Like almost every legal question, this is not a clear-cut issue. The type of use can be very important. A number of cases have actually...

Trademark question

I agree with the other commenters that much more information is needed to give a good answer. To slightly expand on the other posts, most...

As mentioned by other answers, a number of facts would have to be established to answer the question. For example, did you show the prototype to...

Do not assume that the application did not go through. It is often months before the next action takes place, and even then (as you mentioned) the...

A couple of comments: First, anything you put on a t-shirt (character name or otherwise) could potentially be found in a copyrighted work...

Non-obvious to the prior art

Two general comments: (a) all inventions are combinations of prior art elements -- the question is whether you must infringe patents on those...

For a utility patent, how much should the initial government fees be?

I agree with the other posters. The initial fee can be under $1,000 and depends on things like excess claim fees, small entity status, etc. ...

Prior arts - Non Obvious claims

Provisional applications and the rights they confer are often misunderstood. Re (1): Filing of a provisional application cannot be considered an...