He is the author of The ABA Consumer Guide to Obtaining a Patent. Rich is a registered U.S. patent attorney. He founded an IP boutique firm, Goldstein Patent Law, which specializes in patent prosecution. His firm represents small business, start-ups, e-commerce and digital marketers, and inventors in their quest to obtain patent protection.
Rich will discuss how to protect your ideas. In times of change, that’s when people come up with the best ideas. People are naturally discontent thus, people work hard to find solutions and be creative. Discontentment leads to success.
Now is the good time to INNOVATE.
Now is the best time to be CREATIVE.
Rather than simply resisting change, we must find SOLUTIONS TO NEW PROBLEMS.
Most inventions come from solving problems. At this moment, we are all starting at the same point. We are dealing with a new environment, a new situation, and new problems. YOU have to take advantage of this time to find SOLUTIONS. Think of creative ideas, capitalize on your creativity, protect and pursue your creativity.
This crisis we are facing right now is not only the changing society but also the beauty industry.
How do you provide services? How can you take care of their appearances when you can’t get close to them? These are new problems arising from the current situation. But we have to be ahead and get that path before anyone else. Your yearning to do something more – use that yearning, and use that discontent to fuel you to think of new ways to offer your products and services. As most people express their anger, anxiety, and fear, you will begin to hear opportunity knocking. You need to talk to people about their problems. People nowadays realize that they don’t know how to take care of their hair, nails, and other beauty related services that they are so used to getting from salons. By identifying these problems, you need to innovate and at the same time use the discontent to fuel the adoption of your new ideas.
When you have great ideas, you have to PROTECT it.
How do you protect an idea?
Step 1: Determine if it qualifies
You need to find the RIGHT SUBJECT MATTER and the RIGHT TIMING to do it.
This is how it works:
- Product – Patent
- 2 Types of Patents
- Utility Patent – covers functional / structural differences from existing products
- Design Patent – unique shape for an object; covers just the ornamental appearance of the product
- 2 Types of Patents
- Branding – trademark
- Content – copyright
When you talk about Patents, you talk about:
- Physical product
- Chemical composition – new combination for hair product
- Process
- Software / apps
For Trademarks, you talk about:
- Word, phrase logo, slogan that distinguishes your product or services in the marketplace
Remember that it’s got to be done at the right time. File the patent before you make it public or you will lose the rights.
In trademarks, you actually gain rights by using it. You don’t lose rights by putting the product right there. But you still need to file it as early as you can.
Step 2: Determine if it is different enough
Patents must be both new and non-obvious. It should be different enough that it’s not obvious and not within range of an existing product.
For Trademarks, it must be distinctive and must not create a “likelihood of confusion” with other marks. Just plainly describing the product cannot be trademarked.
Step 3 File for protection
Process on filing Patent:
- File patent application
- Application reviewed by the government
- Fight rejection if necessary
- Approved patent issues
Process for filing Trademark:
- File trademark application
- Application reviewed by the government
- Fight rejection if necessary
- Approved demonstrate use (You need to start using it at some point to be able to register it)
- Trademark registered
There are people in the habit of spending money. They have new needs and are looking for solutions. You need to grab these opportunities and make their problems the basis of your innovation. You need to be able to generate value that is wanted by the public and shift them to choose your new offerings as you also shift where you are making money. Find a new way of living and deliver it to market effectively.
It’s a matter of creativity.
If you need to learn more, you can check out the course program for free.
Watch the replay of Rich’s talk here: https://youtu.be/DI_JGy59vUU
