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What to Do When Your Patent Application Gets Rejected

Hey, everyone! Today’s question is: What if my patent application gets rejected? What do I do next?

I’m JD Houvener, patent attorney and founder of Bold Patents Law Firm. I’m also the author of Bold Ideas: The...

Sound Marks (and Other Unusual Trademarks)

So there are things called sound marks. They’re rare.

Not just uncommon, rare in real use.

Think back to law school. One example always came up. The NBC tones. A few simple notes. Nothing flashy. But over...

A Simple Way to Decide Early

When founders feel stuck, I usually bring it back to something simple.

Ask yourself this:

If someone saw your idea tomorrow and started building it, would you feel exposed?

Not emotionally. Practically.

Can You Trademark Your Last Name?

Let’s walk through this the way it actually comes up in real conversations.

Someone asks, “Can I trademark my last name? Like Disney or Hershey?” It sounds simple. Almost like it should...

I don’t have enough money to do everything at once

That’s a real concern, and I hear it all the time from inventors, especially early on.

You’ve got a strong idea, sometimes even something built, and then suddenly the list shows up in your...