Archived Postings for Dykas, Shaver & Nipper, LLP

Here you will find most articles previously posted on our main page. If you do not see something and would like more information, please email us.

A recent book by Evan Schwartz entitled Juice: The Creative Fuel That Drives Today's World-Class Inventors has received some national recognition. Juice is a book about inventors and how they are every day Joes that are better able to use their brain power in ways applicable to inventing, improving, and/or redesigning things, in addition to having more patience to work through troubling situations. Juice also gives insight into the ways that you can become more inventive and get those creative “juices” flowing. To purchase this book or read a more complete review, click here.

A new reality show, Million Dollar Ideas, is giving people just that chance, sort of. Million Dollar Ideas is filmed in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the infamous Mall of America that airs on more than 200 television stations across the nation. Grand prize winners of the show will receive a prize package worth $50,000, including intellectual property assistance and advertising and marketing assistance. This looks like a great idea for small inventors to get some nationwide attention, but be sure to be patented or patent pending prior to submission (ask us how). For more information on submission, click on their website you only have until December 31, 2004 to apply to be on their nationwide season premiere.

In a recent article in IP Law & Business (August 2004) entitled "Patent Locally, Win Damages Globally," the author, Marc Pensabene, discussed a loophole in patent law Section 271(f), which prevents devices that infringe patents from being exported to other countries. This loophole has some U.S. companies paying damages that not only reflect sales within the country, but sales throughout the world, significantly increasing damages. The increase in damages is because although the component or device itself might not infringe a U.S. patent, once it is used with or installed upon another device, the new device now infringes the U.S. patent. This combination or use of parts manufactured in the U.S. and then exported to other countries has some people concerned about the extent to which patent law is reaching. To read more about this, go to IP Law & Business.

Calculating Litigation Costs

A company called LegalMetric has an on-line "Outcome Calculator" that will help you get an estimate of what you might win in a lawsuit. The calculator allows you to choose which side of the litigation you are on and then what you estimate that you will recover in costs, attorney's fees, and damages. Then, using time value of money, it takes what you think you will recover from a litigation case, discounts them to the present day value, and then gives you a number to review. The calculator allows you to calculate the amount for all types of lawsuits, including those dealing with patents, trademarks, and copyrights. It's an interesting site to at least check out.

Google has recently initiated a new free service called Copyscape. This website allows you to enter your website address and then search to see if anyone has stolen your content. This site appears still to be Beta testing and after searching it asks a few questions about what you would pay, etc. for this service. This site is worth checking out to see if anyone has stolen your content.

Robert L. Shaver recently defended a copyright case in the Fourth District Court of Idaho. In this case, Mr. Shaver won on a Motion for Summary Judgment. In this case, Plaintiff (Lynne K. Stone) authored a 1990 combination hiking and mountain biking guidebook titled Adventures in Idaho’s Sawtooth Country, which she obtained a copyright for in 1990. Our client, Defendant Perpetual Motion, LLC, also publisher a mountain bike guide book in 1998 titled Good Dirt – The Mountain Bike Guide – Sun Valley, Idaho, which it later updated in 2001 under the title Good Dirt II – The Mountain Guide Book – Sun Valley, Idaho. Our client had also obtained copyrights for both of its books. Each of the parties hired a local artist to compile maps for their respective books. The artist retained the copyright to those maps. The alleged infringement of copyright in this suit was with regard to the maps contained in each of the books. After considering the arguments presented at the hearing on the Motion for Summary Judgment, the Court sided with the Defendant and granted its Motion for Summary Judgment.

However, Plaintiff filed an appeal with the Appellate Court for the Ninth Circuit. Arguments for the appeal case took place on Thursday, January 8, 2004. At conclusion of arguments in the Appellate Court, the case was affirmed in favor of the Defendant/Appellee, Perpetual Motion, on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 (No. 02-36084, unpublished).

