You Need an Attorney to Protect Your Property: With the recent news of PIPA (Protection of Intellectual Property Act) and SIPA (Stop Internet Piracy Act) being shelved by the United States Congress, many people may wonder what they can do to protect their intellectual property.
Whether you are creating new products or improving on inventions from years past, having an attorney help with your contracts can help. With the America Invents Act of 2011 having been passed last year, the United States has moved from a first to invent to a first to file system. This means that if you file your invention first, it is legally your intellectual property, even if someone else may have had the idea before you. So, what do you do once you have a patent? That depends on what you wish to do with your intellectual property.
Whether you want to license your property to companies or websites for sale or distribution, or you want to put your intellectual property out in public for others to improve upon, there are different things you can do. If you want to license your property, an attorney can help you decide if it would be more beneficial to have an exclusive or nonexclusive license, an end-user license agreement, and, if it applies, whether the license should include a right to modify the source code. Some of these very basic issues with intellectual property licensing can be tricky and that is why an attorney should be contacted, especially to help draft or review an intellectual property license.
Many holders of intellectual property may not be aware of such terms as “most favored nation” clauses. A most favored nation clause is used to ensure that the person obtaining the right to use intellectual property through a nonexclusive license will be able to get the same treatment as others that obtain a license to the same intellectual property. Such clauses can also be retroactive, which means that the current license will receive the same payment rate as any license in the past that has a lesser payment rate. If you are thinking about licensing your intellectual property or entering any other type of contract, please contact the Boyer Law Firm today. We will work our hardest to ensure you receive the best possible result for your business.
