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We invite associations,
organizations and clubs from cities around the US to send in press
releases accompanied with high resolution photos for publication in City
News. Contributions may be sent to editor@NRIPulse.com.
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NRIS!
Do you know?
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Patents &
Copyrights: Not Just for Aryabhatta and Kalidas |
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Anuj Desai is an attorney at
law, practicing
in the areas of intellectual property
and business litigation. |
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Most small business
owners believe that these concepts are
inapplicable to them and are better left to the
Microsofts and Time Warners of the world. This
could not be further from the truth.
Last month we looked at how trademarks are
perhaps your business’s strongest marketing
asset and how they can drive business success in
the crowded marketplace. We now turn to the
complex and often misunderstood areas of patents
and copyrights. Most small business owners
believe that these concepts are inapplicable to
them and are better left to the Microsofts and
Time Warners of the world. This could not be
further from the truth.
A patent is granted by the federal government
for new, useful, and nonobvious inventions. It
allows the patent owner to exclude others from
practicing its invention for a statutory period
of time, generally twenty years. Most people
feel that patents are available only to
scientists or engineers who invent some tangible
gizmo. Not true. While patents are generally
related to physical inventions, they are also
granted for business processes, software, and
designs.
For example, suppose your company provides
financial analyst services to various
businesses. You spent months and months devising
a formula that would help you analyze your
clients cost structure and help them obtain
better profitability. Under federal law, this
formula, if unique and nonobvious, could
potentially be patented. Obtaining a patent on
your formula would effectively mean that you
have a monopoly in using the formula for a
certain number of years.
If the formula is a market success, this could
mean unhindered growth for your business for a
long period of time. On the other hand, without
a patent, anyone could reap the benefits of your
hard work by copying and using your formula for
their own benefit. Hence, in this situation, a
patent operates both as a competitive shield and
sword. For a small business trying to make its
mark, this translates into real dollars and
sense.
Businesses engaged in manufacturing, engineering
design, software
development, business process outsourcing, and
similar efforts should take a hard look at their
assets to determine whether patenting their
inventions makes financial and strategic sense.
Even where patent law does not provide a
solution, other areas of law, such as trade
secret law and unfair competition law, may help
a company safeguard its assets.
Next, we turn to the concept of copyrights.
Perhaps the most overlooked of the intellectual
property triumvirate by small businesses is
copyright law, which protects the original works
of an author. A work is not limited to books and
music, but also includes jewelry, fabric
designs, computer programs, and more. South
Asian small businesses particularly need to
consider that copyright law does not only create
rights it could also create liabilities.
Perhaps the most prevalent example of getting on
the wrong side of copyright law would be the
rampant selling and renting of pirated Bollywood
movies by desi grocery stores. Most motion
pictures, music compositions, and related
multimedia are protected by copyright law, even
if created outside of the
United States. Unless a business makes copies of
such media with the express permission or
license of the copyright owner, such duplication
is copyright infringement, punishable by
imprisonment and/or monetary penalties that
could amount to thousands of dollars. A related
example is where a business uses a pirated
version of copyrighted software (such as
Microsoft Windows). While the above practices
are certainly common worldwide, and not
exclusive to the South Asian community, they
pose a serious risk of liability for a business
because the copyright owner could choose to take
legal action. With a downturn in the economy,
and as revenue streams shrink, it is quite
possible that big media companies will pursue
copyright infringement claims to offset
diminishing sales turning this risk into
reality.
Copyright law, on the other hand, can also serve
to create assets for a business. For example, a
business may write a new piece of software code,
a local jeweler may design a necklace that has
popular appeal, or a writer at NRI Pulse may pen
an illuminating essay on Indian American
politics. All of these works are protected by
copyright law. This means that the owners of
these works can use their copyrights to take
legal action against others who copy,
distribute, display their works without
permission. Further, if the copyrighted work has
market demand, it could be licensed out to
others, creating a new source of revenue. This
beneficial use of copyright law is quite common
in the software and journalism industry.
A final point related to intellectual property
generally is the work for hire concept.
Businesses must be careful to ensure that
intellectual property created by their employees
does not create ownership rights in the
employees themselves instead of the business.
