News & Articles
When was the first design patent granted?
Design patents as we know them today were not originally eligible for patent protection in the United States, but that all changed in changed in 1842 after the first design patent was granted to George Bruce. Fast forwarding to 2023, over 150 years after the first...
Is your U.S. Copyright registration recognized in other countries?
It depends! The U.S. has copyright relations with numerous countries, under which each country honors the copyrights of each other’s citizens. The U.S. Copyright Office provides a list of countries and relevant agreements on its website. Source:...
Rolling Back the Clock: How a 1866 Patent Shaped Your Summer Bike Ride
Summer is still in full swing in Tampa and one of the best ways to enjoy the outdoors is a bike ride! No matter what kind of bike you are riding on today, you can thank Pierre Lallement and James Carroll for starting the race for bicycle development. The pair owned...
What Makes a Trademark Weak?
Marks that are descriptive or generic are weak. Weak trademarks are often not federally registerable because they fail to clearly indicate the source of the goods or services. Descriptive marks are marks that merely describe an aspect of the goods and services without...
National Inventor Hall of Fame Spotlight – Lanny Smoot
After winning science fairs in school, Smoot's guidance counselor recommended he apply to Brooklyn Tech, where he then went to Columbia University on a full scholarship and received a job at his future employer, Bell Labs. Smoot’s first Patent was granted in 1982 for...
Girl Powered Patent
Blanche Ames was an artist, activist, and inventor. Though she was best known for her political cartoons that focused on women’s suffrage, Ames spent the majority of her life inventing. In 1927, Ames and her brother received a patent for a system of color standards...