* YearOfDisruption.com: Editorial Calendar

Fodder for thought.

By Erik J. Heels

First published 9/1/2016; YearOfDisruption.com; publisher: GiantPeople.


September – How to pay for it?

  • Startups need patents/trademarks when they can least afford them.
  • Should startups focus on trade secrets instead of patents?
  • Should startups launch their brand and worry about trademarks later?
  • How much does rebranding cost?
  • Your BOD says you need patents, but do you really?
  • What’s the cost/benefit analysis of NOT filing patents?
  • What’s the cost/benefit analysis of NOT filing trademarks?
  • The role of angels and VCs.

October – Who is disrupting patent law?

  • Patent agents vs. patent lawyers.
  • Outsourcing patent work to India.
  • Outsourcing non-IP work to other specialists (e.g. corporate law).
  • What’s the deal with invention promotion firms?
  • Who is bidding on the “patent” search term and why (https://www.google.com/search?q=patent)?
  • What’s the deal with LegalZoom.com?
  • NOLO patent book: Patent It Yourself (https://www.amazon.com/Patent-Yourself-Step—Step-Filing/dp/1413322573/).
  • Valueless disruption: about patent trolls.

November – Who is disrupting trademark law?

  • Who is bidding on the “trademark” search term and why (https://www.google.com/search?q=trademark)?
  • What’s the deal with Cognate.com (common law trademark solutions)?
  • What’s the deal with Trademarkia.com (common law trademark solutions)?
  • NOLO trademark books (http://www.nolo.com/products/trademark-trd.html).
  • What’s the deal with this foreign trademark bill I received?
  • Why is the USPTO trademark system so unsecure?
  • And why are trademark lawyers so insecure?
  • Should there be a trademark bar exam?
  • Valueless disruption: about domain name (and username) squatters.
  • Valueless disruption: about trademark bullies.

December – Giving back.

  • Pro bono IP players.
  • Nonprofit IP work.
  • Special interest groups.
  • University groups such as Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society (https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/).
  • Should pro bono be a requirement for the patent bar?
  • Should pro bono be a requirement for trademark lawyers?

January – Automation, crowds, drones, robots.

  • Can you automate invention? Robert Plotkin’s book (https://www.amazon.com/Genie-Machine-Computer-Automated-Inventing-Revolutionizing/dp/0804756996/).
  • Can you crowd-source your logo?
  • Why pay lawyers for trademark renewals?
  • Why pay lawyers for patent renewals?

February – Location, location, location.

  • Urban or suburban?
  • Co-working, incubators, accelerators.
  • Do you need a real office?
  • Do you need a virtual office?
  • Why Boston is the best US city for startups.
  • Why New York City is the best US city for startups.
  • Why DC is the best US city for startups.
  • Why San Francisco is the best US city for startups.
  • Why [YOUR FAVORITE STARTUP CITY HERE] is the best US city for startups.

March – Third month madness! Vote for Boston’s best patent and trademark firms.

  • We can’t call it March Madness, for obvious reasons.
  • Why big patent firms are better than small patent firms.
  • Why small patent firms are better than big patent firms.
  • Why big trademark firms are better than small trademark firms.
  • Why small trademark firms are better than big trademark firms.

April – Law practice management.

  • ABA TechShow.
  • Technology trends.
  • Marketing trends.
  • Internet trends.
  • Fewer law students, fewer lawyers. Good or bad?
  • The economy is cyclic. Ready for the next recession?

May – Graduation. What have we learned?

  • Looking back, looking forward.
  • Did we learn anything from 1990s business books?
  • Book: Chaos Monkeys (https://www.amazon.com/Chaos-Monkeys-Obscene-Fortune-Failure/dp/0062458191/).
  • Am Law 100 trends.
  • SCOTUS trends in IP law.

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