Otherwise, an employee could effectively strip a
business of its intellectual property assets,
taking the trademark, patent, or copyrighted
work with him, for his own profit or that of a
rival company.
With the right strategy though, a small business
can effectively leverage its intellectual
property assets and mind potential pitfalls to
grow strongly and successfully against the
competition long into the future. |
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Is Your Samosa
Trademarked? |
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Anuj Desai is an attorney at
law, practicing
in the areas of intellectual property
and business litigation. |
|
Did you know that your
business’s trademark could end up being its
greatest asset?
The entrepreneurial spirit runs strong in the
South Asian community. As
metropolitan Atlanta continues to grow at a
strong rate, attracting more desis to come lay
down their roots in the city and its sprawling
suburbs, small businesses serving this
population niche are mushrooming everywhere.
Indo-Pak grocery stores, fashion boutiques,
restaurants, and more are dotting the malls and
street corners. Also, and perhaps not as visible
to everyone, there is a growth spurt in South
Asian-owned technology and business services
firms in the region. Many are highlighted in
this magazine each month. Often, founders and
managers of these thriving businesses get so
caught up in the everyday grind of running their
company and making a profit that they forget to
plan for their long-term success.
This two-part article series provides an
illustrative review of basic intellectual
property principles and how they relate to your
business’s success. This article takes a look at
perhaps the most fun area of intellectual
property: trademarks.
Did you know that your business’s trademark
could end up being its greatest asset? A
trademark can be anything even a unique samosa
shape! It could be a name, symbol, design, etc.
that which serves to distinguish the source of a
product or service in a crowded marketplace.
When a business uses a mark consistently and
properly, the mark becomes a repository for
goodwill and a paragon for the quality of the
products and services it represents. Perhaps one
of the best examples of this concept is the
trademark Coca-Cola. Millions of dollars are
spent by The Coca-Cola Company every year to
ensure that its brand continues to be recognized
as a symbol for quality beverages. Local
examples of trademarks that have gained market
recognition in the Atlanta community include
Kruti for dance instruction, Saravana Bhavana
for vegetarian South Indian dining, NetIP for
services related to networking of Indian
professionals, and many more. A strong and well
recognized trademark ends up being a company s
best marketing tool to retain customers and
attract new ones.
Selecting a strong trademark and ensuring that
others are not infringing on
your business’s trademark are essential to your
marketing strategy. For example, how many
grocery stores do you know with Patel in their
name? Generally, descriptive trademarks or those
that include a person’s name do not serve well
to distinguish the business in the consumer s
eyes. On the other hand, a name like Bhojanic
for a restaurant is well-conceived because while
unique, it also invokes the desirable marketing
imagery of a wonderful meal (bhojan) in a
consumer’s mind.
To ensure that others are not free-riding on a
trademark’s goodwill, the owner must also remain
vigilant and take legal action when necessary.
This is even more important for a fledgling
company that is growing its name in the
marketplace, and seeking to avoid being confused
with its many competitors. For example, when
Burger King was just a small fast-food upstart,
growing its franchise, it successfully limited
an already existing company by the same name
from expanding outside of that company’s
original territory. Thanks to that strategic
move, the Burger King franchise is known the
world over today and maintains a strong brand
presence in the fast-food industry.
While selecting a strong trademark and
maintaining its integrity are
important, businesses seeking to grow nationally
or internationally will likely want to obtain
federal registration for their marks, for
increased protection and benefits.
Further, a famous trademark can also generate
revenue for its owner through crossmarketing and
licensing arrangements.
Undoubtedly, no business can grow in today’s
crowded marketplace without a sound trademark
strategy. Hopefully, this article has encouraged
you to take a look at your business s core
marketing asset its trademarks and take steps to
ensure they are strong and well recognized in
the marketplace. Besides, developing your
business’s brand and trademarks can be a fun and
creative diversion to some of the more mundane
business chores, like trying to balance the
books around tax time!
Next month, we will look at how the complex
concepts of patents and copyrights are quite
applicable to a growing small business, even if
its not a technology or media company. |
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