Author Archives: John DiGiacomo

Sometimes, those seeking to register a trademark with the US Patent & Trademark Office (“USPTO”) are required to file a “disclaimer statement.” Generally speaking, a “disclaimer statement” is a statement included with your trademark registration application or separately provided that states legally that you disclaim any trademark legal protection for some part or portion of […]

As reported here, new cybersecurity incident reporting requirements have been included as part of the new $1.5 trillion federal government funding package passed in mid-March 2022. For companies doing business in “critical infrastructure” sectors of the economy, they must report data breaches, “substantial cyber incidents,” and ransomware payments to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security […]

If you are the owner of material that is protected by copyright law, under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”), there is a procedure for demanding that your copyrighted material be taken down from an internet website or other places of publication. Generally, these are called “Takedown Notices.” Most internet providers and website hosting companies […]

Your reputation online is becoming more and more important in today’s marketplace and damage to it can affect your employment, personal life, and financial prospects. Negative or damaging information about yourself or your business can spread like wildfire on the internet if not addressed quickly.  Below, we’ll be discussing some of the steps you’ll need […]

What is an NDA? An NDA is an agreement that prevents a person from disclosing information specified in the agreement.  These are mostly found in employment contracts.  In order for employees to do the job they are paid to do, the business necessarily has to give their employees sensitive or valuable information such as customer […]

The answer will depend on the facts and circumstances, but filing a trade secret misappropriation claim is a possible method by which your business could recover a laptop taken by an employee who quit. As an aside, if the laptop is company property, then it might be considered stolen property. Under those circumstances, a call […]

Many believe that once a trademark is established and properly registered, the legal protections provided by US trademark law will last indefinitely. However, this is a mistaken belief since there are several ways in which trademark rights can be lost. Here is what you should know and how to ensure that you do not lose […]

With respect to cybercrimes and protecting the security of business and government computer and internet systems, there is a clear and increasingly sustained push to require the reporting of “cyber-incidents” that affect the functionality of business which, in turn, might impact whole industries. This is not too surprising given recent hacks and ransomware attacks that […]

A “Takedown Notice” is a tool for protecting intellectual property like copyrights and trademarks. As the name implies, a takedown notice is a demand that certain proprietary material be taken down from the internet or other public places. “DMCA” is an acronym referencing a federal statute enacted to protect copyrights in the internet age called […]

Plants can be patented under the United States Patent Act. See 35 U.S.C. §§ 161-164. Like a utility patent, a plant patent will protect the patented plant for 20 years from the date of filing the application. The patent gives the owner the right to exclude others from asexually reproducing the plant, and from using, […]