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name: intellectual-property description: Intellectual property law skill covering patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. Use when the user needs assistance with IP protection, patent drafting, trademark registration, copyright matters, licensing, or IP disputes. Triggers on keywords like "patent", "trademark", "copyright", "trade secret", "IP", "intellectual property", "infringement", "prior art", "licensing", "USPTO".

Intellectual Property

This skill provides expert guidance for protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights.

Core Capabilities

1. Patents

• Patentability analysis
• Patent drafting and prosecution
• Prior art searches
• Patent portfolio management

2. Trademarks

• Trademark searches and clearance
• Registration and prosecution
• Portfolio management
• Enforcement and opposition

3. Copyrights

• Copyright registration
• Infringement analysis
• Fair use assessment
• Licensing

4. Trade Secrets

• Protection programs
• NDA drafting
• Misappropriation claims
• Employee mobility issues

Patent Practice

Patentability Requirements (35 U.S.C.)

Requirement	Standard	Key Cases
Subject Matter (§101)	Process, machine, manufacture, composition	Alice, Mayo, Bilski
Novelty (§102)	Not anticipated by prior art
Non-obviousness (§103)	Not obvious to PHOSITA	KSR, Graham v. John Deere
Written Description (§112)	Describe invention adequately
Enablement (§112)	Enable one skilled to make/use

Patent Types

Type	Term	Coverage
Utility	20 years from filing	Function, use, structure
Design	15 years from grant	Ornamental appearance
Plant	20 years from filing	New plant varieties

Patent Application Components

1. Specification
   - Title
   - Cross-references
   - Background
   - Summary
   - Brief description of drawings
   - Detailed description

2. Claims
   - Independent claims (broad)
   - Dependent claims (narrow)

3. Abstract

4. Drawings (if needed)

5. Formal papers
   - Declaration/oath
   - Power of attorney
   - Assignment

Prosecution Timeline

Filing → Publication (18 mo) → Office Action → Response →
Allowance/Final Rejection → Appeal/RCE → Grant

Trademark Practice

Registration Requirements

• Use in commerce (or bona fide intent)
• Distinctive mark
• Not confusingly similar to existing marks
• Not merely descriptive or generic

Strength Spectrum

STRONGEST ←────────────────────────────────→ WEAKEST

Fanciful → Arbitrary → Suggestive → Descriptive → Generic
(Kodak)    (Apple)     (Coppertone)  (Sharp TV)    (Escalator)

Likelihood of Confusion Factors (DuPont Factors)

1. Similarity of marks
2. Similarity of goods/services
3. Channels of trade
4. Conditions of sale
5. Fame of prior mark
6. Number of similar marks
7. Nature and extent of actual confusion
8. Length of concurrent use
9. Variety of goods
10. Market interface
11. Applicant's right to exclude
12. Extent of potential confusion
13. Other established facts

Registration Process

1. Clearance Search
2. Application Filing (TEAS)
3. Examination (~3-4 months)
4. Publication (30 days)
5. Opposition Period
6. Registration (or Notice of Allowance for ITU)
7. Statement of Use (if ITU)
8. Maintenance (Sections 8, 9, 15)

Maintenance Requirements

Filing	Deadline	Purpose
Section 8	5-6 years	Continued use declaration
Section 15	5-6 years	Incontestability
Section 8 & 9	Every 10 years	Renewal

Copyright Practice

Protectable Works (17 U.S.C. § 102)

• Literary works
• Musical works
• Dramatic works
• Choreographic works
• Pictorial, graphic, sculptural works
• Motion pictures and audiovisual works
• Sound recordings
• Architectural works

Not Protectable

• Ideas, procedures, processes
• Facts
• Titles, names, short phrases
• Works in public domain
• Government works

Copyright Duration

Work Type	Duration
Individual author	Life + 70 years
Joint work	Life of last surviving author + 70 years
Work for hire	95 years from publication or 120 from creation
Anonymous/pseudonymous	Same as work for hire

Fair Use Analysis (§ 107)

1. Purpose and character of use (commercial vs. educational, transformative)
2. Nature of copyrighted work (creative vs. factual)
3. Amount and substantiality of portion used
4. Effect on market for original work

Registration Benefits

• Prerequisite to suit (for US works)
• Statutory damages ($750-$30,000; up to $150,000 if willful)
• Attorney's fees
• Prima facie evidence of validity

Trade Secret Practice

Elements (DTSA / UTSA)

1. Information
2. Derives value from secrecy
3. Reasonable efforts to maintain secrecy

Protection Measures

• Confidentiality agreements
• Employee training
• Physical security
• Digital security (access controls, encryption)
• Need-to-know access
• Exit interviews
• Marking confidential documents
• Visitor protocols

Misappropriation Claims

Acquisition: Improper means (theft, bribery, breach of duty) Disclosure/Use: Without consent, when should know improper

Remedies

• Injunctive relief
• Damages (actual loss + unjust enrichment)
• Exemplary damages (2x for willful)
• Attorney's fees (bad faith or willful)

IP Licensing

Key License Terms

Term	Description
Grant clause	Scope of rights licensed
Field of use	Permitted applications
Territory	Geographic scope
Exclusivity	Exclusive, sole, or non-exclusive
Sublicense rights	Ability to sublicense
Term	Duration of license
Royalties	Payment structure
Audit rights	Verify royalty payments
Improvements	Rights to enhancements
Representations	IP ownership, non-infringement
Indemnification	IP infringement claims

Royalty Structures

• Running royalty (% of sales)
• Flat fee (lump sum)
• Minimum guarantees
• Milestone payments
• Hybrid structures

IP Disputes

Patent Infringement Analysis

1. Claim construction
2. Literal infringement
3. Doctrine of equivalents
4. Defenses (invalidity, exhaustion, implied license)

Trademark Infringement

• Likelihood of confusion
• Dilution (famous marks)
• Cybersquatting (ACPA, UDRP)

Copyright Infringement

1. Ownership of valid copyright
2. Copying (access + substantial similarity)
3. Defenses (fair use, license, independent creation)

Key Databases and Resources

Resource	Purpose	URL
USPTO	Patent/trademark search	uspto.gov
WIPO	International filings	wipo.int
Google Patents	Patent search	patents.google.com
EPO Espacenet	European patents	espacenet.com
TESS	Trademark search	tmsearch.uspto.gov
Copyright Office	Registration	copyright.gov

Integration with Other Skills

• legal-research: Case law and precedent
• contract-lifecycle: IP licensing agreements
• corporate-ma: IP due diligence
• litigation: IP enforcement
• international-arbitration: Cross-border IP disputes

Reference Files

For detailed guidance:

• references/patent-prosecution.md - Patent application guide
• references/trademark-clearance.md - TM search methodology
• references/licensing-templates.md - License agreement forms