I have a protoype being made..

For obtaining U.S. patent protection, you must file a patent application within one year of making a public disclosure of your invention. If you...

Thus maybe a dumb question but how would I go about patenting my middle and last names?

Patents are not for protecting names. Patents are for protecting useful, novel, and non-obvious inventions. Protecting a personal name is the...

If patents prevent an individual from designing the same invention, How does competition exist?

U.S. utility patents protect aspects of an invention that are claimed in a way that is novel, non-obvious, and useful. Upon...

If a company has been awarded a patent in australia, is it protected in the US?

An Australian patent is meaningless here in the U.S. However, that does not mean you are necessarily free to operate. You should hire a patent...

If someone has a trademark on goods and services...say for a repelling device composed primarily of compound X.

If you are using a different mark (different words, different logo, different graphics, etc.) then no trademark infringement; however, be certain...

I still did not understand how to protect athlete clothing idea, please help me to find a faster way.

Hire a patent attorney/agent. Conduct a prior art search. Your search may be and likely is inadequate. You have two fundamental concerns: (1)...

I do not have the funds to hire an attorney for a patent search. Is there anyway that I can find out if my idea is patented?

Unless you are familiar with Boolean logic, creating search strings, identifying which data fields to search and for what, using the classification...

You likely agreed to this and so yes you may be required to indemnify Amazon. Further, even if not, your identity would be disclosed during...

Trademarking name/image from a movie character. Is class 041 or 009 better for future commercial branding for goods/services?

First before you file, make sure a clearance search has been done to mitigate against foreseeable confusion based problems - or could wind up with...

How important is it to put every screw slot on a provisional patent application?

The same responses to the hinge question generally applies to this question of screw slots.