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Patent Reform Bill - Major Changes
First to File becomes the rule.
I always enjoy teaching the "So You've Got A Great Idea" class, and get to meet with very smart people and see their wonderful inventions. I particularly enjoy helping them move their idea forward on the path to a profitable product.
That path is a new one for many, as of the 16th of September. It will be the first person to file for a patent that will have the right to patent a product, not the first to invent. The first-to-file system will take effect 18 months from now.
What that means is if you have an invention, and you think it is patentable, don't wait. Get at least a provisional patent filed as quickly as you can. If someone steals it and files first, you may be out of luck.
One good aspect of the 'reform' is a reduction in the Patent Office fees for the small entity. Check out uspto.gov for the current fee schedule.
Note that many products are not patentable - and you can still protect your idea through copyright, trademark, trade secret and other means. As importantly, you should be thinking of getting it into the market as quickly as you can.
Posted By: bizshop on september 27, 2011 11:50pm
Social Media used by half of US population
Half of all adult Americans now use social media sites, according to data collected by the Pew Research Center. The center found 65% of all adult Web users in the U.S. use social tools, an increase of four percentage points from a year earlier. Still, older, wealthier and better-educated adults lag the national average, even as they surge ahead in search-engine use and e-reader ownership.
StumbleUpon is responsible for about half of all U.S. social sharing, according to StatCounter data. Facebook accounted for about 39% of social sharing, and no other social network accounted for more than 5% of referrals. Globally, Facebook retains its social-sharing crown with about 60% of total traffic referrals, compared with about 28% for StumbleUpon.
We've just released our latest Manual-on-CD, Irresistible Website Promotion and Social Media which covers how to use the surging popularity of social media as well as other ways to bring in customers online. I just shipped the first copies, so it is hot off the press!
http://bizshop.com/description.php/MPROMO
Posted By: on august 30, 2011 04:50am
5 Steps To A Marketing Calendar
1. Take a marker and draw a line from one side of a wall to the next (you can put some paper up there first, if you want)
2. Divide into 52 weeks. If you don't want to measure, divide in half, then divide each half into halves, and keep doing this 3 more times (5 total). You'll have 64 divisions, which is a year and almost a quarter of weeks. Make a heavy mark at the end of each month.
3. Above the line, mark down your budget for each month.
4. Mark the holidays and any special events. For example, if you want to have a booth at a show, you usually have to have your reservation in by a certain date.
5. Plan some marketing activity for each week, and write it in. You don't have to have a year's worth of new ideas, you can repeat - for instance every 4 weeks is your newsletter.
Now all you need to do each week is mark off last week and see what you need to do for your marketing this week. I like using the wall because it is visible - no way to miss it!
Posted By: on august 16, 2011 01:17am
QM's do it with stars
Just had a great visit with an old Navy friend and mentor, QMC Ed Nezworski. He and I are old WestPac mates, having each spent 2 tours aboard the USS White Plains and many years based out of Japan.
It was great to swap lies and memories, drink a few San Miguels, and renew friendship. Isn't this much of what life is about? It sure isn't about making money, so take some time to enjoy!
Posted By: on august 09, 2011 09:13am
Happy Clown Week! Have some fun!
We humans take ourselves far too seriously most of the time, and especiallly those of us in business.
Let loose, have some fun, laugh a lot, bump a nose!
http://www.internationalclownweek.org/
http://http://clownvillenews.com/
Posted By: on august 02, 2011 01:54pm
