Author Archives: John DiGiacomo

Typosquatting refers to malicious criminal online behavior where “bad actors” set up a website with a domain name that is a “typo” away from a legitimate website. In other words, a fraudulent website is established with a domain name that is a purposeful misspelling of a legitimate domain name. For example, a cybercriminal might create […]

For those operating online sales businesses, there are few things more devastating than trying to access your account in the morning and discovering that your seller account has been suspended. There are immediate emotional impacts — like panic — and, as time passes, potentially, there will be devastating financial impacts. This is true for those […]

When a person or business files an application with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (“USPTO”) to register a trademark, there are two options — file to register a trademark that is already being used in commerce or file what is called an “intent-to-use” application. As the name implies, with an “intent-to-use” application, the applicant […]

In patent law, there is a legal doctrine called “assignor estoppel.” In general non-legal terms, assignor estoppel prevents an inventor, who assigns their patent rights to another for value, from later arguing in litigation that the patent assigned is invalid. As a hypothetical, imagine that Inventor invents “The Machine” and obtains a patent. Then, the […]

Trademarks, patents and copyrights are three of the basic types of intellectual property (“IP”). In the US, each is legally protected by statutory and regulatory registration/application regimes. In addition, all three types of IP are explicitly protected by international law pursuant to many international treaties and agreements. A fourth major type of IP involves trade […]

If you own a trademark, are applying for a trademark, are challenging the registration of a trademark, are seeking to have a trademark canceled, or are otherwise involved in a dispute over or about a trademark, you have some options about where to litigate the issues. Most often, trademark disputes are handled in federal court. […]

When an inventor files a patent application with the US Patent & Trademark Office (“USPTO”), one of the first steps in the patent process is the assignment of a patent examiner to the application. One can think of a patent examiner as a “case worker” for the patent application. The patent examiner is an attorney […]

If you are a successful Amazon seller, it is essential to retain committed internet lawyers with deep experience helping businesses operating Amazon seller accounts. Having a relationship with a trusted team of lawyers is important before “something bad happens” because when it does, corrective action can begin immediately. There is no “lost time” devoted to […]

Lawsuits in general are difficult and can be emotionally draining. Defamation lawsuits are even more so because lies and falsehoods are at issue and personal/business reputations are under attack. It can be enraging really, with the thought being that “… it is unfair, unjust and just plain mean for people to lie and cause me […]

Whether you should file a provisional patent application or a non-provisional patent application depends on a number of factors. One can think of a provisional patent application as both a “short-form” patent application and as a “placeholder” application. A provisional patent application is shorter and “less involved” than a full (non-provisional) patent application and is […]