Transcripts
1. Welcome to Free Legal Resources Course!: Welcome to this
course on how to get free or pro bono patent, copyright and
trademark services. I want to first
introduce myself. My name is Jimmy Mack merit, and I'm an intellectual
property attorney. After graduating
from law school, I worked as a
trademarks attorney at the United States Patent
and Trademark Office. But I'm also an entrepreneur. And when I was in law school, I started learning about all of these untapped free resources. I also saw how very
few people knew that these opportunities
even existed. So as a law student, I started applying for
these opportunities. The first free
opportunity that I applied for was
for a program that provides completely free
intellectual property protection for patents. I assume that the
program would be super competitive and that I
wouldn't get accepted. But to my shock, I was alerted a few months later that I was accepted
to this program. And some of the most prestigious global corporate law firms participate in this program. So over the next year, I worked with a global
corporate law firm to register my patent. I then applied to the same program with
the second patent idea. And to my shock again, I was also accepted
a few months later. So over the next two years, I worked with another
global corporate law firm for the duration of my pattern, the value of
intellectual property, legal representation
for the duration of a patent can be about $250,000. So I cannot
underestimate just how valuable this
untapped resource is. So in this course, I'm going to teach you
about these opportunities, but I'm also going to teach you the strategies and tips to maximize your chances of being selected for
these opportunities. Specifically, we're going to
talk about free resources for patents, trademarks,
and copyrights. And then we'll also talk about free resources for
entrepreneurs. First, we'll learn
about patents, including strategies and tips for applying for free patents, legal services from the United States Patent
and Trademark Offices, patent pro Bono Program, and other legal clinics. Second, we'll talk
about how to apply for an maximize your
chances for acceptance. Clinics that provide free
trademark legal representation. Third, we'll talk about untapped Copyright Resources at the United States
copyright office, which assists applicants and understanding the information required at each stage of the copyright
registration process. Finally, we're going to talk about other free resources for entrepreneurs that
involve finding free mentors and
supportive communities. As you know, entrepreneurship
doesn't happen in a vacuum. It's important to have
a community of support. These free resources will help you to develop that foundation
2. Free Legal Representation for Patents: Many of us have ideas
that need protection, and this is where
patents come in. A utility patent protects
how something works. A design patent protects
us something looks. E.g. Edison's light bulb was a utility patent that protected
how the light bulb works. The look and feel of
Apple's iPhone could be a design patent that protects
how the phone looks. At the process of
applying for a patent, which is called
patent prosecution, can also be really expensive. It can also be really
confusing with scientific and technical
expertise often required. Patent attorneys at top law
firms can charge upwards of $1,000 an hour
for this expertise. But there is a way to apply for a program for free
patents, legal services. First, we'll talk about the United States Patent
and Trademark Offices patent pro Bono Program. Second, we'll talk about
legal clinics that provide free representation
for patents. As you can see, the website has some criteria. First, you have to be within
a certain income threshold. So if you're a student, you likely would fall under this gross household income
limit because you're probably not full-time or
even part-time employed. Or you might be a non-student, but your income still falls
below this threshold. Second, you have
to show that you have basic knowledge
of the patent system. If you don't already have a provisional patent
application on file with the United States
Patent and Trademark Office. You can complete the
certificate training course, which is a short
process that includes watching a video about
the patent process. Third, you'll want to clearly
explain your invention. You want to clearly
communicate how your invention works in the
case of a utility patent, or how the invention looks in the case
of a design patent, you're now ready
to apply for the patent pro Bono Program. But you'll want to apply
for the correct area. For instance, if I
live in California, I'd click on the map, which shows that I
will be applying for the California investors
assistance program. Now, let's talk about tips and strategies to include
in your application. First, you want to
consider your audience. You are applying to a corporate law firm that
is willing to potentially provide hundreds of thousands of dollars of pro Bono patent
legal services to you. So let's think more
about the audience of who will be reading
your application. This is probably an overworked
attorney that likely spends most of his or her day working with corporate clients. Perhaps they don't
feel too fulfilled by only servicing these
corporate clients and are participating in this program
in order to give back and use their legal expertise to help a motivated entrepreneur. This is why it's important
to humanize yourself and your business to share the
story behind your patent idea. If your business might
do good in the world, whether via the invention itself or giving back a portion of
your proceeds to charity. You want to convey that to the attorney reviewing
your application. After all, people will
feel more connected to helping someone who is
also helping others. You can also share more about your personal story
and your background. Why does this invention
matter to you? Could have patent change the trajectory of your
business or life. A good strategy to consider is the college admissions essay. When applying to college, this essay hopefully set you
apart from other applicants. Some college admission
stories explain an applicant's hook or some skill that they
have that's unique. Or the essay might explain how an applicant faced adversities or struggles in their past. It humanizes the
applicant beyond just a GPA and SAT score. Similarly, you want to be able
to set yourself apart from the other applicants
and to be able to tell your story in a persuasive
and concise way. Second, you want to
convey that you truly understand what an opportunity it would be to get selected. Participating
attorneys are giving their time and
expertise for free. So they want to know that
they will be working with someone who is
excited and eager. Third, you want to keep in
mind that it might take a long time to hear back when I was selected
on two occasions. It took several months before I was notified
that I've selected. The second consideration
is applying for a legal clinic that focuses
on patent representation. So instead of working with the corporate law firm via
the patent pro Bono Program, you'll be able to work
with the legal clinic. The USPTO website provides information on the legal clinics that provide this
representation. Here, if you click
on Expand, all, you'll see over 60
law school clinics that provide legal services. Now, not all of the programs
provide patents services. Some will just provide
trademark services. You'll want to make a list
of the law school clinics that you qualify for
and are a good fit for. Then you can do some
additional research on the Law School's website to learn more about their program. Just like we discussed, you want to clearly convey your invention
and the application. You'll also want to
effectively tell the story of you
and your business. Ask yourself, what sets me
apart from other applicants? The law school wants to
work with someone who is eager and committed
to the program. One final word, it can sometimes feel overwhelming
applying for a program, especially when it's not even clear that you'll get accepted. But keep in mind that someone is going to
get this opportunity. So why should it not be, you?
