied for, for any new, and non-obvious process, or invention and to any new improvement of an invention at first opportunity. A patent is good for 20 years. Depending upon the complexity, most utility patent applications will cost between $8,000 and $12,000.00. A design patent can be applied for by a Murrieta patent attorney, for the look of an item and is good for 14 years. A provisional patent can be applied for, good for one year at a cost of half of the usual utility patent cost but is only good for one year. If the inventor does not upgrade the provisional patent into a utility patent application within that period, usually for the cost of the remainder of the corresponding cost of a utility patent, the inventor loses his or her protection. A patent is pending once it has been applied for, and can be licensed, or sold outright. Without a patent, others can make and sell your invention with no compensation to you. Patent searches help the Murrieta patent lawyer write an application around existing patents and cost an additional sum, usually under $1,000.00. Drawings must also be prepared for the patent application usually for under $500.00. A design patent can be sought for between $1,000 to $1,500 and a European design patent for between $2,000 to $2,500. Accelerated patent applications usually cost an additional 50% of normal patent applications. Foreign patent applications also require additional fees.

 

6. Murrieta Trademarks – Trademark any original logos, designs, words, phrases, symbols or combinations that you use to identify your products or services as soon as possible. Call a Murrieta trademark attorney as soon as anyone else’s trademark or service mark is so similar as to cause a likelihood of confusion in the public or if you receive a cease and desist letter from someone else accusing you of infringement. Trademark applications range from between $2,500 if there has not yet been any use of the trademark to $1,500 to apply for a trademark already in use. Therefore, to save money, create some products and advertising materials and apply for the trademark once they are ready to be sold and advertised.

 

7. Murrieta Corporations – Never incorporate by yourself. Corporations will not protect you from liability if you do not follow corporate formalities correctly. Protect your intellectual property from the start with the help of a Murrieta corporations attorney. Don’t borrow someone else’s employee handbook or fire problematic employees without legal advice. Don’t get investors without seeing one of our Murrieta corporate attorneys. Cut costs to the bone. Use extra money to advertise, and sell in new markets. A Murrieta corporations lawyer can provide you with advice as to which type of corporation or LLC to use for your business.

 

8. Entertainment Law, Sports Law, Marketing, Advertising, Media and Copyrights in Murrieta – Whether you are a musician, an actor, a model, a writer, an athlete, a broadcaster or connected in any other way to the entertainment industry, contact us or another good Murrieta entertainment attorney as soon as anyone gives you a contract to sign. Signing a bad contract can end your career before it’s ever begun. As soon as you have written any body of work, have it copyrighted. You can do this quite easily yourself, but if you need assistance or if someone else infringes your copyrighted work, you can then file suit against such a party.

 

9. Murrieta Litigation – At the first sign that someone may sue you or your business, consult with a Murrieta litigation attorney. Many times, a lawsuit can be forestalled before it has been filed or the matter resolved with letters between the litigation attorneys. If you are served with a lawsuit, hire a Murrieta litigation lawyer like one from our firm who specializes in mediations and non-binding arbitrations so your litigation can be resolved at the soonest possible opportunity and limit your exposure to years of lawyer’s fees and costs as your case winds slowly through the courts.

 

10. Food and Wine Law, Hotel and Restaurant Law in Murrieta – Today, hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, bars and grocery stores face an ever increasing host of new regulations they never faced previously. From the usual licensing problems they face with the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control for adherence to and violations of ABC rules, to new state regulations involving menus and calorie counts in fast food restaurants and new rules requiring groceries to show the country of origin in labels on most of their produce and meat. The worst case scenario today for an establishment serving alcohol, is to serve a minor alcohol who later dies in an auto accident. Such an establishment will need legal representation by a Murrieta food, alcohol and restaurant lawyer before the ABC as well as legal defense of civil lawsuits filed against it.

 

If you have a legal matter in Murrieta, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula, Riverside, San Bernardino, Moreno Valley, Fontana, Rialto, San Bernardino County, Redlands, Hemet, Perris, Colton, Highland, Yucaipa, Banning, Riverside County, Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead, or anywhere in the Inland Empire, our Murrieta law firm has the knowledge and resources to be your Murrieta Lawyers and your Murrieta Attorneys. Be sure to hire a Coachella Valley law firm with experience in Personal Injury, Car Accidents, Drownings, Brain Damage, Catastrophic Injuries, Wrongful Death, Business, Real Estate and Landlord Tenant Law, Homeowner Association Law, Construction, Trademarks, Patents, Corporations, Entertainment, Sports Law, Marketing, Advertising, Media, and Copyright Law, and who will endeavor to ensure that your rights are properly represented.

 

Additionally, if you have a legal matter which involves Environmental and Toxic Tort Law, Litigation, International, Shipping and Maritime Law, Employment, Election and Campaign Finance Law, Consumer Law and Class Actions, Constitutional, Publishing, Publicity, Privacy Rights, Internet Law, Advertising and Media Law, Food and Wine Law, Hotel and Restaurant Law, Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts, Water, Agricultural and Natural Resource Law, Insurance Law, Bad Faith and Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist Defense, Education Law or a Child Accident in Murrieta or anywhere in Southern California, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  and learn how a Murrieta attorney from our offices can assist you.

Riverside Business Attorney’s Top Ten Signs Business is Bad

August 13th, 2009 at 12:44pm Under trademark law

Here is Riverside Business Attorney Sebastian Gibson’s Top Ten:

1. The only calls you get are sales calls from competitors.

 

2. No one has walked into your business for a month.

 

3. The police call to make sure you’re still alive.

 

4. The fax machine is covered in dust.

 

5. The postal carrier asks if you’re still in business.

 

6. The phone bill is the lowest you’ve ever seen it.

 

7. The bank manager calls to ask why they don’t see you anymore.

 

8. You have to empty the waste baskets once a month instead of once a day.

 

9. Your business supplies aren’t going down.

 

10. The landlord is showing your office space to others.

 

Now here is everything (well, almost everything) you need in business about personal injury, car accidents, brain damage, wrongful deaths, business, real estate, landlord-tenant, homeowners association law, construction, patents, trademarks, corporations, entertainment law, advertising, copyrights, food and wine, hotel and restaurant law, and litigation without making any serious legal missteps.  

If you need to know more about business, environmental, international law, election and campaign law, consumer law, class actions, constitutional, internet, publicity and privacy rights, publishing, advertising, media, employment law, estate planning, wills, trusts, water law, agricultural, insurance law, bad faith, psychologist and psychotherapist defense, education law or child accidents, you can find valuable information by searching for those subjects and adding the words Riverside business lawyer or Riverside business attorney to your search terms and looking for other articles by Sebastian Gibson.

 

You can also learn more about any of these business areas of law and how we can assist you as Riverside business attorneys, or as lawyers in any city, by calling the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson at any of the numbers which can be found on our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  .

 

1. Personal Injury, Car Accidents, Drowning Accidents, Brain Damage, Catastrophic Injuries and Wrongful Deaths in Riverside – If you’ve had a Riverside auto, motorcycle, truck, pedestrian, bicycle, bus, train, airplane or car accident of any kind, get the other driver’s information, take camera or cell phone pictures, call the police, get a report, seek medical treatment immediately, call us or another good Riverside personal injury lawyer, follow up with more medical treatment if you are still hurt, report the accident to your insurance agent, file a report with the DMV and don’t talk to anyone else or give a recorded statement until you talk with us. If you’ve lost a loved on in an accident, call us or another good Riverside personal injury lawyer immediately. If you’ve been bitten by a dog, get treatment, call animal control and then call us. If you or someone you know has come close to drowning, seek medical treatment immediately as death or serious injury can still occur hours later.

 

2. Riverside Business – Put everything in writing and preferably with our help or the help of another good Riverside business lawyer. Spend money only as you need to. A Riverside business attorney can tell you where to save costs and how to do it without risking liability. Limit your promises to employees and to customers. Buy insurance. Protect your intellectual property at the outset. Don’t disclose your inventions or any trade secrets to anyone without a non-disclosure agreement. Incorporate as soon as you are profitable. Get legal advice for problems or indications of pending lawsuits immediately. Keep all costs, including labor costs, to the bare minimum. Always use confidentiality agreements when disclosing valuable information and be careful what information you agree to receive. Tell customers they must pay in advance or on delivery. Do not agree to bill and be paid at a date after delivery. Otherwise you won’t be paid on a percentage of your products. Be wary of the potential for fraud by customers, business partners and employees.

