Furthermore, the article highlights the challenges of online sales for businesses that frequently update their products. It explains that online sales set a one-year bar date for patents, and updating an older sales link with a new item could lead to the patent office mistaking the newer item for having been on sale for more than a year. The author advises businesses to be aware of potential conflicts between marketing and IP protection and to understand the risks of certain marketing strategies.
Key takeaways:
- Marketing and intellectual property protection should work together to strengthen your brand and product sales.
- Trademark or trade dress protection cannot be obtained over something that is functional, so marketing should avoid emphasizing the functionality of a product's appearance or look.
- AI-generated works are not copyrightable under current laws, so companies using AI for producing content should be aware of this limitation.
- Online sales set a one-year bar date for patents, so businesses updating an older sales link with a new item they are trying to patent should be aware of potential conflicts.