In this week's post, we talk about how a patentability opinion provides valuable analysis of an inventor’s claim for patent protection.

Plus, as online marketplaces continue to rapidly grow, there has been little legislation for consumer protection as well as protection for legitimate retailers against counterfeit sellers. The Buy Safe America Coalition was created by large retailer organizations to help push for change in online marketplaces.  

The Patentability Opinion: When and Why to Get One

A patentability opinion is a legal analysis of potential claims for a patent, generated by a qualified patent attorney.  Requesting a patentability opinion from a registered patent attorney can help an individual or company decide whether to move forward in the patent process.  Obtaining this opinion is informative and cost-effective compared to the much larger investment of diving into preparing, filing, and prosecuting a patent application without first conducting research on existing patents and publicly available patent applications.   

Read more here.

Retailers Band Together in Buy Safe America Coalition to Fight Online Organized Retail Crime

Large retailers have banded together in the Buy Safe America Coalition to push for law reform against online retail crime.  Buying products online is often a necessity these days, but knowing whether it is legitimate can be hard to determine.  And, legitimate brand owners have to continuously monitor for unauthorized sales, counterfeit goods, stolen property re-sales, and the like, that ultimately hurt their bottom line in both sales and tarnish their brands. With insufficient legislation to address these issues, large retailers are seeking change.

Therefore, on August 14, 2020, the Buy Safe America Coalition was launched by the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) in conjunction with numerous other retail industry groups such as, for example, the American Apparel & Footwear Association, Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), the Toy Association, the Fashion Jewelry and Accessories Trade Association, and others. The coalition aims to create real change in legislation to help with online seller crime.  

Learn more here.

Click to read the previous Weekly IP Buzz on Thriving Attorney.

For more posts, see our Intellectual Property Law Blog.

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In addition to Thriving Attorney, Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. Click to read more about Darin Klemchuk's practice as an intellectual property lawyer.