3. Free Legal Representation for Trademarks: We're now going to
talk about how to find free trademark services. So as background, I worked as a trademarks attorney at the United States Patent
and Trademark Office. The most frustrating aspect of working as a
trademarks attorney at the USPTO was that you cannot provide legal counsel
to applicants. Most applications receive
an office action, which is a formal
correspondence from the United States Patent
and Trademark Office with the issues that you need
to fix an order for the applications to proceed
and become registered. Some problems are
very easy to fix, and others are harder. But the office actions contain a lot of legal jargon
that can be confusing. So even when they're
easy issues to fix, the legal jargon
can make it seem much more confusing
than it actually is. So instead of applying
for a trademark on your own or trying to respond to
an office action on your own. Is there a way to get
free trademark guidance? The answer is yes. One of the best ways to receive free trademark representation is to be represented
by a legal clinic. As a law student, I participated in a legal
clinic where we provided free trademark representation
to an entrepreneur. With this avenue, you
work with law students who are supervised by
a practicing attorney. So how do you get selected
for these free opportunities? On the USPTO website, there's a link that lists all of the participating
law school programs. If you click on this link
and then click Expand, all, you will see the
participating law schools. Now, let's talk
about the tips and strategies to maximize your
chances of being selected. The first step is to choose the right law schools
to apply for. Some law schools allow anyone to apply regardless
of where they live. Other law schools will
only want applicants from the same state that the
law school is located. So you want to first compile a list of the law school clinics that you're interested in. Then you want to check
the fourth column on the United States Patent and Trademark Offices website, which specifies whether the law school excepts
applicants from anywhere in the United States
or just a specific state. Second, you want to conduct some research on the
law school clinic. So if you Google the
law school clinic, you'll be able to find some additional information
on that specific program. Third, you want to check the deadlines of
these applications. So law school clinics
generally begin their work at the beginning of the academic school
year in September. Some clinics only
accept applications once a year to begin
in the fall semester. Other clinics will allow
applications twice a year to begin in the fall
or the spring semester. You want to be
able to apply well in advance of the beginning
of the school year, before the law school has
made its selections forth, you want to brainstorm how
you're going to present yourself and your business
in the application. Here, I want you to think about the story of your brand
and your business. Trademarks tell a
story about a brand. On a personal level, what does your
brand mean to you? And why is it
important for you to protect that brand with
the registered trademark? Explaining the background of your brand and what your
brand means to you, helps humanize your application. Fifth, you want to
convey that you're a flexible person that fully understands the
commitment of the clinic. The last thing that
a clinic wants is for an entrepreneur
to be selected for free representation and then not be fully
committed to the program. Keep in mind that in
addition to helping you, the legal clinic is supposed to help the law students who are there to learn under the
guidance of licensed attorneys. So you want to just make it
clear to them that you are a committed and reliable person so that they view you as an
ideal client for the clinic. Also. Well, the law school clinics will provide great
representation. It will likely take longer
for them to complete your trademark
application compared to if you went to a
corporate law firm. That's because the
students are also learning about the trademark
prosecution process. So showing that you are a
flexible person helps them know that you will have reasonable expectations
on timing. Sex. You can always ask questions or follow up with
their application by contacting the
person in charge of the legal clinic on the
same website as before, you might see the contact
information of this individual on the second column which
specifies the emails. Or if you Google the
law school clinic, you'll also find
contact information for the person in
charge of the clinic. So to recap, you want to make sure that
you've qualified for the potential legal clinics and do some research on
the legal clinics. Ben, you want to craft your application so that
the clinic more fully understands your motivations
for trademark protection and why you and your business will be a
great fit for the clinic.