 

3. Residential and Commercial Real Estate, Landlord Tenant Law, Mortgage Law and Homeowners Association Law in Riverside – Use a Riverside real estate lawyer who is also a Realtor, or a Realtor who is also a Riverside real estate attorney. Don’t buy or lease more than you need. Choose the right location. Choose the right mortgage. Don’t refinance if you think you may need to walk away from a home. Don’t buy more than you can afford. Check out the neighborhood carefully. Get a home inspection and a home warranty. Have a Riverside real estate lawyer look over the documents. Homeowner Associations are facing a host of problems stemming from the number of foreclosures. As fees are reduced by vacant homes and condos, projects must be trimmed back or delayed in order to save money. Some homeowner associations, who were already in trouble, may face additional problems in the future and both homeowners and their associations should consult with legal counsel to help resolve how to deal with such issues.

 

4. Construction in Riverside – With the construction industry in it’s biggest ever slump, down more than 90% from its peak in many areas, Riverside contractors need to shift their focus to energy free homes, apartment construction and to take advantage of contracts likely to be offered for bid under the new administration’s plan to create new jobs rebuilding the country’s infrastructure, construction of roads, bridges, the electrical grid and other utility projects. If you are dealing with contractors yourself, always use licensed contractors and have a Riverside construction lawyer look over your contracts. You can also investigate the contractor online to ensure he is licensed and insured and a Riverside construction attorney can do an additional investigation at little extra cost. Never pay a contractor the entire sum for a project at the start. Put all agreements in writing, including any changes.

 

5. Riverside Patents and Biotechnology – A patent should be applied for, for any new, and non-obvious process, or invention and to any new improvement of an invention at first opportunity. A patent is good for 20 years. Depending upon the complexity, most utility patent applications will cost between $8,000 and $12,000.00. A design patent can be applied for by a Riverside patent attorney, for the look of an item and is good for 14 years. A provisional patent can be applied for, good for one year at a cost of half of the usual utility patent cost but is only good for one year. If the inventor does not upgrade the provisional patent into a utility patent application within that period, usually for the cost of the remainder of the corresponding cost of a utility patent, the inventor loses his or her protection. A patent is pending once it has been applied for, and can be licensed, or sold outright. Without a patent, others can make and sell your invention with no compensation to you. Patent searches help the Riverside patent lawyer write an application around existing patents and cost an additional sum, usually under $1,000.00. Drawings must also be prepared for the patent application usually for under $500.00. A design patent can be sought for between $1,000 to $1,500 and a European design patent for between $2,000 to $2,500. Accelerated patent applications usually cost an additional 50% of normal patent applications. Foreign patent applications also require additional fees.

 

6. Riverside Trademarks – Trademark any original logos, designs, words, phrases, symbols or combinations that you use to identify your products or services as soon as possible. Call a Riverside trademark attorney as soon as anyone else’s trademark or service mark is so similar as to cause a likelihood of confusion in the public or if you receive a cease and desist letter from someone else accusing you of infringement. Trademark applications range from between $2,500 if there has not yet been any use of the trademark to $1,500 to apply for a trademark already in use. Therefore, to save money, create some products and advertising materials and apply for the trademark once they are ready to be sold and advertised.

 

7. Riverside Corporations – Never incorporate by yourself. Corporations will not protect you from liability if you do not follow corporate formalities correctly. Protect your intellectual property from the start with the help of a Riverside corporations attorney. Don’t borrow someone else’s employee handbook or fire problematic employees without legal advice. Don’t get investors without seeing one of our Riverside corporate attorneys. Cut costs to the bone. Use extra money to advertise, and sell in new markets. A Riverside corporations lawyer can provide you with advice as to which type of corporation or LLC to use for your business.

 

8. Entertainment Law, Sports Law, Marketing, Advertising, Media and Copyrights in Riverside – Whether you are a musician, an actor, a model, a writer, an athlete, a broadcaster or connected in any other way to the entertainment industry, contact us or another good Riverside entertainment attorney as soon as anyone gives you a contract to sign. Signing a bad contract can end your career before it’s ever begun. As soon as you have written any body of work, have it copyrighted. You can do this quite easily yourself, but if you need assistance or if someone else infringes your copyrighted work, you can then file suit against such a party.

 

9. Riverside Litigation – At the first sign that someone may sue you or your business, consult with a Riverside litigation attorney. Many times, a lawsuit can be forestalled before it has been filed or the matter resolved with letters between the litigation attorneys. If you are served with a lawsuit, hire a Riverside litigation lawyer like one from our firm who specializes in mediations and non-binding arbitrations so your litigation can be resolved at the soonest possible opportunity and limit your exposure to years of lawyer’s fees and costs as your case winds slowly through the courts.

 

10. Food and Wine Law, Hotel and Restaurant Law in Riverside – Today, hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, bars and grocery stores face an ever increasing host of new regulations they never faced previously. From the usual licensing problems they face with the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control for adherence to and violations of ABC rules, to new state regulations involving menus and calorie counts in fast food restaurants and new rules requiring groceries to show the country of origin in labels on most of their produce and meat. The worst case scenario today for an establishment serving alcohol, is to serve a minor alcohol who later dies in an auto accident. Such an establishment will need legal representation by a Riverside food, alcohol and restaurant lawyer before the ABC as well as legal defense of civil lawsuits filed against it.

 

If you have a legal matter in Riverside, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula, Murrieta, San Bernardino, Moreno Valley, Fontana, Rialto, San Bernardino County, Redlands, Hemet, Perris, Colton, Highland, Yucaipa, Banning, Riverside County, Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead, or anywhere in the Inland Empire, our Riverside law firm has the knowledge and resources to be your Riverside Lawyers and your Riverside Attorneys. Be sure to hire a Coachella Valley law firm with experience in Personal Injury, Car Accidents, Drownings, Brain Damage, Catastrophic Injuries, Wrongful Death, Business, Real Estate and Landlord Tenant Law, Homeowner Association Law, Construction, Trademarks, Patents, Corporations, Entertainment, Sports Law, Marketing, Advertising, Media, and Copyright Law, and who will endeavor to ensure that your rights are properly represented.

 

Additionally, if you have a legal matter which involves Environmental and Toxic Tort Law, Litigation, International, Shipping and Maritime Law, Employment, Election and Campaign Finance Law, Consumer Law and Class Actions, Constitutional, Publishing, Publicity, Privacy Rights, Internet Law, Advertising and Media Law, Food and Wine Law, Hotel and Restaurant Law, Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts, Water, Agricultural and Natural Resource Law, Insurance Law, Bad Faith and Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist Defense, Education Law or a Child Accident in Riverside or anywhere in Southern California, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  and learn how a Riverside attorney from our offices can assist you.

San Bernardino Business Attorney’s Top Ten Things You Least Want to Hear About Your Business

August 13th, 2009 at 06:45am Under trademark law

Here is San Bernardino Business Attorney Sebastian Gibson’s Top Ten:

1. It’s not mavericky enough.

 

2. It’s relocating to Alaska.

 

3. The FBI just raided it.

 

4. It’s bankrupt.

 

5. There won’t be any bonuses this year.

 

6. There is going to be a new wave of layoffs.

 

7. The boss is blaming you for the decrease in profits.

 

8. There are no profits.

 

9. There is no business.

 

10. They’ve taken your name off the directory.

 

Now here is everything (well, almost everything) you need in business about personal injury, car accidents, brain damage, wrongful deaths, business, real estate, landlord-tenant, homeowners association law, construction, patents, trademarks, corporations, entertainment law, advertising, copyrights, food and wine, hotel and restaurant law, and litigation without making any serious legal missteps.  

If you need to know more about business, environmental, international law, election and campaign law, consumer law, class actions, constitutional, internet, publicity and privacy rights, publishing, advertising, media, employment law, estate planning, wills, trusts, water law, agricultural, insurance law, bad faith, psychologist and psychotherapist defense, education law or child accidents, you can find valuable information by searching for those subjects and adding the words San Bernardino business lawyer or San Bernardino business attorney to your search terms and looking for other articles by Sebastian Gibson.

 

You can also learn more about any of these business areas of law and how we can assist you as San Bernardino business attorneys, or as lawyers in any city, by calling the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson at any of the numbers which can be found on our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  .

