Laws that come into order – or laws that are abolished – can have a massive impact on society and the way the world functions. But did you know that this is also applicable to intellectual property? Did you know that there are certain cases of intellectual property and patents that have also shaped the world in a permanent way?

MDE Patents has compiled a list of ten patents that are popular, and have shaped the current world:

The patent and trademark legal branch is very closely linked to commercial profit and claim. So, there is no doubt that it has to frequently deal with wrongful claims and defamation, all for the sake of undeserved profit, publicity stunts, or press. Patent trolls happen to fall into this very category of “bad apples”.

In legal jargon, patent troll is actually a word with negative connotations. They are companies or entities who make patent infringement claims in court, purely to make profit or block competitors from being able to make a similar product. It is important to understand that this process is not strictly illegal, but it is frowned upon. One of the main examples in this day and age, are the multiple pharmaceutical companies attempting to patent the research work for potential COVID-19 vaccines and cures.

Another example of a patent troll is a company earning the right to charge tolls for a roadway, but not putting the money to use for repairs and improvements of the roadway. In this case, the patent troll or “patent shark” is using the patent to generate revenue without an equal exchange of any material benefits. The aim of the parent then becomes purely top line generation.

Other instances of patent trolling include buying patents from bankrupt companies for the sole purpose of removing all competitors from the market. Another one is enforcing a patent without intent of manufacturing the product. In all these situations, the intentions of the patent are far from actual protection of intellectual property to preserve the rights of the creator. They exist purely to glean money or to harm others in the same field of work.

One of the reasons why patent trolls are so successful is because of the amount of money that goes into a patent lawsuit. The fees for license lie in the range of tens of thousands of dollars – however, patent lawsuits can run into millions of dollars. As a result, smaller companies who are seen as competitors are likely to settle instead of fighting over the patent, even if no infringement has occurred.

In this way, patent trolls create a monopoly in the industry, one which is not actually beneficial to the industry or its consumers in any way. MDE Patents frequently looks into such thin claims and if you are at the receiving end of one, allow us to help you through it.

It is not an easy thing to plan one’s estate. There is a lot of uncertainty in life always, and it is important to keep plans ready in order to ensure that your descendants and assets are all accounted for. It is best to ensure that arrangements are made to account for potential situations where you are unable to make decisions for yourself.

One of the sought-after methods of protecting one’s assets is to opt for a trust. A trust helps you keep control to some extent on how your money is spent. In this article, we offer some understanding into what a trust is and what some of the pros and cons associated with it are.

According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), a trademark is defined as follows.

“A trademark is generally a word, phrase, symbol, or design, or a combination thereof, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others.”

Very similarly, a service mark is defined as given below:

“A service mark is the same as a trademark, except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than goods.”

What a trademark does is protect the good or service that is provided by a particular company from any infringement or damage of reputation that could be caused by another company. A trademark ensures that there is legal recourse available in case any other company attempts to use your likeness in order to support their business ventures. This is true regardless of whether the trademark is registered or unregistered.

In this article, the word trademark encompasses trademarks and service marks.

Even when a trademark has not been registered through the USPTO, it is still protected. In this case, it is known as a ‘common law’ trademark. This is something that can be used for small geographical locations. However, this cannot translate nationally, because it is possible for different companies across the country to have similar logos or names.

By using a trademark without registering it, there is protection via common law. However, it is better to opt for a trademark by registration because more protection is offered.