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Patent and copyright law Understanding Patent and Copyright Law Patent and copyright law gives the inventor the exclusive rights to the invention. No one else can produce the invention for a set period of time under patent and copyright law. Patent and copyright law is set up to protect inventors. The law on patents can be found in the United States Constitution, Article 1, Section 8 and in Title 35 of the United States Code. The agency that is in charge of patent laws is a Federal Agency known as the Patent and Trademark Office. Anyone who applies for a patent will have their application reviewed by an examiner. The examiner will decide if a patent should be granted to the inventor. Individuals who have their patent application turned down can appeal it to the Patents Office Board of Appeals. Just because someone has a patent does not mean that they have the right to use, make or sell the invention. For instance, if a drug company comes up with a new drug, they can get a patent on it. However, it would not be available to be sold to the general public until the drug becomes approved by other regulatory bodies. Likewise, someone may invent an improvement to an existing product, yet they will not be allowed to produce or sell the item until they obtain a license to do so from the owner of the original patent holder. For someone to receive a patent, as stated, they must fill out an application on their invention. The application will entail the details of the invention and how it is made. In addition, the person applying for a patent must make claims that point to what the applicant deems or regards as his or her invention. A patent may have many claims with it. The claims protect the patent owner and notify the public exactly what the individual has patented or owns. If someone infringes upon patent and copyright law, it is usually enforced in a civil court setting. The owner of the patent will generally bring a civil lawsuit against the person who has infringed upon their patent and ask for monetary compensation. In addition, the patent owner can seek an injunction which would prohibit the violator from continuing to engage in any acts that would infringe upon their patent in the future. Many patent owners will make licensing agreements (or contracts) with others. These agreements allow another person or company to use someone’s patented invention in return for royalties. In addition, some patent holders who are competitors may agree to license their patents to each other to expand both of their profits. Most everything we use in our day to day life was invented by someone. That person had to seek out a patent for their invention. Patent and copyright law protects inventors from having their ideas and inventions stolen out from under them. This makes the playing field more level for individuals. Without these laws, the marketplace would be out of control and the small guy would probably be eaten alive by big business

Cruise for Free Stuff Anonymously with a Free Privacy Service The World Wide Web is full of freebie offers, but many of these require you to give websites personal information and data. If you don't want your personal information floating around the World Wide Web (and who does want this?), there are some precautions you can take. Do you want to cruise for free stuff without having to worry about giving up your privacy? Here are a few privacy services that can help you cruise the web for freebies without having to worry about giving up any of your personal information. Why Should You Protect Your Privacy? Why should you even bother to use privacy services to cruise the web? There are many reasons why you would want to keep your personal data from being leaked into the World Wide Web. Every time that you are asked to provide personal information, you are at risk for infecting your computer with some kind of virus or spyware. In fact, it is estimated that the majority of all computer systems are infected by spyware. There are many programs that can actually track your keystrokes. This allows hackers and other cyber criminals to gain access to your passwords, bank account numbers and other private information. This puts you at high risk of computer identity theft. You can avoid having to enter personal information by using privacy programs to surf the web. Surf Easy with Anonymizer.com This is a program that allows you to surf the web anonymously. What does this program do? This program protects you by keeping your IP address secure. This means that online tracking software will be unable to track the sites you visit and keep a profile on your online activities. This program allows your connection to be redirected through their own secure servers, thus keeping your online identity hidden and protected. This program uses 128-bit Secure Sockets Layer technology. The program also provides protections against pharming, phishing and spyware websites that seek to invade your computer. Keep Your Privacy with Enonymous What is Enonymous.com, and what can it do to protect your privacy? Enonymous.com offers web surfers the ability to cruise confidently with its own host of free privacy software. This privacy software was created as a way to protect web surfers and consumers right to privacy. The program offers users with privacy policy statements and ratings. The software also helps users choose what kind of personal information they want to divulge before making web purchases. If you are concerned about giving away your name, phone number, email and other personal data, not to mention credit card and bank account numbers, then you will appreciate this software program. For Fast, Free and Totally Private Email, Turn to Hushmail Are you looking for fast, free and private email? If so, Hushmail.com is what you are looking for. This email uses industry standard algorithms that are optimized for the highest level of privacy, authenticity and security. This is one of the best of the free email services if you are concerned about protecting your privacy. All you need to do is to create your own passphrase. The program creates a transparent decryption and encryption system. It is also very user-friendly that allows for easy encryption and decryption of data, and for fast retrieval of a public/private key. ZoneAlarm for the Best in Firewall Protection If you are looking for the best in firewall protection, consider using ZoneAlarm for protecting your PC from invading viruses and spyware. This award-winning program helps shield your computer from incoming attackers, and helps banish already-present invaders. Surf the World Wide Web with confidence with the help of ZoneAlarm.

Important Networking Follow-Ups: How to Get Those Job Leads Calling When you leave a networking event, you may be buzzing at the prospects offered by all of those new contacts you made, but soon, the cold reality sets in. How will you be able to convert those contacts you made over a glass of wine into valuable business opportunities for you? Successful networking is all in the follow-up. If you’re looking for a job, following up is all the more crucial. Without touching base after a networking event, you become just another face in the crowd of job hunting hopefuls. The first important rule for following-up with networking contacts is to lay the foundations for the follow-up during the initial meeting. At networking events, there can be a lot of empty promises thrown around. Use that first meeting to convey the message that you haven’t gotten caught up in “networking fever” but instead that you are very serious about exploring the job opportunity that you’re discussing with your new contact. Ask the contact when would be a good time to follow-up with them, and then reiterate the information back to them at the end of your conversation: “I look forward to speaking with you Friday at 2 p.m.” If they don’t give you a specific time, then suggest one to them. This rule holds true even if your contact is giving you a lead on a job not with them but with another contact of their own. Let them know you appreciate the information by saying, “Thanks. I will plan on calling Mary on Monday afternoon at 1 p.m.” Not only will this convey your seriousness about the opportunity presented to you, but it may also get you some handy inside information, as the contact may reply, “Oh, no, Mary will be out of town until Thursday – call her then.” The next important rule to networking follow-ups is to follow up with EVERY lead a contact gives you. If a contact suggests that you call someone whom you know won’t really be able to help you in your job search, call him or her anyway. Otherwise, when your contact finds out you aren’t taking their advice, they may just decide not to give you any more the future and any business person can tell you that you never know from whom the most valuable lead will come some day. Keep the lines of communication open by giving any and all suggestions a whirl. Last but not least, do the actual following-up. Follow up with your contact exactly when you said you would, and in the exact manner you said you would (phone, email, letter, etc). If for some reason you can’t make contact at the arranged time, keep trying. If you haven’t made arrangements for a follow-up with a contact, then the rule of thumb is to follow-up with them as soon as possible after meeting them. Try to at least send an email or letter the next day saying what a pleasure it was to meet and that you look forward to talking more in the future, and then say in that note when you plan to follow-up with your contact by phone. Then, of course, stick to that new follow-up obligation. Even if the promises made by a contact while networking don’t pan out for you on the job front, don’t cross them off of your contact list. Keep them in the loop about your job search and your career goals. While they may not have been able to make if happen for you this time, you never know what they might be able to do for you in the future. Your most promising business contact may be someone you already know.