 

1. Personal Injury, Car Accidents, Drowning Accidents, Brain Damage, Catastrophic Injuries and Wrongful Deaths in San Bernardino – If you’ve had a San Bernardino auto, motorcycle, truck, pedestrian, bicycle, bus, train, airplane or car accident of any kind, get the other driver’s information, take camera or cell phone pictures, call the police, get a report, seek medical treatment immediately, call us or another good San Bernardino personal injury lawyer, follow up with more medical treatment if you are still hurt, report the accident to your insurance agent, file a report with the DMV and don’t talk to anyone else or give a recorded statement until you talk with us. If you’ve lost a loved on in an accident, call us or another good San Bernardino personal injury lawyer immediately. If you’ve been bitten by a dog, get treatment, call animal control and then call us. If you or someone you know has come close to drowning, seek medical treatment immediately as death or serious injury can still occur hours later.

 

2. San Bernardino Business – Put everything in writing and preferably with our help or the help of another good San Bernardino business lawyer. Spend money only as you need to. A San Bernardino business attorney can tell you where to save costs and how to do it without risking liability. Limit your promises to employees and to customers. Buy insurance. Protect your intellectual property at the outset. Don’t disclose your inventions or any trade secrets to anyone without a non-disclosure agreement. Incorporate as soon as you are profitable. Get legal advice for problems or indications of pending lawsuits immediately. Keep all costs, including labor costs, to the bare minimum. Always use confidentiality agreements when disclosing valuable information and be careful what information you agree to receive. Tell customers they must pay in advance or on delivery. Do not agree to bill and be paid at a date after delivery. Otherwise you won’t be paid on a percentage of your products. Be wary of the potential for fraud by customers, business partners and employees.

 

3. Residential and Commercial Real Estate, Landlord Tenant Law, Mortgage Law and Homeowners Association Law in San Bernardino – Use a San Bernardino real estate lawyer who is also a Realtor, or a Realtor who is also a San Bernardino real estate attorney. Don’t buy or lease more than you need. Choose the right location. Choose the right mortgage. Don’t refinance if you think you may need to walk away from a home. Don’t buy more than you can afford. Check out the neighborhood carefully. Get a home inspection and a home warranty. Have a San Bernardino real estate lawyer look over the documents. Homeowner Associations are facing a host of problems stemming from the number of foreclosures. As fees are reduced by vacant homes and condos, projects must be trimmed back or delayed in order to save money. Some homeowner associations, who were already in trouble, may face additional problems in the future and both homeowners and their associations should consult with legal counsel to help resolve how to deal with such issues.

 

4. Construction in San Bernardino – With the construction industry in it’s biggest ever slump, down more than 90% from its peak in many areas, San Bernardino contractors need to shift their focus to energy free homes, apartment construction and to take advantage of contracts likely to be offered for bid under the new administration’s plan to create new jobs rebuilding the country’s infrastructure, construction of roads, bridges, the electrical grid and other utility projects. If you are dealing with contractors yourself, always use licensed contractors and have a San Bernardino construction lawyer look over your contracts. You can also investigate the contractor online to ensure he is licensed and insured and a San Bernardino construction attorney can do an additional investigation at little extra cost. Never pay a contractor the entire sum for a project at the start. Put all agreements in writing, including any changes.

 

5. San Bernardino Patents and Biotechnology – A patent should be applied for, for any new, and non-obvious process, or invention and to any new improvement of an invention at first opportunity. A patent is good for 20 years. Depending upon the complexity, most utility patent applications will cost between $8,000 and $12,000.00. A design patent can be applied for by a San Bernardino patent attorney, for the look of an item and is good for 14 years. A provisional patent can be applied for, good for one year at a cost of half of the usual utility patent cost but is only good for one year. If the inventor does not upgrade the provisional patent into a utility patent application within that period, usually for the cost of the remainder of the corresponding cost of a utility patent, the inventor loses his or her protection. A patent is pending once it has been applied for, and can be licensed, or sold outright. Without a patent, others can make and sell your invention with no compensation to you. Patent searches help the San Bernardino patent lawyer write an application around existing patents and cost an additional sum, usually under $1,000.00. Drawings must also be prepared for the patent application usually for under $500.00. A design patent can be sought for between $1,000 to $1,500 and a European design patent for between $2,000 to $2,500. Accelerated patent applications usually cost an additional 50% of normal patent applications. Foreign patent applications also require additional fees.

 

6. San Bernardino Trademarks – Trademark any original logos, designs, words, phrases, symbols or combinations that you use to identify your products or services as soon as possible. Call a San Bernardino trademark attorney as soon as anyone else’s trademark or service mark is so similar as to cause a likelihood of confusion in the public or if you receive a cease and desist letter from someone else accusing you of infringement. Trademark applications range from between $2,500 if there has not yet been any use of the trademark to $1,500 to apply for a trademark already in use. Therefore, to save money, create some products and advertising materials and apply for the trademark once they are ready to be sold and advertised.

 

7. San Bernardino Corporations – Never incorporate by yourself. Corporations will not protect you from liability if you do not follow corporate formalities correctly. Protect your intellectual property from the start with the help of a San Bernardino corporations attorney. Don’t borrow someone else’s employee handbook or fire problematic employees without legal advice. Don’t get investors without seeing one of our San Bernardino corporate attorneys. Cut costs to the bone. Use extra money to advertise, and sell in new markets. A San Bernardino corporations lawyer can provide you with advice as to which type of corporation or LLC to use for your business.

 

8. Entertainment Law, Sports Law, Marketing, Advertising, Media and Copyrights in San Bernardino – Whether you are a musician, an actor, a model, a writer, an athlete, a broadcaster or connected in any other way to the entertainment industry, contact us or another good San Bernardino entertainment attorney as soon as anyone gives you a contract to sign. Signing a bad contract can end your career before it’s ever begun. As soon as you have written any body of work, have it copyrighted. You can do this quite easily yourself, but if you need assistance or if someone else infringes your copyrighted work, you can then file suit against such a party.

 

9. San Bernardino Litigation – At the first sign that someone may sue you or your business, consult with a San Bernardino litigation attorney. Many times, a lawsuit can be forestalled before it has been filed or the matter resolved with letters between the litigation attorneys. If you are served with a lawsuit, hire a San Bernardino litigation lawyer like one from our firm who specializes in mediations and non-binding arbitrations so your litigation can be resolved at the soonest possible opportunity and limit your exposure to years of lawyer’s fees and costs as your case winds slowly through the courts.

 

10. Food and Wine Law, Hotel and Restaurant Law in San Bernardino – Today, hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, bars and grocery stores face an ever increasing host of new regulations they never faced previously. From the usual licensing problems they face with the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control for adherence to and violations of ABC rules, to new state regulations involving menus and calorie counts in fast food restaurants and new rules requiring groceries to show the country of origin in labels on most of their produce and meat. The worst case scenario today for an establishment serving alcohol, is to serve a minor alcohol who later dies in an auto accident. Such an establishment will need legal representation by a San Bernardino food, alcohol and restaurant lawyer before the ABC as well as legal defense of civil lawsuits filed against it.

 

If you have a legal matter in San Bernardino, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula, Murrieta, Riverside, Moreno Valley, Fontana, Rialto, San Bernardino County, Redlands, Hemet, Perris, Colton, Highland, Yucaipa, Banning, Riverside County, Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead, or anywhere in the Inland Empire, our San Bernardino law firm has the knowledge and resources to be your San Bernardino Lawyers and your San Bernardino Attorneys. Be sure to hire a Coachella Valley law firm with experience in Personal Injury, Car Accidents, Drownings, Brain Damage, Catastrophic Injuries, Wrongful Death, Business, Real Estate and Landlord Tenant Law, Homeowner Association Law, Construction, Trademarks, Patents, Corporations, Entertainment, Sports Law, Marketing, Advertising, Media, and Copyright Law, and who will endeavor to ensure that your rights are properly represented.

 

Additionally, if you have a legal matter which involves Environmental and Toxic Tort Law, Litigation, International, Shipping and Maritime Law, Employment, Election and Campaign Finance Law, Consumer Law and Class Actions, Constitutional, Publishing, Publicity, Privacy Rights, Internet Law, Advertising and Media Law, Food and Wine Law, Hotel and Restaurant Law, Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts, Water, Agricultural and Natural Resource Law, Insurance Law, Bad Faith and Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist Defense, Education Law or a Child Accident in San Bernardino or anywhere in Southern California, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  and learn how a San Bernardino attorney from our offices can assist you.

