Intellectual Property
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- What is IP?
    - copyrights, patents, trademarks
    - intellectual monopoly privilege rather than intellectual property right

- How do you maximize the value of your IP
    - to yourself
    - to the world

- IP as a competitive weapon
    - offensive
        - large companies
        - patent trolls
    - defensive
        - cross-licensing
        - stake claim

- Obtaining IP rights
    - copyright (automatic)
    - US patent rights, international patent rights
    - utility patent
        - provisional
            $130/$65 fee, must file utility within one year
        - regular
            - novel and non-obvious
                - prior art
            - parts of application
                - specification
                    - background (prior art)
                    - summary
                    - advantages
                    - drawing list
                    - detailed description
                    - conclusions
                - claims
                - abstract
                - drawings
                    - hidden line wireframe with shading
                - misc. forms
                - fees
                    minimum $730 (small entity)
                    minimum $400 (micro entity)
            - duration
                - issue fee ($480/$240) pays for 4 years from filing date.
                - additional maintenance fees extend patent up to 20 years.
        - examination
            - your claims are compared with prior patent specifications.
            - if your claims are anticipated by prior art, no patent.
            - if someone of "ordinary skill in the art" could combine two or
              or more features of previous patents to make what you claim,
              no patent.
            - First, examiner makes you whittle down the number of your
              claims (require selecting, may file later application for rest).
            - Second, examiner rejects all the claims as obvious.
            - You amend your claims and argue against his rejections.
            - Third, he rejects all your amended claims.
            - You tweak the claims again.
            - Fourth, he still rejects them.  Now you have to abandon or
              pay $600/$300 for a "request for continuing examination", which
              gives you another three shots.

- Becoming a registered e-filer
    - download customer number form (pdf), fax it back
    - after getting customer number mailed to you,
      download customer number upload spreadsheet
    - fill out spreadsheet and mail it on a cd or usb drive
    - apply for digital certificate
        - download certificate action form
        - fill out
        - get notarized
        - mail to uspto
    - receive authorization code and ref number by email
    - log on to digital certificate management site
      to make certificate from auth code and ref number
    - make password to use with certificate