Frank J. Dykas and Derek H. Maughan recently won in the Seattle District Court a case alleging patent infringement against their client, Fresh Air Manufacturing Company (Noll Manufacturing Company v. Fresh Air Manufacturing Company). In this case, Plaintiff (Noll Manufacturing Company) alleged that Fresh Air Manufacturing Company’s two-piece roof vent infringed their one piece roof vent. Mr. Dykas and Mr. Maughan argued before Judge Bryan on September 3, 2004. They prevailed at the hearing on a Motion for Summary Judgment on the basis of non-infringement and the case was thus dismissed.

Notice For Companies Purchasing Or Licensing Inventions Relating to Maintenance Fees

For those for profit companies who have recently purchased or licensed an invention or have recently expanded operations, this topic is for you. This topic does not, however, apply to not-for-profit companies or the federal government who have any rights in a patent.

Maintenance fees are required to be paid three times during the life of the patent, namely at 3½ years, 7½ years, and 11½ years. There is a different fee schedule for a small entity versus a large entity. Individual inventors and companies with less than 500 employees are classified as small entities, while companies with more than 500 employees are classified as large entities.

If the maintenance fees are not paid at these intervals, the patent will expire. Paying these fees is important, but paying the correct amount of these fees is just as important to the patent owner. Failure to pay the correct maintenance fees, particularly if the patent was filed under small entity status and is now licensed or assigned to a large entity, can result in the patent being declared invalid and/or unenforceable.

If you have recently purchased, licensed, or had assigned or otherwise conveyed any right to your patent to a for profit company with over 500 employees, you may now be considered to be a “large entity,” whereas before you were considered “small entity.” This changes the amount of fees that must be paid. If you have conveyed any right to a company that has 500 employees or near 500 employees be sure to contact us to discuss which amount of fees to pay to the USPTO.

All in all, if you are in doubt as to what fees to pay, please contact us and we will assist you. We can handle all of your maintenance fee payments and answer any questions you may have about the changes that occur when you or anyone who has an interest in your patent changes from small to large entity status.

Partners of Dykas, Shaver & Nipper, LLP Teach IP CLEs for the Idaho State Bar

Recently, Robert L. Shaver taught a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) seminar for the Idaho State Bar on “Ten Things Your Clients Expect You to Know About Patents.” The CLE included information such as whether or not an idea is patentable, whether or not patents are worth the cost, and ways to ensure a successful patent.

In September, Stephen M. Nipper will teach two CLEs and assist with one seminar. The first CLE is on “Ten Things Your Clients Expect You to Know About Trademarks.” The CLE will include information such as trademark use, types of trademarks, and marking (®, ™). The second CLE is on “Hot Topics in Intellectual Property Law.” This second CLE will include new information related to intellectual property matters. The seminar is entitled “Growing Your Legal Practice Online” and will include information on how to market your law firm practice through the Internet.

If you are interested in attending any of the two upcoming CLEs that Mr. Nipper is presenting, please sign up through the Idaho State Bar’s registration page. If you wish to register for the Growing Your Legal Practice seminar, please contact Mr. Nipper. NOTE: You do NOT need to be an attorney to attend either of these CLE seminars.

Marketing Survey results in changes to Dykas, Shaver & Nipper's Marketing Plan, including a newly redesigned webpage!

Thank you for visiting our updated webpage. We have recently undertaken a marketing survey and the results of which revealed many of our new clients find us online, including those from Oregon, Washington, Montana, California, and Kentucky. Thank you to everyone who has assisted us with input. If you have additional comments relating to our website or something that you would like to see that we have not included on this site, please email Shannon.

In December 2003, attorneys Frank J. Dykas and Stephen M. Nipper attended a patent infringement trial in Missoula, Montana on behalf of one of their clients, Wadsworth Manufacturing. Local counsel for the case was Robert C. Lukes of Garlington, Lohn & Robinson.The suit was originally brought against Wadsworth Manufacturing, Inc. of St. Ignatious, MT by Michael Callicrate of St. Francis, KS for alleged infringement of his castration devices. After over three and a half years, the case finally made it in front of a jury. The jury unanimously sided for Defendant Wadsworth Manufacturing stating that Wadsworth Manufacturing did not violate patents obtained by Callicrate. In addition, the jury ruled that the Callicrate patents were invalid because they were both obvious and anticipated.