US Patent and Trademark Supplemental Appropriations Act

President Barack Obama signed the United States Patent and Trademark Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2010 into law on August 10, 2010. This legislation was signed into law a mere 14 days after it was introduced to Congress. It was sponsored by Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV1).

The Act gives an additional $129 million to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to spend in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010. The USPTO projects that it will collect nearly $200 million more than its FY 2010 appropriation of $1.887 billion.

This additional funding will allow the USPTO and its director, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office David Kappos, to continue to improve the efficiency of both the USPTO and the patenting process. 

The president said on July 12, when he requested Congress to provide the USPTO with these funds “the money would support efforts to reduce backlogs in processing patent applications-by spurring innovation and reforming the US Patent and Trademark to make them more effective.”

According to the USPTO website, the total average time for patent pendency is 35 months and the total average time for trademark pendency is 13.5 months. This additional funding will greatly help the efforts of the USPTO in becoming more efficient while being thorough.

About Lambert & Lambert:
Lambert & Lambert is a contingency-fee based invention marketing and patent licensing firm that specializes in consumer products. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Lambert & Lambert provides services to inventors, product developers and small companies throughout the world and currently has products selling in numerous retailers.

Contact:
Tim Sherman, director of customer service
Lambert & Lambert, Inc.
Tel: 651-552-0080
www.lambertinvent.com

Lambert & Lambert Hits Major Trade Shows Representing Inventions

St. Paul, Minn. January 28 – It’s trade show season in the licensing arena. There have been eight major shows throughout the past month of January alone, including the Int. Consumer Electronics Show and PGA Merchandising Show. Four big ones are being held in February, and six more in the three months following. A more complete list of these trade shows can be found at www.lambertinvent.com/tradeshows.php.

Trade show season is one of the busy and exciting times of year here at Lambert & Lambert, our teams sparing no effort in pitching products effectively and personally establishing meaningful connections that will eventually lead to a successful licensing deal. L&L teams had a strong presence at the January expos and will be attending the shows in coming months as well, focusing on promoting our clients’ new products and uncovering new licensing opportunities.

For those seeking a license deal, trade shows provide a great opportunity for networking, acquiring sales leads and getting current industry information. They are also excellent venues for finding well-positioned licensees. The essential purpose of the trade show is to provide an exhibition for companies to display their latest products and services, study those of their competitors, and to examine recent trends or opportunities. They are also a considerable marketing investment for companies, often requiring significant expenses including rent, design and construction of the displays, travel costs, representative accommodations, promotional literature and items to give attendees, and so on. Consequently, companies at major trade shows are usually key players in the industry, making these expos a prime hunting ground for finding potential licensees.

Some companies offer to promote new products with worthless unsolicited mailings. At L&L, a large part of our service is personally representing our clients' devices at expos and making professional presentations with the reps and executives of various companies in product-relevant markets. After all, in starting a business relationship, nothing beats a face-to-face meeting and a firm hand shake.

About Lambert & Lambert:

Lambert & Lambert is a contingency-fee based invention marketing and patent licensing firm that specializes in consumer products. Based in St. Paul, Minnesota, Lambert & Lambert provides services to inventors, product developers and small companies throughout the world and currently has products selling in numerous retailers.

Contact:

Tim Sherman, director of customer service
Lambert & Lambert, Inc.
Tel: 651-552-0080
www.lambertinvent.com