Practical IP guides

Clear, plain-English answers to the questions founders, creators, and small businesses actually ask: what intellectual property protection you need, what it costs, how the process works, and what to do when someone copies you. Educational, not legal advice.

How to Trademark Your Business

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A plain-English guide to protecting your brand name and logo: what a trademark does, what it costs, how the USPTO process works, and what to do when someone copies you.

Which IP Protection Do You Need?

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Trademark, copyright, patent, or trade secret? A founder’s guide to choosing the right protection for your product, brand, and content. Includes the costs, timelines, and common mistakes.

Protecting Your IP

Does a 'Poor Man's Patent' Actually Work?

A 'poor man's patent' (mailing yourself a sealed description of your invention) gives you no patent rights. Here's why the myth fails and what to do instead.

Intellectual Property in California

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California-specific rules every founder and creator should know: the state’s non-compete ban, the right of publicity, NIL, trade-secret protection, and content takedowns.

AI and Intellectual Property

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How intellectual property law applies to artificial intelligence: who owns AI-generated work, the training-data fights, using AI commercially, voice cloning and deepfakes, and the new digital-replica laws.

AI & IP

Who Owns the Output of an AI Tool?

Who owns AI output? It turns on two things: whether AI-generated content is copyrightable at all, and what the tool's terms of service actually assign to you.

The Creator’s Guide to Copyright

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Copyright in plain English for musicians, artists, writers, and online creators: registering your work, fair use, sampling, licensing, and protecting what you make.

Creator Copyright

Copyright vs. Trademark for Creators

Copyright vs trademark for creators in plain English: copyright protects your videos, songs, and art; a trademark protects your channel name and brand. Most need both.

Creator Copyright

How to License Your Creative Work

Learn how to license your creative work without selling your copyright: exclusive vs. non-exclusive deals, the key license terms to set, and the writing rule.

Creator Copyright

Public Domain & Creative Commons, Explained

A plain-English guide to public domain and creative commons: what each means, the CC license types, the 'free online' myth, and where to find safe-to-use work.

The Startup IP Playbook

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Everything a founder should lock down: the pre-launch IP checklist, who owns your IP, NDAs, securing your brand, IP in fundraising, and protection for e-commerce and software startups.

Startup IP

The Pre-Launch IP Checklist for Startups

A plain-English startup IP checklist: clear your name, secure IP assignments, file your trademark, protect inventions, and lock down trade secrets before launch.

Startup IP

NDAs That Actually Hold Up

An enforceable NDA protects identifiable secrets with a clear definition, reasonable scope, and a sensible term. Here is what makes one hold up in court.

Startup IP

IP in Fundraising & Due Diligence

IP due diligence fundraising explained: what investors and acquirers check, the documents to have ready, the red flags that kill deals, and how to build a data room.

The Inventor’s Guide to Patents

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How to protect an invention: what’s patentable, software and app patents, patent searches, design vs. utility patents, NDAs before pitching, and licensing or selling your patent.

Patents for Inventors

Can You Patent an App or Software?

Can you patent an app or software? Yes, if it's a real technical improvement and not just an abstract idea run on a computer. Here's how the Alice test works.

Patents for Inventors

How to Do a Patent Search Before You File

A plain-English guide to a patent search before filing: why it matters, free tools like USPTO Patent Public Search and Google Patents, and how to search well.

Patents for Inventors

How to License or Sell Your Patent

A plain-English guide on how to license or sell a patent: license vs. assignment, royalties and field-of-use deals, recording with the USPTO, and valuation basics.

Patents for Inventors

How Much Does a Patent Cost in 2026?

What a patent really costs in 2026: USPTO filing, issue, and maintenance fees by entity size, typical attorney ranges, design patents, and ways to save.

Domain Names & Cybersquatting

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How domain names and trademarks collide: what cybersquatting is, the UDRP, URS, and ACPA remedies, how to recover an infringing domain, and defending your brand online.

Domains & Cybersquatting

UDRP vs. URS vs. ACPA: Which Domain Remedy?

UDRP vs URS vs ACPA explained: compare the cost, speed, and remedy of each cybersquatting option so you know whether to file a domain dispute or sue in court.

Domains & Cybersquatting

What Is Cybersquatting? (And Is It Illegal?)

What is cybersquatting? Learn how it's defined, when it's illegal under the ACPA's bad-faith test, common variants like typosquatting, and what's NOT cybersquatting.

Domains & Cybersquatting

Can You Trademark a Generic.com Domain?