Moreno Valley Business Attorney’s Top Ten Signs Business Conditions are Getting Worse

August 13th, 2009 at 12:42am Under trademark law

Here is Moreno Valley Business Attorney Sebastian Gibson’s Top Ten:

 

1. The only people in the mall are twelve-year-olds.

 

2. Fast food restaurants are instituting the half-dollar menu.

 

3. People pick up pennies on the ground like they used to.

 

4. You still can’t afford gas even at these prices.

 

5. People are wearing sweaters again, three and four at a time.

 

6. You’re making coffee in the mornings at home.

 

7. The anchors have just given up on the financial channels.

 

8. Junk e-mails are down.

 

9. You don’t even get sales calls at home anymore.

 

10. Your competitors are asking you for a job.

 

Now here is everything (well, almost everything) you need in business about personal injury, car accidents, brain damage, wrongful deaths, business, real estate, landlord-tenant, homeowners association law, construction, patents, trademarks, corporations, entertainment law, advertising, copyrights, food and wine, hotel and restaurant law, and litigation without making any serious legal missteps.  

If you need to know more about business, environmental, international law, election and campaign law, consumer law, class actions, constitutional, internet, publicity and privacy rights, publishing, advertising, media, employment law, estate planning, wills, trusts, water law, agricultural, insurance law, bad faith, psychologist and psychotherapist defense, education law or child accidents, you can find valuable information by searching for those subjects and adding the words Moreno Valley business lawyer or Moreno Valley business attorney to your search terms and looking for other articles by Sebastian Gibson.

 

You can also learn more about any of these business areas of law and how we can assist you as Moreno Valley business attorneys, or as lawyers in any city, by calling the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson at any of the numbers which can be found on our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  .

 

1. Personal Injury, Car Accidents, Drowning Accidents, Brain Damage, Catastrophic Injuries and Wrongful Deaths in Moreno Valley – If you’ve had a Moreno Valley auto, motorcycle, truck, pedestrian, bicycle, bus, train, airplane or car accident of any kind, get the other driver’s information, take camera or cell phone pictures, call the police, get a report, seek medical treatment immediately, call us or another good Moreno Valley personal injury lawyer, follow up with more medical treatment if you are still hurt, report the accident to your insurance agent, file a report with the DMV and don’t talk to anyone else or give a recorded statement until you talk with us. If you’ve lost a loved on in an accident, call us or another good Moreno Valley personal injury lawyer immediately. If you’ve been bitten by a dog, get treatment, call animal control and then call us. If you or someone you know has come close to drowning, seek medical treatment immediately as death or serious injury can still occur hours later.

 

2. Moreno Valley Business – Put everything in writing and preferably with our help or the help of another good Moreno Valley business lawyer. Spend money only as you need to. A Moreno Valley business attorney can tell you where to save costs and how to do it without risking liability. Limit your promises to employees and to customers. Buy insurance. Protect your intellectual property at the outset. Don’t disclose your inventions or any trade secrets to anyone without a non-disclosure agreement. Incorporate as soon as you are profitable. Get legal advice for problems or indications of pending lawsuits immediately. Keep all costs, including labor costs, to the bare minimum. Always use confidentiality agreements when disclosing valuable information and be careful what information you agree to receive. Tell customers they must pay in advance or on delivery. Do not agree to bill and be paid at a date after delivery. Otherwise you won’t be paid on a percentage of your products. Be wary of the potential for fraud by customers, business partners and employees.

 

3. Residential and Commercial Real Estate, Landlord Tenant Law, Mortgage Law and Homeowners Association Law in Moreno Valley – Use a Moreno Valley real estate lawyer who is also a Realtor, or a Realtor who is also a Moreno Valley real estate attorney. Don’t buy or lease more than you need. Choose the right location. Choose the right mortgage. Don’t refinance if you think you may need to walk away from a home. Don’t buy more than you can afford. Check out the neighborhood carefully. Get a home inspection and a home warranty. Have a Moreno Valley real estate lawyer look over the documents. Homeowner Associations are facing a host of problems stemming from the number of foreclosures. As fees are reduced by vacant homes and condos, projects must be trimmed back or delayed in order to save money. Some homeowner associations, who were already in trouble, may face additional problems in the future and both homeowners and their associations should consult with legal counsel to help resolve how to deal with such issues.

 

4. Construction in Moreno Valley – With the construction industry in it’s biggest ever slump, down more than 90% from its peak in many areas, Moreno Valley contractors need to shift their focus to energy free homes, apartment construction and to take advantage of contracts likely to be offered for bid under the new administration’s plan to create new jobs rebuilding the country’s infrastructure, construction of roads, bridges, the electrical grid and other utility projects. If you are dealing with contractors yourself, always use licensed contractors and have a Moreno Valley construction lawyer look over your contracts. You can also investigate the contractor online to ensure he is licensed and insured and a Moreno Valley construction attorney can do an additional investigation at little extra cost. Never pay a contractor the entire sum for a project at the start. Put all agreements in writing, including any changes.

 

5. Moreno Valley Patents and Biotechnology – A patent should be applied for, for any new, and non-obvious process, or invention and to any new improvement of an invention at first opportunity. A patent is good for 20 years. Depending upon the complexity, most utility patent applications will cost between $8,000 and $12,000.00. A design patent can be applied for by a Moreno Valley patent attorney, for the look of an item and is good for 14 years. A provisional patent can be applied for, good for one year at a cost of half of the usual utility patent cost but is only good for one year. If the inventor does not upgrade the provisional patent into a utility patent application within that period, usually for the cost of the remainder of the corresponding cost of a utility patent, the inventor loses his or her protection. A patent is pending once it has been applied for, and can be licensed, or sold outright. Without a patent, others can make and sell your invention with no compensation to you. Patent searches help the Moreno Valley patent lawyer write an application around existing patents and cost an additional sum, usually under $1,000.00. Drawings must also be prepared for the patent application usually for under $500.00. A design patent can be sought for between $1,000 to $1,500 and a European design patent for between $2,000 to $2,500. Accelerated patent applications usually cost an additional 50% of normal patent applications. Foreign patent applications also require additional fees.

 

6. Moreno Valley Trademarks – Trademark any original logos, designs, words, phrases, symbols or combinations that you use to identify your products or services as soon as possible. Call a Moreno Valley trademark attorney as soon as anyone else’s trademark or service mark is so similar as to cause a likelihood of confusion in the public or if you receive a cease and desist letter from someone else accusing you of infringement. Trademark applications range from between $2,500 if there has not yet been any use of the trademark to $1,500 to apply for a trademark already in use. Therefore, to save money, create some products and advertising materials and apply for the trademark once they are ready to be sold and advertised.

 

7. Moreno Valley Corporations – Never incorporate by yourself. Corporations will not protect you from liability if you do not follow corporate formalities correctly. Protect your intellectual property from the start with the help of a Moreno Valley corporations attorney. Don’t borrow someone else’s employee handbook or fire problematic employees without legal advice. Don’t get investors without seeing one of our Moreno Valley corporate attorneys. Cut costs to the bone. Use extra money to advertise, and sell in new markets. A Moreno Valley corporations lawyer can provide you with advice as to which type of corporation or LLC to use for your business.

 

8. Entertainment Law, Sports Law, Marketing, Advertising, Media and Copyrights in Moreno Valley – Whether you are a musician, an actor, a model, a writer, an athlete, a broadcaster or connected in any other way to the entertainment industry, contact us or another good Moreno Valley entertainment attorney as soon as anyone gives you a contract to sign. Signing a bad contract can end your career before it’s ever begun. As soon as you have written any body of work, have it copyrighted. You can do this quite easily yourself, but if you need assistance or if someone else infringes your copyrighted work, you can then file suit against such a party.

 

9. Moreno Valley Litigation – At the first sign that someone may sue you or your business, consult with a Moreno Valley litigation attorney. Many times, a lawsuit can be forestalled before it has been filed or the matter resolved with letters between the litigation attorneys. If you are served with a lawsuit, hire a Moreno Valley litigation lawyer like one from our firm who specializes in mediations and non-binding arbitrations so your litigation can be resolved at the soonest possible opportunity and limit your exposure to years of lawyer’s fees and costs as your case winds slowly through the courts.

