Vic Lin

Helping younger IP professionals and practitioners I’m starting a new series of posts dedicated to helping IP professionals. My hope is that these articles will…

What are affordable ways to challenge patents? As a patent attorney, it is my job not only to protect innovation, but also to facilitate fair…

Why economic moat is good for startups It’s a competitive world out there. In any area of business that appears profitable, competition seems only to…

What is a generic mark? A generic mark is a word understood by the public as the common term for a product or service. For…

Is national stage the only way a PCT application can enter the US? No, an alternative option to enter the US from a PCT application…

What is the purpose of utility patent drawings? We all (should) know that the figures, i.e., patent drawings, do not define the claimed invention in…

Thinking like a patent examiner We are privileged to have a former USPTO patent examiner, Lyman Smith, as Of Counsel patent attorney to our firm.…

How are patents and trademarks different? The goal of this article is to provide a helpful summary of differences between patents and trademarks that will…

What comes first: filing trademark or launching product? The US trademark registration system is different from the rest of the world. With a few exceptions,…

Will you get a prior art search in your PCT patent application? Yes, a prior art patent search is typically made in each PCT application.…

Can you have too many goods or services in a US trademark application? Most foreign countries do not require use of the trademark for registration.…

Same patent by others in different country? If an earlier applicant obtains a patent first in their own country, can others subsequently patent the same…