Can you trademark a generic.com domain? After USPTO v. Booking.com, it depends on consumer perception. Plain-English guide to the rule, the test, and the limits.

Domains & Cybersquatting

Typosquatting & Defensive Domain Registration

A plain-English guide to typosquatting and defensive domain registration: how the ACPA and UDRP fight misspelled-domain abuse, which variants to grab, and how to monitor your brand.

TTAB Proceedings & Trademark Maintenance

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Keeping and defending a trademark: oppositions and cancellations at the TTAB, Section 8 and 9 renewals, Section 15 incontestability, and the principal vs. supplemental register.

TTAB & Maintenance

Keeping Your Trademark: Section 8 & 9 Renewals

A plain-English guide to the trademark Section 8 and 9 renewal: the 5-6 year declaration, the 10-year renewal, specimens, grace periods, and deadlines to keep your registration alive.

TTAB & Maintenance

Section 15 Incontestability: What It Gives You

A plain-English guide to trademark incontestability Section 15: who qualifies after 5 years, the conclusive-evidence protection it gives, and which defenses still survive.

TTAB & Maintenance

Principal vs. Supplemental Register, Explained

A plain-English guide to the principal vs supplemental register at the USPTO: the benefits each one gives you, who the supplemental register is for, and how to upgrade.

TTAB & Maintenance

What to Do If You Get a TTAB Notice

Responding to a TTAB notice of opposition or petition to cancel: the answer deadline, ESTTA filing, default judgment risk, and your real options explained plainly.

International IP Protection

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Protecting your brand and inventions abroad: the Madrid Protocol for trademarks, the PCT for patents, foreign filing basis, the EUIPO, and guarding IP when you manufacture overseas.

International IP

Foreign Filing Basis for U.S. Trademarks

Understand the foreign filing basis trademark Section 44 rules: how non-U.S. applicants file at the USPTO under Sections 1(a), 1(b), 44(d), 44(e), and 66(a).

International IP

How to Register a Trademark in the EU (EUIPO)

A plain-English EU trademark EUIPO registration guide: one filing covers all 27 EU states, what the unitary right means, costs, renewals, and the post-Brexit UK gap.

Entertainment & Media IP

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IP for film, TV, music, and online creators: chain of title, option and rights agreements, music licensing, influencer and FTC rules, protecting a script, and idea-theft claims.

The Trade Secret Protection Playbook

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How to protect what you can’t patent: what legally qualifies as a trade secret, the “reasonable measures” courts require, NDAs and employee protocols, and what to do the moment a secret walks out the door.

Trade Secrets

Trade Secret Damages and Remedies

What you can recover for trade secret theft: actual loss, unjust enrichment, reasonable royalty, injunctions, exemplary damages, and fees.

Name, Image & Likeness: The Right of Publicity

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Who controls your name, face, and voice: the right of publicity explained for creators, athletes, and brands, including college NIL deals, influencer likeness rights, AI deepfakes, post-mortem rights, and the state-by-state map.

Right of Publicity & NIL

What Is the Right of Publicity?

The right of publicity explained in plain English: what it protects, the commercial-use test, First Amendment limits, and how to enforce it.

Right of Publicity & NIL

College Athlete NIL Deals: How They Work

How college NIL deals work in 2026: the post-2021 NCAA rules, the House settlement and revenue sharing, collectives, taxes, and contract pitfalls.

Right of Publicity & NIL

Influencer & Creator Likeness Rights

How influencers and creators control their name, image, and likeness: usage rights in brand deals, image licensing, and FTC disclosure.

Right of Publicity & NIL

Post-Mortem Right of Publicity

What happens to the right of publicity after death: which states recognize post-mortem rights, how long they last, and how estates license them.

Right of Publicity & NIL

Right of Publicity by State: A 2026 Map

A state-by-state guide to the right of publicity in 2026: which states have statutes, which rely on common law, and how protections differ.

Patent Enforcement & Monetization

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What a patent is actually worth and how to defend it: licensing and royalties, what to do when someone infringes, cease-and-desist realities, patent trolls, PTAB/IPR challenges, and the cost of litigation.

Patent Enforcement

What Is My Patent Worth?

How patents are valued: the cost, market, and income approaches, what drives value, and why most patents are worth less than owners think.

Patent Enforcement

The Patent Cease-and-Desist Letter

How patent cease-and-desist and demand letters work: what to include, the declaratory-judgment trap, and how to respond if you receive one.

Patent Enforcement

What Are Patent Trolls?