 

10. Food and Wine Law, Hotel and Restaurant Law in Moreno Valley – Today, hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, bars and grocery stores face an ever increasing host of new regulations they never faced previously. From the usual licensing problems they face with the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control for adherence to and violations of ABC rules, to new state regulations involving menus and calorie counts in fast food restaurants and new rules requiring groceries to show the country of origin in labels on most of their produce and meat. The worst case scenario today for an establishment serving alcohol, is to serve a minor alcohol who later dies in an auto accident. Such an establishment will need legal representation by a Moreno Valley food, alcohol and restaurant lawyer before the ABC as well as legal defense of civil lawsuits filed against it.

 

If you have a legal matter in Moreno Valley, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula, Murrieta, Riverside, Fontana, Rialto, San Bernardino County, Redlands, Hemet, Perris, Colton, Highland, Yucaipa, San Bernardino, Banning, Riverside County, Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead, or anywhere in the Inland Empire, our Moreno Valley law firm has the knowledge and resources to be your Moreno Valley Lawyers and your Moreno Valley Attorneys. Be sure to hire a Coachella Valley law firm with experience in Personal Injury, Car Accidents, Drownings, Brain Damage, Catastrophic Injuries, Wrongful Death, Business, Real Estate and Landlord Tenant Law, Homeowner Association Law, Construction, Trademarks, Patents, Corporations, Entertainment, Sports Law, Marketing, Advertising, Media, and Copyright Law, and who will endeavor to ensure that your rights are properly represented.

 

Additionally, if you have a legal matter which involves Environmental and Toxic Tort Law, Litigation, International, Shipping and Maritime Law, Employment, Election and Campaign Finance Law, Consumer Law and Class Actions, Constitutional, Publishing, Publicity, Privacy Rights, Internet Law, Advertising and Media Law, Food and Wine Law, Hotel and Restaurant Law, Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts, Water, Agricultural and Natural Resource Law, Insurance Law, Bad Faith and Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist Defense, Education Law or a Child Accident in Moreno Valley or anywhere in Southern California, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  and learn how a Moreno Valley attorney from our offices can assist you.

Fontana Business Attorney’s Top Ten Sarah Palin Ways to Increase Business

August 12th, 2009 at 06:42pm Under trademark law

Here is Fontana Business Attorney Sebastian Gibson’s Top Ten:

 

1. Be more mavericky.

 

2. Cut down on business purchases as Neiman Marcus.

 

3. Build bridges to somewhere, not nowhere.

 

4. Learn more about the local geography.

 

5. Find out how government works.

 

6. Figure out what that internet thing is all about.

 

7. Learn how to make calls from you iPod.

 

8. Figure out what a blackberry is for.

 

9. Stop looking like just another hot librarian.

 

10. Run for Mayor and see what happens after that.

 

Now here is everything (well, almost everything) you need in business about personal injury, car accidents, brain damage, wrongful deaths, business, real estate, landlord-tenant, homeowners association law, construction, patents, trademarks, corporations, entertainment law, advertising, copyrights, food and wine, hotel and restaurant law, and litigation without making any serious legal missteps.  

If you need to know more about business, environmental, international law, election and campaign law, consumer law, class actions, constitutional, internet, publicity and privacy rights, publishing, advertising, media, employment law, estate planning, wills, trusts, water law, agricultural, insurance law, bad faith, psychologist and psychotherapist defense, education law or child accidents, you can find valuable information by searching for those subjects and adding the words Fontana business lawyer or Fontana business attorney to your search terms and looking for other articles by Sebastian Gibson.

 

You can also learn more about any of these business areas of law and how we can assist you as Fontana business attorneys, or as lawyers in any city, by calling the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson at any of the numbers which can be found on our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  .

 

1. Personal Injury, Car Accidents, Drowning Accidents, Brain Damage, Catastrophic Injuries and Wrongful Deaths in Fontana – If you’ve had a Fontana auto, motorcycle, truck, pedestrian, bicycle, bus, train, airplane or car accident of any kind, get the other driver’s information, take camera or cell phone pictures, call the police, get a report, seek medical treatment immediately, call us or another good Fontana personal injury lawyer, follow up with more medical treatment if you are still hurt, report the accident to your insurance agent, file a report with the DMV and don’t talk to anyone else or give a recorded statement until you talk with us. If you’ve lost a loved on in an accident, call us or another good Fontana personal injury lawyer immediately. If you’ve been bitten by a dog, get treatment, call animal control and then call us. If you or someone you know has come close to drowning, seek medical treatment immediately as death or serious injury can still occur hours later.

 

2. Fontana Business – Put everything in writing and preferably with our help or the help of another good Fontana business lawyer. Spend money only as you need to. A Fontana business attorney can tell you where to save costs and how to do it without risking liability. Limit your promises to employees and to customers. Buy insurance. Protect your intellectual property at the outset. Don’t disclose your inventions or any trade secrets to anyone without a non-disclosure agreement. Incorporate as soon as you are profitable. Get legal advice for problems or indications of pending lawsuits immediately. Keep all costs, including labor costs, to the bare minimum. Always use confidentiality agreements when disclosing valuable information and be careful what information you agree to receive. Tell customers they must pay in advance or on delivery. Do not agree to bill and be paid at a date after delivery. Otherwise you won’t be paid on a percentage of your products. Be wary of the potential for fraud by customers, business partners and employees.

 

3. Residential and Commercial Real Estate, Landlord Tenant Law, Mortgage Law and Homeowners Association Law in Fontana – Use a Fontana real estate lawyer who is also a Realtor, or a Realtor who is also a Fontana real estate attorney. Don’t buy or lease more than you need. Choose the right location. Choose the right mortgage. Don’t refinance if you think you may need to walk away from a home. Don’t buy more than you can afford. Check out the neighborhood carefully. Get a home inspection and a home warranty. Have a Fontana real estate lawyer look over the documents. Homeowner Associations are facing a host of problems stemming from the number of foreclosures. As fees are reduced by vacant homes and condos, projects must be trimmed back or delayed in order to save money. Some homeowner associations, who were already in trouble, may face additional problems in the future and both homeowners and their associations should consult with legal counsel to help resolve how to deal with such issues.

 

4. Construction in Fontana – With the construction industry in it’s biggest ever slump, down more than 90% from its peak in many areas, Fontana contractors need to shift their focus to energy free homes, apartment construction and to take advantage of contracts likely to be offered for bid under the new administration’s plan to create new jobs rebuilding the country’s infrastructure, construction of roads, bridges, the electrical grid and other utility projects. If you are dealing with contractors yourself, always use licensed contractors and have a Fontana construction lawyer look over your contracts. You can also investigate the contractor online to ensure he is licensed and insured and a Fontana construction attorney can do an additional investigation at little extra cost. Never pay a contractor the entire sum for a project at the start. Put all agreements in writing, including any changes.

 

5. Fontana Patents and Biotechnology – A patent should be applied for, for any new, and non-obvious process, or invention and to any new improvement of an invention at first opportunity. A patent is good for 20 years. Depending upon the complexity, most utility patent applications will cost between $8,000 and $12,000.00. A design patent can be applied for by a Fontana patent attorney, for the look of an item and is good for 14 years. A provisional patent can be applied for, good for one year at a cost of half of the usual utility patent cost but is only good for one year. If the inventor does not upgrade the provisional patent into a utility patent application within that period, usually for the cost of the remainder of the corresponding cost of a utility patent, the inventor loses his or her protection. A patent is pending once it has been applied for, and can be licensed, or sold outright. Without a patent, others can make and sell your invention with no compensation to you. Patent searches help the Fontana patent lawyer write an application around existing patents and cost an additional sum, usually under $1,000.00. Drawings must also be prepared for the patent application usually for under $500.00. A design patent can be sought for between $1,000 to $1,500 and a European design patent for between $2,000 to $2,500. Accelerated patent applications usually cost an additional 50% of normal patent applications. Foreign patent applications also require additional fees.

 

6. Fontana Trademarks – Trademark any original logos, designs, words, phrases, symbols or combinations that you use to identify your products or services as soon as possible. Call a Fontana trademark attorney as soon as anyone else’s trademark or service mark is so similar as to cause a likelihood of confusion in the public or if you receive a cease and desist letter from someone else accusing you of infringement. Trademark applications range from between $2,500 if there has not yet been any use of the trademark to $1,500 to apply for a trademark already in use. Therefore, to save money, create some products and advertising materials and apply for the trademark once they are ready to be sold and advertised.

