Hoffmann & Baron, LLP Managing Partner Guests On Legal Radio Show
Daniel A. Scola, Jr., Managing Partner at Hoffmann & Baron, LLP, was recently a guest on the ‘Law You Should Know’ radio show on 90.3 WHPC. He joined host Kenneth Landau to discuss protecting your ideas with patents, trademarks, and copyrights.
Scola and Landau highlighted the significance of intellectual property, with Scola comparing it to a fence around the protected idea. He stated, “Everybody knows real estate and they know that a fence is a boundary to keep people out. Well, intellectual property allows you to keep people from going on to your property. It’s illegal to cross that boundary.”
Scola further elaborated, “There are three main criteria in order to get a patent. The first, is it has to have some utility…the second is, it has to be novel…And the last one, which is really the toughest hurdle, is it can’t be obvious in view of things that have been done similar to it.”
Landau continued to question the do’s and don’ts of protecting ideas. Scola emphasized, “Well, number one, they procrastinate on doing something about it. That’s one thing. Number two, they talk to other people about it. And that’s actually one of the worst things they can do without getting a non-disclosure agreement in place because the law protects the first to file. And if you don’t file before you disclose your idea, unless you’re under NDA, you have a public disclosure and you’re going to lose your rights.”
To listen to the podcast, please click here: https://bit.ly/442VSoE
ABOUT DAN SCOLA:
Daniel A. Scola, Jr. is the managing partner of Hoffmann & Baron, LLP, and also manages the chemical, pharmaceutical/biochemical and medical device practice group in the New Jersey office. He has extensive experience in polymers, pharmaceuticals and medical devices. He specializes in building IP portfolios and designing strategies to protect and enhance company value. He also practices extensively in Post Grant Proceedings at the USPTO and has argued Post Grant Proceedings at the appellate level, before the CAFC. Previously, he was Counsel, patents, and trademarks as well as Assistant Corporate Secretary at The Warner-Lambert Co. and Intellectual Property Attorney at Loctite Corporation.
Prior to earning his law degree, Scola was a chemist with particular experience in material science including polymers, adhesives and biodegradable approaches to material engineering. He was a scientist at the Pratt & Whitney Division of United Technologies.