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There is an unnerving trend facing American businesses today: small companies are finding themselves embroiled in legal battles with an alarming frequency. These independent businesses Cesc Fabregas Jersey , many of which are small-scale operations that survive on a meager budget, are faced with defending their intellectual property rights- everything from their company name to the items they produce and sell. Legal battles over intellectual property have a varied effect on the general public, who will eventually pay the price of court cases aimed at those who lack the available means to fight back.
In order to understand the current battle, one must first understand what Intellectual Property is. Intellectual Property is defined as "Property that derives from the work of the mind or intellect; specif An idea, invention, trade secret, process, program Cesar Azpilicueta Jersey , data, formula, patent, copyright, or trademark or application, right, or registration relating thereto". (1) What does this mean in layman's terms? Intellectual property is an item with commercial value, such as a new purse design Asmir Begovic Jersey , that can be protected by patent, trademark or copyright law.
Many business owners in the United States are surprised to find that Intellectual Property rights originated with the Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause  (2), which states that Congress shall have the power 'to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.?
It seems that even the founding fathers felt that we should have the right to exclusive ownership and use of our inventions, as well as the right to reap the rewards gained by granting permission of use to others.
Protection Under the Law
Today, there are three methods through which intellectual property can be protected. These methods include patents Antonio Rudiger Jersey , copyrights, and trademarks.
* A patent protects "exclusive rights to a process, design, or new invention". (3)
* A trademark protects "a name, symbol, or other device identifying a product". (4)
* A copyright protects "literary, musical, dramatic Andreas Christensen Jersey , or artistic work". (5)
The cost of enacting these methods of protection can be exorbitant. An excellent example of the fee for protecting your work is the price tag attached to a patent, which can range from approximately $400 to $1,000 or more. According to one law firm, the actual cost to file a patent for something easily described is roughly $2000, while something more complicated can incur a fee up to $10,000. (6)
While filing for a trademark is typically less expensive, the process can still rack up fees in excess of $1,000 to $1 Alvaro Morata Jersey ,500 per application. (7)
The average start up investment for an arts and crafts business is $9,000.( When you take into consideration the requirements on city, county, state and federal levels for business licences, the amount paid out for basic office supplies, the cost to generate a website or other marketing materials, and the cost of ordering the necessities to produce a final product, there is little room left in the budget for filing for these most basic protections under the law.
There is more to the story than just the fees incurred when registering for a patent. Every patent can be challenged Alexandre Pato Jersey , with many leading to trial cases with outrageous amounts of money exchanging hands. As one law firm reports, the average cost of patent litigation through trial can range from $500,000 to near $2,000,000- and that amount is only for one of the constituents! These costs can climb rapidly for high profile cases requiring intensive work by the litigator, as patent attorneys charge roughly $200-$500 per hour.(9)
Importance of Intellectual Property
People often underestimate how essential intellectual property rights can be to a business. The media is rife with examples of battles over intellectual property, which range in severity from questionable copying to blatent theft.
We can look to the recent media headlines for a more in depth view of the problem at hand.
Earlier this year, Nike Chelsea Short Shirt , Inc. issued a formal apology to "the members of iconic Washington, D.C., hardcore act Minor Threat and frontman Ian MacKaye's Dischord Records for "the creation of a tour poster inspired by Minor Threat's album cover"".(10) Why was Nike, Inc. issuing an apology? MTV reports that, "The poster, for Nike's Major Threat skateboarding demo tour (used to promote its newest line of SB shoes), misappropriated not only the Minor Threat logo, but the imagery from the band's 1981 self-titled EP and its 1988 Complete Discography." (10) Sources have not published any further information on the topic.
Another example of this infringement of intellectual property can be found in the case of Margaret Nicole of Manhattan and Abercrombie & Fitch Co..
According to the New York Times Customized Chelsea Jersey , Abercrombie & Fitch Co. was selling a bag identical to those made by Margaret Nicole of Manhattan, and Margaret Nicole of Manhattan owner Nicole Dreyfuss "said that within two weeks, Abercrombie's lawyer, Frank J. Colucci of the New York law firm Colucci & Umans, agreed to pull the purse and make a settlement.".(11)
Defending the Store
These stories are, however, unusual. The majority of small businesses do not have the means to fight large companies when their designs are stolen or their livelihood threatened by lawsuit. Instead, they are forced to hand over the results of their hard work to colossal corporations simply because they can't afford to defend themselves.
The epitome of this instance would be the current litigation brought against the small online retailer Virgin Threads Cheap Chelsea Jerseys , LLC.
Virgin Threads, LLC was formed in August 2004, and is currently being sued by Virgin Enterprises. As one media outlet reported, "Virgin Enterprises, Richard Branson's group of companies, has tried to stop othe
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