 

7. Fontana Corporations – Never incorporate by yourself. Corporations will not protect you from liability if you do not follow corporate formalities correctly. Protect your intellectual property from the start with the help of a Fontana corporations attorney. Don’t borrow someone else’s employee handbook or fire problematic employees without legal advice. Don’t get investors without seeing one of our Fontana corporate attorneys. Cut costs to the bone. Use extra money to advertise, and sell in new markets. A Fontana corporations lawyer can provide you with advice as to which type of corporation or LLC to use for your business.

 

8. Entertainment Law, Sports Law, Marketing, Advertising, Media and Copyrights in Fontana – Whether you are a musician, an actor, a model, a writer, an athlete, a broadcaster or connected in any other way to the entertainment industry, contact us or another good Fontana entertainment attorney as soon as anyone gives you a contract to sign. Signing a bad contract can end your career before it’s ever begun. As soon as you have written any body of work, have it copyrighted. You can do this quite easily yourself, but if you need assistance or if someone else infringes your copyrighted work, you can then file suit against such a party.

 

9. Fontana Litigation – At the first sign that someone may sue you or your business, consult with a Fontana litigation attorney. Many times, a lawsuit can be forestalled before it has been filed or the matter resolved with letters between the litigation attorneys. If you are served with a lawsuit, hire a Fontana litigation lawyer like one from our firm who specializes in mediations and non-binding arbitrations so your litigation can be resolved at the soonest possible opportunity and limit your exposure to years of lawyer’s fees and costs as your case winds slowly through the courts.

 

10. Food and Wine Law, Hotel and Restaurant Law in Fontana – Today, hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, bars and grocery stores face an ever increasing host of new regulations they never faced previously. From the usual licensing problems they face with the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control for adherence to and violations of ABC rules, to new state regulations involving menus and calorie counts in fast food restaurants and new rules requiring groceries to show the country of origin in labels on most of their produce and meat. The worst case scenario today for an establishment serving alcohol, is to serve a minor alcohol who later dies in an auto accident. Such an establishment will need legal representation by a Fontana food, alcohol and restaurant lawyer before the ABC as well as legal defense of civil lawsuits filed against it.

 

If you have a legal matter in Fontana, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula, Murrieta, Riverside, Moreno Valley, Rialto, San Bernardino County, Redlands, Hemet, Perris, Colton, Highland, Yucaipa, San Bernardino, Banning, Riverside County, Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead, or anywhere in the Inland Empire, our Fontana law firm has the knowledge and resources to be your Fontana Lawyers and your Fontana Attorneys. Be sure to hire a Coachella Valley law firm with experience in Personal Injury, Car Accidents, Drownings, Brain Damage, Catastrophic Injuries, Wrongful Death, Business, Real Estate and Landlord Tenant Law, Homeowner Association Law, Construction, Trademarks, Patents, Corporations, Entertainment, Sports Law, Marketing, Advertising, Media, and Copyright Law, and who will endeavor to ensure that your rights are properly represented.

 

Additionally, if you have a legal matter which involves Environmental and Toxic Tort Law, Litigation, International, Shipping and Maritime Law, Employment, Election and Campaign Finance Law, Consumer Law and Class Actions, Constitutional, Publishing, Publicity, Privacy Rights, Internet Law, Advertising and Media Law, Food and Wine Law, Hotel and Restaurant Law, Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts, Water, Agricultural and Natural Resource Law, Insurance Law, Bad Faith and Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist Defense, Education Law or a Child Accident in Fontana or anywhere in Southern California, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  and learn how a Fontana attorney from our offices can assist you.

Inland Empire Business Attorney’s Top Ten Sarah Palin Tips to Accomplish Business

August 12th, 2009 at 12:49pm Under trademark law

Here is Inland Empire Business Attorney Sebastian Gibson’s Top Ten:

 

1. Answer your phone, “This is Maverick One.”

 

2. Dress for success.

 

3. Build lots of bridges, even if they go nowhere.

 

4. Don’t give an interview to anyone unless they’re on Fox News.

 

5. Find out what countries are close to you and sell, sell, sell.

 

6. Never let your hair down out of its beehive.

 

7. Watch out for liberal socialists.

 

8. Keep an even closer eye out for Putin in the air space again.

 

9. Try to get a job with the new administration.

 

10. Save money and do the plumbing repairs yourself.

 

Now here is everything (well, almost everything) you need in business about personal injury, car accidents, brain damage, wrongful deaths, business, real estate, landlord-tenant, homeowners association law, construction, patents, trademarks, corporations, entertainment law, advertising, copyrights, food and wine, hotel and restaurant law, and litigation without making any serious legal missteps.  

If you need to know more about business, environmental, international law, election and campaign law, consumer law, class actions, constitutional, internet, publicity and privacy rights, publishing, advertising, media, employment law, estate planning, wills, trusts, water law, agricultural, insurance law, bad faith, psychologist and psychotherapist defense, education law or child accidents, you can find valuable information by searching for those subjects and adding the words Inland Empire business lawyer or Inland Empire business attorney to your search terms and looking for other articles by Sebastian Gibson.

 

You can also learn more about any of these business areas of law and how we can assist you as Inland Empire business attorneys, or as lawyers in any city, by calling the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson at any of the numbers which can be found on our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  .

 

1. Personal Injury, Car Accidents, Drowning Accidents, Brain Damage, Catastrophic Injuries and Wrongful Deaths in The Inland Empire – If you’ve had an Inland Empire auto, motorcycle, truck, pedestrian, bicycle, bus, train, airplane or car accident of any kind, get the other driver’s information, take camera or cell phone pictures, call the police, get a report, seek medical treatment immediately, call us or another good Inland Empire personal injury lawyer, follow up with more medical treatment if you are still hurt, report the accident to your insurance agent, file a report with the DMV and don’t talk to anyone else or give a recorded statement until you talk with us. If you’ve lost a loved on in an accident, call us or another good Inland Empire personal injury lawyer immediately. If you’ve been bitten by a dog, get treatment, call animal control and then call us. If you or someone you know has come close to drowning, seek medical treatment immediately as death or serious injury can still occur hours later.

 

2. Inland Empire Business – Put everything in writing and preferably with our help or the help of another good Inland Empire business lawyer. Spend money only as you need to. An Inland Empire business attorney can tell you where to save costs and how to do it without risking liability. Limit your promises to employees and to customers. Buy insurance. Protect your intellectual property at the outset. Don’t disclose your inventions or any trade secrets to anyone without a non-disclosure agreement. Incorporate as soon as you are profitable. Get legal advice for problems or indications of pending lawsuits immediately. Keep all costs, including labor costs, to the bare minimum. Always use confidentiality agreements when disclosing valuable information and be careful what information you agree to receive. Tell customers they must pay in advance or on delivery. Do not agree to bill and be paid at a date after delivery. Otherwise you won’t be paid on a percentage of your products. Be wary of the potential for fraud by customers, business partners and employees.

 

3. Residential and Commercial Real Estate, Landlord Tenant Law, Mortgage Law and Homeowners Association Law in The Inland Empire – Use an Inland Empire real estate lawyer who is also a Realtor, or a Realtor who is also an Inland Empire real estate attorney. Don’t buy or lease more than you need. Choose the right location. Choose the right mortgage. Don’t refinance if you think you may need to walk away from a home. Don’t buy more than you can afford. Check out the neighborhood carefully. Get a home inspection and a home warranty. Have an Inland Empire real estate lawyer look over the documents. Homeowner Associations are facing a host of problems stemming from the number of foreclosures. As fees are reduced by vacant homes and condos, projects must be trimmed back or delayed in order to save money. Some homeowner associations, who were already in trouble, may face additional problems in the future and both homeowners and their associations should consult with legal counsel to help resolve how to deal with such issues.

 

4. Construction in The Inland Empire – With the construction industry in it’s biggest ever slump, down more than 90% from its peak in many areas, Inland Empire contractors need to shift their focus to energy free homes, apartment construction and to take advantage of contracts likely to be offered for bid under the new administration’s plan to create new jobs rebuilding the country’s infrastructure, construction of roads, bridges, the electrical grid and other utility projects. If you are dealing with contractors yourself, always use licensed contractors and have an Inland Empire construction lawyer look over your contracts. You can also investigate the contractor online to ensure he is licensed and insured and an Inland Empire construction attorney can do an additional investigation at little extra cost. Never pay a contractor the entire sum for a project at the start. Put all agreements in writing, including any changes.

