Legal Help to Apply for a Patent

Inventors in the Houston area presently have two options to apply for pro bono (free) legal help when getting a patent. 

1. South Texas College of Law Houston participates in the Pro Bono Assistance Law School Clinic Program. Under the supervision of a patent attorney, law school students work with inventors to file their patent. Inventors get free legal help, but must still pay patent filing fees. Income guidelines to qualify for this program are more liberal than for the TALA program mentioned next.
2. Pro Bono through the Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts (TALA) linked from the USPTO's Pro Bono page. (Check the Pro Bono page if the volunteer organization changes.) This program is for residents of Texas and Louisiana who have a total combined household income of less than 300% of the federal poverty guidelines and are "currently under no obligation to assign the rights to the invention." Before being accepted into the program, inventors are required to become a member of TALA for a small yearly fee of $75 and:
•  complete the USPTO online course “Basic Patent Training for Independent Inventors and Small Businesses” and print out the certificate of completion;
• perform a prior art search: and
• have filed a provisional application with the USPTO with at least six months remaining until the nonprovisional is due.
Inventors accepted get free legal help, but must pay the patent filing fees. See more information at the TALA website.

World IP Day - Houston

World Intellectual Property Day is an initiative of the World Intellectual Property Organization's outreach program to educate communities in different parts of the US regarding the importance of protecting intellectual property and the resources available for its protection.

DATE:  April 26, 2017

Time:  4:00 PM CT - 7:00 PM CT

Location:

University of St. Thomas

3817 Mount Vernon

Carol Tatkon Boardroom - Mallory Hall

Houston , TX 77006

Register


The program is free and open to the public. For inquiries about the event:
please email texasregionalUSPTOEvents@USPTO.GOV(link sends e-mail), visit us at the Texas Regional Office home page, or call us at 469-295-9000.

China IP Road Show & Mandarin Intro to IP

China IP Road Show & Mandarin Intro to IP

Please join the USPTO in Dallas and Houston for two seminars about protecting your IP in China and another seminar discussing IP basics in the Mandarin language.  These events are free and open to the public, but registration is required and seating is limited.  We hope to see you there.

Tuesday, May 2: Lone Star Strategies for IP in China, What Texas Companies Need to Know Now in Dallas, TX

Belo Mansion

2101 Ross Ave.

Dallas, TX 75201

8:00 AM – 3:00 PM CT

Registration: https://emenuapps.ita.doc.gov/ePublic/event/editWebReg.do?SmartCode=7Q9Z

Registration Deadline is April 28.

Thursday, May 4: Mandarin Language Intro to IP in Houston, TX

1:00 – 5:30 PM CT

GE Oil and Gas

4424 W. Sam Houston Pkwy North

Room 108 (1^st Floor)

Houston, TX 77041

Registration: https://mandarin-introduction-ip.eventbrite.com

Following the event is a reception from 5:30 – 6:30 PM CT.

Friday, May 5: Lone Star Strategies for IP in China, What Texas Companies Need to Know Now in Houston, TX

8:30 AM – 5:30 PM CT

Bracewell LLP

711 Louisiana Street

Suite 2300

Houston, TX 77002

Registration: https://info.bracewelllaw.com/38/1060/compose-email/uspto-ip-in-china-05-05-fw.asp?sid=blankform

USPTO - Texas Regional Office

Terminal Annex Federal Building | 207 S. Houston St., Ste. 159, Dallas, Texas 75202

469-295-9000

Fraudulent Trademark Solicitations

Fraudulent alert roundtable on July 26

Last week, a fifth person was convicted for his role in a scam that defrauded thousands of trademark applicants. We are proud to have assisted federal law enforcement officials in this recent example of the fraudulent solicitations that continue to target our customers.

We continue to work hard to publicize and combat this ongoing issue. The USPTO Commissioner for Trademarks Mary Boney Denison writes about our ongoing efforts in her blog post, USPTO fights fraudulent trademark solicitations.

On July 26, the Trademark Organization and the Trademark Public Advisory Committee plan to hold a roundtable discussion on fraudulent solicitations. If you or your client would like to share your experience with a fraudulent advertisement at the roundtable, please contact Leigh Lowry at TMPolicy@uspto.gov.

Patent Quality Chat - April 11

Patent Quality Chat - Webinar

The USPTO’s Patent Quality Chat webinar is tomorrow, April 11, from noon – 1 p.m. ET. Join the event via this link.

This month’s topic is “Examination Time Analysis.”

Throughout the event, you can send questions and comments to patentquality@uspto.gov.

The Patent Quality chat webinar series is part of the USPTO's ongoing efforts to enhance patent quality.