The 20th anniversary of the creation of the first popular peer-to-peer file-sharing platform passed late last year with little fanfare. But back in its heyday, Napster stood the music industry on its head, sending major labels (Sony, Universal, EMI, etc.) into a...
Can plants be patented?
The question of whether or not plants can be patented might seem absurd when you take a walk through the woods and observe trees, bushes, grasses, flowers and more growing in the wild. No one can obtain a patent for those naturally occurring, common plants. Asexual...
Demonstrating ‘reasonable efforts’ to protect digital trade secrets
A business cannot simply claim a piece of information is a trade secret and expect it to receive applicable legal protections. Instead, the owner of this intellectual property must take steps to meet certain criteria. That includes making “reasonable efforts” to...
4 IP questions entrepreneurs should ask themselves
Many people think of intellectual property as gold – inherently valuable, even if the discoverer doesn’t lift a finger. In reality, IP is closer to petroleum. It must be shaped, refined and protected in order to turn it into something of real worth. Entrepreneurs...
