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Intellectual property, patent law, trade law, doing business internationally. When these are part of the discussion, many sentences include a “however.” The farther one delves into these areas, the more “howevers” there are, it seems. Even if you’ve achieved getting an international patent and have commercialized your innovation successfully, I’m fairly certain you don’t know all there is to know about the process you just navigated. It’s all those “howevers.” These topics are complex enough that we have divided them into two features this month, which we hope will provide some clarity, and it may alert you to lurking dangers.
Our first feature, “Demystifying international patent rights” by patent law attorney Cory Shug, looks at the value of patent rights, timing issues, types of applications and other key points in pursuing patent rights internationally. Our next feature by trade law attorney Andrew Tuggle will highlight three regulatory issues related to global trade compliance, including “Buy American” preferences, export controls, and foreign investment in the U.S.
These topics can intersect, obviously, but … well, they’re not the same thing. There’s a lot to know when it comes to protecting intellectual property, especially if you intend to do business internationally. In two articles we still can’t cover it all. We know. But we can keep important considerations in front of you, and alert you to changes that could impact important decisions in your business.
There’s an assumption that consulting an expert, such as an attorney, is going to cost you a lot of money. That depends on what you think is expensive and the resources you have available, of course. But it could be quite a bit more expensive in the long run not to consult an expert. Part of making that decision is knowing when you need help, and that’s why we’re running these articles this month.
We’re interested in everybody making the most of the exciting new products that emerge regularly in the advanced textiles industry, and those responsible should be able to reap the benefits of their hard work, too.
Janet Preus is senior editor of Textile Technology Source. She can be reached at janet.preus@textiles.org.