Patent trolls (NPEs) explained: how they operate, why startups get targeted, and how to respond to a troll demand letter without overpaying.

Patent Enforcement

Patent Litigation: Cost and Timeline

What patent litigation really costs and how long it takes: the phases, typical fees by stage, damages, injunctions, and alternatives.

IP Diligence for Fundraising & M&A

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The IP review that makes or breaks a deal: the pre-raise IP audit, assignment gaps that scare off investors, open-source landmines, the reps and warranties founders sign, and IP in acquihires.

IP Diligence (M&A)

The IP Audit Before You Raise Capital

How to run an IP audit before a funding round: inventory your IP, confirm ownership, fix gaps, and build a clean data room investors will trust.

IP Diligence (M&A)

IP Assignment Gaps That Kill Deals

IP assignment gaps scare off investors: contractor-owned code, missing founder assignments, and how to fix chain-of-title problems before you raise.

IP Diligence (M&A)

Open-Source Risk in Due Diligence

How open-source software becomes a diligence red flag: copyleft obligations, license scans, and cleaning up dependencies before a deal.

IP Diligence (M&A)

IP Reps and Warranties, Explained

The IP representations and warranties founders sign in financings and M&A: ownership, non-infringement, indemnification, and how to limit risk.

Open Source & Software IP

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Intellectual property for software companies: open-source license compatibility, building a business on open source, who owns AI-generated code, contributor agreements, and protecting your source code.

Software IP

Open-Source License Compatibility

How open-source licenses work and combine: permissive vs copyleft, GPL/MIT/Apache compatibility, and how to stay compliant.

Software IP

Who Owns AI-Generated Code?

Who owns code written by AI tools like Copilot: copyright and human-authorship rules, license risk from training data, and how to reduce exposure.

Software IP

How to Protect Your Source Code

How to protect proprietary source code: copyright registration, trade secret measures, access controls, and contract protections.

Software IP

Software: Patent vs. Copyright

Patent vs copyright for software: what each protects, the Alice eligibility problem, and how to combine them to protect your product.

Accused of IP Infringement: What to Do

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You got the letter, the takedown, or the lawsuit. Now what? How to respond to copyright demand letters, cease-and-desists, DMCA takedowns, marketplace complaints, and infringement suits without making it worse.

Accused of Infringement

I Got a Copyright Demand Letter: Now What?

Got a copyright demand letter from Higbee, PicRights, or Getty? How the photo-demand industry works, how to assess validity, real exposure math, and options.

Copyright for Online Creators: The Platform Survival Guide

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How copyright actually works on YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok: claims vs. strikes, Content ID, DMCA’d streams, reaction videos, game streaming, cover songs, fan art, and using clips without losing your channel.

Who Owns What You Create at Work?

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Employee or employer: who owns the invention, the code, the design? Work made for hire, invention assignment agreements, side projects and moonlighting, California’s § 2870 shield, contractor ownership, and leaving to compete.

IP at Work

Work Made for Hire, Actually Explained

Work made for hire explained: the two-prong § 101 test, why most freelance work doesn't qualify, the CA contractor trap, and how to draft a clause that holds.

IP at Work

Can My Employer Claim My Side Project?

Can my employer own my side project? The three-question test, why ‘my own laptop at home’ isn't enough, state-law protections, and a hygiene checklist.

IP at Work

Contractor vs. Employee: Who Owns the IP?

Independent contractor intellectual property rules flip the default: contractors own what they create without a signed assignment. Employees usually don’t.

Fighting Copycat Products: Trade Dress, Design Patents & Dupes

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When a competitor copies your product’s look: what trade dress protects, whether dupes are legal, knockoffs vs. counterfeits, packaging and fashion design protection, and the ITC exclusion order that stops copycats at the border.

Copycats & Trade Dress

Are Dupes Legal? The Law Behind Dupe Culture

Are dupes legal? Usually yes: dupes copy the product, not the brand. Where dupes cross into infringement, and what Lululemon v. Costco means for dupe culture.

IP Strategy: Building & Managing a Portfolio

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IP as a business asset, not a filing chore: when to hire in-house vs. outside IP counsel, freedom-to-operate searches, IP holding companies, valuation, invention disclosure programs, budgeting by stage, and patent landscaping.

What Is Intellectual Property?

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The plain-English foundation: the four types of intellectual property with real examples, how long each protection lasts, what ™ ® © and “patent pending” actually mean, what counts as infringement, and the myths that get people in trouble.