 

5. Inland Empire Patents and Biotechnology – A patent should be applied for, for any new, and non-obvious process, or invention and to any new improvement of an invention at first opportunity. A patent is good for 20 years. Depending upon the complexity, most utility patent applications will cost between $8,000 and $12,000.00. A design patent can be applied for by an Inland Empire patent attorney, for the look of an item and is good for 14 years. A provisional patent can be applied for, good for one year at a cost of half of the usual utility patent cost but is only good for one year. If the inventor does not upgrade the provisional patent into a utility patent application within that period, usually for the cost of the remainder of the corresponding cost of a utility patent, the inventor loses his or her protection. A patent is pending once it has been applied for, and can be licensed, or sold outright. Without a patent, others can make and sell your invention with no compensation to you. Patent searches help the Inland Empire patent lawyer write an application around existing patents and cost an additional sum, usually under $1,000.00. Drawings must also be prepared for the patent application usually for under $500.00. A design patent can be sought for between $1,000 to $1,500 and a European design patent for between $2,000 to $2,500. Accelerated patent applications usually cost an additional 50% of normal patent applications. Foreign patent applications also require additional fees.

 

6. Inland Empire Trademarks – Trademark any original logos, designs, words, phrases, symbols or combinations that you use to identify your products or services as soon as possible. Call an Inland Empire trademark attorney as soon as anyone else’s trademark or service mark is so similar as to cause a likelihood of confusion in the public or if you receive a cease and desist letter from someone else accusing you of infringement. Trademark applications range from between $2,500 if there has not yet been any use of the trademark to $1,500 to apply for a trademark already in use. Therefore, to save money, create some products and advertising materials and apply for the trademark once they are ready to be sold and advertised.

 

7. Inland Empire Corporations – Never incorporate by yourself. Corporations will not protect you from liability if you do not follow corporate formalities correctly. Protect your intellectual property from the start with the help of an Inland Empire corporations attorney. Don’t borrow someone else’s employee handbook or fire problematic employees without legal advice. Don’t get investors without seeing one of our Inland Empire corporate attorneys. Cut costs to the bone. Use extra money to advertise, and sell in new markets. An Inland Empire corporations lawyer can provide you with advice as to which type of corporation or LLC to use for your business.

 

8. Entertainment Law, Sports Law, Marketing, Advertising, Media and Copyrights in The Inland Empire – Whether you are a musician, an actor, a model, a writer, an athlete, a broadcaster or connected in any other way to the entertainment industry, contact us or another good Inland Empire entertainment attorney as soon as anyone gives you a contract to sign. Signing a bad contract can end your career before it’s ever begun. As soon as you have written any body of work, have it copyrighted. You can do this quite easily yourself, but if you need assistance or if someone else infringes your copyrighted work, you can then file suit against such a party.

 

9. Inland Empire Litigation – At the first sign that someone may sue you or your business, consult with an Inland Empire litigation attorney. Many times, a lawsuit can be forestalled before it has been filed or the matter resolved with letters between the litigation attorneys. If you are served with a lawsuit, hire an Inland Empire litigation lawyer like one from our firm who specializes in mediations and non-binding arbitrations so your litigation can be resolved at the soonest possible opportunity and limit your exposure to years of lawyer’s fees and costs as your case winds slowly through the courts.

 

10. Food and Wine Law, Hotel and Restaurant Law in The Inland Empire – Today, hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, bars and grocery stores face an ever increasing host of new regulations they never faced previously. From the usual licensing problems they face with the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control for adherence to and violations of ABC rules, to new state regulations involving menus and calorie counts in fast food restaurants and new rules requiring groceries to show the country of origin in labels on most of their produce and meat. The worst case scenario today for an establishment serving alcohol, is to serve a minor alcohol who later dies in an auto accident. Such an establishment will need legal representation by an Inland Empire food, alcohol and restaurant lawyer before the ABC as well as legal defense of civil lawsuits filed against it.

 

If you have a legal matter in The Inland Empire, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula, Murrieta, Riverside, Moreno Valley, Rialto, San Bernardino County, Redlands, Hemet, Perris, Colton, Highland, Yucaipa, San Bernardino, Banning, Riverside County, Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead, or in Fontana, our Inland Empire law firm has the knowledge and resources to be your Inland Empire Lawyers and your Inland Empire Attorneys. Be sure to hire a Coachella Valley law firm with experience in Personal Injury, Car Accidents, Drownings, Brain Damage, Catastrophic Injuries, Wrongful Death, Business, Real Estate and Landlord Tenant Law, Homeowner Association Law, Construction, Trademarks, Patents, Corporations, Entertainment, Sports Law, Marketing, Advertising, Media, and Copyright Law, and who will endeavor to ensure that your rights are properly represented.

 

Additionally, if you have a legal matter which involves Environmental and Toxic Tort Law, Litigation, International, Shipping and Maritime Law, Employment, Election and Campaign Finance Law, Consumer Law and Class Actions, Constitutional, Publishing, Publicity, Privacy Rights, Internet Law, Advertising and Media Law, Food and Wine Law, Hotel and Restaurant Law, Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts, Water, Agricultural and Natural Resource Law, Insurance Law, Bad Faith and Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist Defense, Education Law or a Child Accident in The Inland Empire or anywhere in Southern California, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  and learn how an Inland Empire attorney from our offices can assist you.

What Any Decision Maker Needs to Know About Patent Protection

August 12th, 2009 at 06:41am Under intellectual property

What Any Decision Maker Needs to Know about Patent Protection

Richard Neifeld, Ph.D., Patent Attorney and Robert Crockett, P.E., Patent AttorneyI. Introduction

This paper explains the basic information a decision maker needs to know regarding patents. There are certain concepts the understanding of which is a prerequisite for this topic. Those concepts are provided in section II. Section III relates patents to countries. Sections IV and V explain the legal requirements for getting patents and how long patents last. Section VI discusses patent treaties. Section VII provides ballpark cost estimates for acquiring patents.II. Prerequisite Definitions

The term “property right,” also called “ownership of property,” means the right to exclude others from using the property. Property was historically classified as either land or personal, personal property encompassing all property other than land.

The term “intangibles” means rights that are not land or tangible personal property. Intangibles include contractual rights, good will, and intellectual property.

The term “intellectual property” means property rights in certain intangibles, such as patents, trademarks, and copyrights.

Assignment means transfer of ownership of property. (For basic information on invention ownership issues, see http://www.neifeld.com/introart3.html.)

A patent is a property right that has the attributes of personal property. Those attributes include the ability to be bought sold (assigned), and licensed. Like all property, its exclusive right can be enforced. Enforcement of any property right includes the right to sue in a court for (1) damages and (2) an injunction to stop unauthorized use of the property.

There are different kinds of patents, including utility patents, design patents, plant patents, utility models, architectural design rights, and circuit architecture rights. This paper will describe only the most commercially important, which are utility patents.

Utility patents provide a property right to things having an industrial utility, including products, and processes of making and using products. Under current U.S. law, products include computers programmed to perform a useful function, including, for example, a business accounting function, and methods of using include computers running such programs. European law currently does not allow patents on accounting functions, also referred to as business method patents. On the issue of business method patents, Japan’s law is currently somewhere in between that of the U.S. and Europe.

The exclusive right is defined by the claims and the disclosure of a patent. What the claims cover is called subject matter. That is, claims define or delimit “subject matter” to which the patentee has an exclusive right.

Unauthorized use of an intellectual property right is called infringement. Remedies for infringement typically include damages (money equivalent to the harm caused to the owner of the patent by the past infringement) and injunctions (a court order forcing the infringer to stop his infringing activity).

A specification is a written description, often including figures, of subject matter sought to be patented, such as an invention. I try to limit the use of the word “invention” in this paper because it is in many senses mis-descriptive of what a patent can protect.

A filing date is the date that a national or international patent office recognizes its receipt of an application filed in that office.

