Latest & Greatest – Patent It Yourself: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Filing at the U.S. Patent Office

By David Pressman and David E. Blau

Published by Nolo Press

KF 3144.6 .P74 2018

Do you think that you’ve created the world’s greatest invention, the thing that will be talked about for ages to come? Or perhaps, it’s not something so grandiose, but nevertheless useful. At any rate, no matter the invention, you want to protect it or commercially market it. So, what can you do? A good place to start is Patent It Yourself: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Filing at the U.S. Patent Office. Now in its 19th edition, Patent It Yourself guides its readers through the patent process: from the patentability search through the preparation of the patent application to the filing of the necessary paperwork.

The book begins with an introduction to patents and the other types of intellectual property, such as trademarks, copyright, and trade secrets before moving onto the nuts and bolts of submitting an application for a patent. The authors, two patent attorneys, also present some questions to consider when filing for a patent or when thinking about filing for one: will the invention sell? Is it patentable? Is a patentability search necessary, and if so, how is it done? The authors also address issues that may arise after a patent is issued, such as supplemental applications; use, maintenance, and infringement; and ownership, assignment, and licensing of the invention.

Aside from the information contained in the text, there is a lot of useful information in the appendices:

  • a list of government publications and patent websites;

  • glossary of technical terms;

  • glossary of legal terms,

  • a quick-reference timing chart, and

  • forms.

There is also a Quick-Start Guide at the front that points readers to specific chapters depending on the task at hand. Before you send that application off to the Patent Office, be sure to have a look at Patent It Yourself: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Filing at the U.S. Patent Office. It can make the process much easier to navigate.

Wills and Probate Resource Month - October 2018

October is Wills and Probate Resource Month at the Harris County Law Library. All month long, you will find materials on wills, estate planning, and probate and trust administration on display in the Law Library and online.

Self-Help Guides from Nolo Press

Nolo’s Plan Your Estate is your go-to estate planning guide. With coverage of common estate planning goals, such as leaving property, providing for minors, planning for incapacity, avoiding probate, and reducing the estate tax, it is a go-to source for easy-to-understand estate planning information. Another useful Nolo resource is Estate Planning Basics. Both of these Nolo titles can be found in our Self-Help Collection in the Law Library. For assistance in finding these guides, please ask a member of the reference staff.

TexasLawHelp Wills & Estate Planning

TexasLawHelp.org is an incredibly useful online legal research tool for the general public. Take a look at their Wills & Estate Planning resources for information about filing a small estate affidavit, a transfer on death deed, or an affidavit of heirship. Also find a link to the Texas Probate Passport, a publication of the Texas Young Lawyer’s Association.

Harris County Law Library Research Guides

Visit our Research Guides page to download a free copy of our Probate, Trusts, and Estates Research Guide. This topical guide helps you quickly find the most practical resources available at the Law Library, including the Texas Probate System, a State Bar of Texas publication, and O’Connor’s Texas Probate Law Handbook (both of which are pictured above).Ask for these and other titles at the Law Library reference desk.

Register to vote... at your local public library

Register by October 9

Tomorrow, October 9, 2018, is the last day Texans can register to vote if they intend to cast a ballot on November 6, 2018 (per the Texas Secretary of State). If you’ve waited until the last minute, your local public libraries, including the Harris County Law Library, are here to help.

Texas Public Libraries = Voter Registration Agencies

Under the National Voter Rights Act of 1993, states can designate “voter registration agencies” to distribute and accept voter registration forms (see NVRA Q&A from the US Dept. of Justice). Texas has designated all public libraries as voter registration agencies in §20.001 of the Texas Election Code. That means you can find voter registration applications on hand at the Harris County Law Library and other libraries open to the public like Harris County Public Library. You can also complete and submit the form in your community at your local library, which makes it easy and convenient to get ready for election day on November 6, 2018.

Further Reading

Latest & Greatest – Legal Malpractice Insurance in One Hour for Lawyers

By JoAnn L. Hathaway

Published by American Bar Association. Law Practice Division.

KF 313 .H38 2017

Part of the popular In One Hour series published by the American Bar Association, Legal Malpractice Insurance in One Hour for Lawyers is a handy reference guide that sorts through the confusion surrounding lawyers professional liability (LPL) insurance. Author JoAnn Hathaway provides the information lawyers need to select the best LPL coverage for their practice. With this book, lawyers will learn about the costs involved in acquiring the insurance, the relevance of responses on the LPL insurance application, and the how-tos of choosing the right carrier. The author walks her readers through a “typical” LPL insurance policy and explains key provisions and endorsements. She also sheds some light on coverage limits and the practice of claims-made coverage. And what happens if you change firms or form a new one? Hathaway has some answers for you on that issue as well.

Before you purchase LPL insurance for your practice, have a look at Legal Malpractice Insurance in One Hour for Lawyers. One hour now can save you from lots of headaches later.