4. FREE Opportunities for Copyrights: Copyrights are an
important form of intellectual property for
entrepreneurs and artists. As background, you do
receive some protection as soon as you fix your
work into a permanent form, such as writing a novel. But you need to register a federal copyright in order to receive broader protection, such as being able to sue in federal court for
copyright infringement. When registering a copyright on the United States copyright
office's website, you may run into some questions. Many entrepreneurs find copyright
registration to be more straightforward then trademark
and patent registration. But what do you do if
you have questions about the copyright
registration process? Fortunately, the United
States copyright office has an untapped resource that
many people don't know about. If you have questions about
the application and steps. The Copyright Office has
an application assistance, walked through service where copyright office staff member will assist you and explain the types of
information required. You can sign up for
a 30-minute session. In the link below. As you can see, you
can simply submit a walk-through request form and
schedule your appointment. Now, the staff member
won't be able to provide specific legal advice. But many entrepreneurs
will find this one-on-one application
assistance to be very helpful. Particularly with how the
staff member will tell you exactly what information
is required in each stage. So to recap, if you are
registering a copyright, don't forget that there's a totally free resource from the United States
copyright office, which allows you to
meet directly with the staff member to walk
through the process
5. How to Get Mentorship for Free: One of the topics
that is often not talked about is that
entrepreneurship, particularly at the early
stages, can be lonely. Entrepreneur's work long
hours, often alone, and are always stressing about some upcoming
deadline or project. We sometimes forget that entrepreneurship is
about community. Whether we are trying to find
product fit with customers or seeking mentorship from more experienced
entrepreneurs. A community of support can be fundamental to
long-term success. So how do you find a mentor and how do
you find community? Fortunately, there are
mentorship opportunities with incredible mentors that
are completely free. First, we're going
to talk about score, which provides
one-on-one advice and mentorship from experienced
businesspeople. There are over 10,000
score mentors that have already helped 30,000
small businesses. And counting. Again, this is a
totally free resource and allows you to share your challenges and journey with an experienced mentor
on a long-term basis. So how do you apply
and get matched? If you go to the Score website, you can scroll down and
provide your zip code. You can then fill out the
form with your information. Mentors can give you advice or insights that you
haven't yet considered. Sometimes entrepreneurs have
blind spots that can more readily be seen by an
objective third party. So I would highly recommend this free resource
for your business. Second, there are small
business development centers, or SBD sees that provide counseling and training
to small businesses. I participated in this
program with the SBDC and Maryland and it was a
really beneficial experience. I had to zoom discussions with the really knowledgeable and
experienced SBDC person. I shared my ideas and he had great thoughts on which additional resources would
be a good fit for me. He then would follow
up via e-mail with all of those resources. He also provided an
additional contact in my fields to reach out
to to find an SBDC, you need to search by
your geographic area. If you go to the Small
Business Administration or SPAs website, you'll be able to click on
bind an SBDC in your area. As you can see, when I type in my zip code of two
zeros, zeros 05. The third option shows an
SBDC in Washington DC. Here you'll see the SBDC for DC, which provides information
on services ranging from upcoming workshops to
financial literacy programs. I recommend bookmarking. The SBDC is webpage
so you can check periodically about free
resources and programs. Now, in order to register
for SBDC support, I'd first click on new clients. I would then choose a location and then schedule
an appointment. Now, we're going to talk about
women's business centers, which provides free
to low-cost support for female entrepreneurs. On the SPS website, you can search for a local
Women's Business Center by zip code and find a Women's
Business Center close to you. Now, on the website, you'll see that it says, our office provides
help with SBA services, including funding
programs, counseling, federal contracting
certifications, and disaster recovery. You'll also see that there's
information on how to send a message requesting assistance to this Women's Business Center. Finally, there are
free resources and opportunities that are specifically geared
towards veterans. This information can also be
found on the SBA website. Specifically, the
website says that the Veterans Business Outreach
Center Program provides entrepreneurial
development services such as business training, counseling, and resource partner referrals to transitioning
service members, veterans, National Guard and
Reserve members, and military spouses
interested in starting or growing
a small business. If you scroll down, you'll see all of
the locations of the Veterans Business
Outreach Centers. For instance, if I live
in Boston, Massachusetts, I could choose the
New England region, which provides coverage
for Massachusetts. Here I see the contact
email of this region and the website to find out more information about
the services provided. As you can see,
there are a lot of opportunities not only
to find free resources, but also to find connection
in supportive communities. I encourage you to find a program that fits
your businesses, need to engage in
a new community
TrademarkEd, Making the legal accessible.