Prior art means knowledge generally known by other than the patent applicants prior to when the applicants made their discovery or invention. This is a generally applicable definition in the sense that there are several exceptions and fine points that vary from country to country. One major exception is that almost all countries other than the U.S. define the date of discovery or invention claimed in the patent application as the filing date of the application, not an earlier date when work leading to the discovery or invention was done.III. Who Grants a Patent and Where is Each Patent Enforceable

Generally speaking, patent rights are granted by nations. Each patent is only enforceable in the nation in which it is granted. There are some international treaties that extend the one patent per nation concept. Europe, for example, has one agency, the European Patent Office, that grants European patents. There are a few other such regional patenting authorities, one for the states of the former Soviet Union, and one for certain states in Africa.

Currently, there is no international patent. That is, there is no single patent granted by any patenting authority that is legally enforceable everywhere. However, a world patent has been discussed for decades, and international organizations are making incremental progress towards such an international patenting system. Don’t hold your breath, though. Most people in the patent business expect no international patent in the near future. Also, see below regarding international treaties that ease the burden of obtaining a patent on one invention in many countries.IV. How Long Are Patents Enforceable

Generally speaking, patent are enforceable for twenty years from when the application for the patent is filed. There are of course exceptions and variations from country to country and application to application.V. What are the Core Conditions for Obtaining a Patent on Anything

A. The Substantive Requirements for Obtaining a Patent

The core requirements worldwide for obtaining a utility patent are (1) that the thing is useful and (2) that the thing is novel. There is a third requirement, which is referred to as either the “inventive step” or the “non-obviousness” requirement, which generally means that the thing being patented would not have been readily apparent or immediately obvious to someone working in that technology field. The U.S. applies the non-obviousness standard. Europe applies the “inventive step” standard. (The U.S. has imposed an additional requirement, called the “best mode” requirement, but that is a technicality not relevant to the purpose of this paper.)

B. The Procedural Requirements for Obtaining a Patent

The process of obtaining a patent includes the steps of preparing and filing an application for the thing to be patented, prosecuting the patent to issuance, and paying applicable government fees. While this sounds simple, it definitely is not. The preparation of a quality disclosure for a patent application is essential to the government eventually granting the patent and the resulting patent being legally enforceable and therefore accorded respect by potential business competitors.

Generally speaking, the specification must include a sufficient description to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to which it pertains to make and use the claimed subject matter in order for the application to result in a patent. This is generally true in all countries that issue utility patents. In addition, in the U.S., the specification must also disclose the best mode that the inventor had in mind for making and using the invention at the time of filing of the application.

Failing any of the substantive or procedural requirements can fatally flaw the attempt to obtain a patent.VI. Treaties that Facilitate Obtaining Patents in More than One Country on the Same Thing

There are currently two mechanisms to facilitate extending patent protection on something to more than one country. They are the Paris Convention and the Patent Cooperation treaty.

A. The Paris Convention

The Paris Convention’s core feature is that it allows the filing of a patent application in a second country that is a member of the Convention to be accorded the filing date of an earlier filed application filed in a first country. That allows a patent applicant to file the application in one country, and then to have copies of the filed application sent to agents in other countries for filing there. The Paris Convention has a time limit of one year (for utility patents). That is, the subsequently filed applications in the other countries must be filed within 1 year of the first filed application in the first country, to be accorded the earlier filing date. This right is incredibly important because, in most countries, public disclosure of the subject matter of a patent application prior to filing the application is an absolute bar to obtaining a patent for that subject matter. The Paris Convention allows the applicant to file a single patent application in one country, and then publicly disclose and sell products and processes disclosed in the application without automatically losing the right to a similar patent in the other countries that are members of the Paris Convention. Almost all countries of industrial/commercial significance are members of the Paris Convention. The Paris Convention has been in existence since about 1900 CE.

B. The Patent Cooperation Treaty

The Patent Cooperation Treaty goes one step beyond the Paris Convention. The Patent Cooperation Treaty allows a patent applicant to legally effect filing in every country that is member to the PCT by filing a single application, a PCT application, in any country that is a member of the PCT. The PCT application, however, will not issue into an international patent. Instead, if the applicant decides to obtain a patent in a country from the PCT application, the applicant must still file and pay for the “national stage proceeding” of the PCT application in that country. The benefits of filing a PCT application instead of national stage applications are (1) the PCT application allows for a minimum of 30 months to file “national stage” application during which time the applicant has no substantial patent related costs, (2) the PCT application reduces the formalities and costs required in filing applications in multiple countries, and (3) the PCT application process can provide an initial indication (prior to the 30 month period just noted) regarding the likelihood that the subject matter of the application is patentable so that the applicant can make an informed financial decision regarding cost/benefit of paying for the national stage proceedings in any country. Almost all industrially significant countries are members of the PCT. There are still some exceptions, like Thailand. The PCT has been in existence since the 1970’s and it has been tremendously effective, with tens of thousands of PCT applications now filed annually.

The PCT incorporates the Paris Convention. What this means is that a PCT application can claim Paris Convention priority to an earlier patent application. Therefore, a patent applicant can, for example, first file an application for a U.S. patent. Then, the applicant can file a PCT application which legally has the U.S. patent application’s priority date because of the Paris Convention. Then, the applicant can enter the PCT national stage in selected countries, for example, selecting the United States, China, Japan, Europe, and Korea for PCT national stage proceedings, and not selecting (and thereby abandoning patent protection in) all other countries.

C. Other Treaties Facilitating Obtaining National Patents

Europe has the European Patent Convention. The former Soviet Union has the Eurasian Patent Convention. Some African national have the OAPI treaty.

The EPC allows a single application to issue into a single European patent. However, generally speaking, that European patent is currently not enforceable in any European country unless the granted patent has been translated and filed in the country’s national patent office within 3 months of the date of grant of the European patent. Hence, the substantial translation and national agent costs, and annuities costs, also exist for European countries. The other two treaties are currently of negligible importance.VII. Costs and Cost/Benefit

No one can file a patent for an invention in all countries of the world. Anyone that thinks they can is fooling themself. Consider the following rough outline of costs. These costs estimates are ball park, and generally independent of country.

Initially, there is the cost of any determination whether to file a patent application (internal corporate patent committee review, patent prior art search and evaluation). Next, there is the cost of drafting a patent specification, claims, and figures. That currently ranges for typically patent applications from three to twenty thousand dollars, depending upon the importance of the invention, technological complication, budget, etc. Most of that cost is the cost of drafting the specification and claims, typical a few tens of hours of attorney time. There is the government cost of filing the application, which typically ranges between one and three thousand dollars. That is the cost to file a first application.

Consider now the cost to file Paris Convention or PCT national stage equivalents. This cost includes the foreign agent’s docketing and filing charges, typically one to two thousand dollars, and the foreign government’s filing fees, typically one to two thousand dollars. That is per country. If, however, the target country does not accept filings in the language in which the specification was originally drafted, then include the cost of a professional translator skilled in patent translations. That ranges from 0.20 to 0.40 cents per word. For a 50 page specification having 300 words per page at one and one half line spacing (15,000 words total), that will cost three to six thousand dollars. If you have a 100 page specification, double that value. If you have a 200 page specification, triple that value.

You have now considered the cost to get the application on file. Add to that the cost of complying with each government patent office’s formalities requirements, and responding to each government patent office’s examiner’s review and rejections or requirements, including both the foreign agent’s fees and the national agent’s fees.

Now add in each government’s charges for granting the application, the foreign agent’s charges for paying for the grant, typically about two thousand dollars, the costs for your national agent to handle those transactions, and then the foreign government annuities, the costs for the foreign agent to track and pay those fees, and the cost for your national agent to track report to you, and pass along your instructions. The foreign government annuities vary from country to country, the determination of the date on which they are due varies from country to country, and the fees typically increase from about one hundred dollars the first year to over a thousand dollars near the end of the 20 year patent term. The foreign agent’s fees depend upon the magnitude of the government fees but are never less than about one hundred dollars.

All of the foregoing assumes that no one challenges your patent application via an opposition proceeding or the like. Any proceeding involving more than just the patent application and the government will increase by tenfold the costs for that country, and impact the costs in the other countries as well.

Thus, to file for, obtain, and maintain a patent for something in all countries of the world would cost millions of dollars. Given those constraints, any patent applicant must make cost/benefit analyses to determine in whether and in which countries to seek patents. Moreover, the cost benefit analysis and timing of incurring costs in the patenting process are substantially influenced by the procedures (national, Paris, PCT, and EPC filings) used to obtain patent protection.VIII. Further Information

This article has discussed some of the basics of patent law that every decision maker needs to know. Additional articles and resources on patent law and intellectual property can be found at www.neifeld.com.