Featuring

Craig Morris

Managing Attorney, United States Patent and Trademark Office

Craig Morris is the Managing Attorney for Trademark Outreach at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in Alexandria, Virginia, working within the Office of the Commissioner for Trademarks.

Prior to assuming his current position, for 14 years he was the Managing Attorney for the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), focusing on making the Trademark Operation a total e-government environment. He was also the head of the eGovernment Task Force, whose goal is to increase the percentage of applications processed electronically from submission through registration.

Mr. Morris has been with the USPTO since 1983, previously serving as a Law Office Managing Attorney, Senior Attorney, and Examining Attorney.

Topics covered in this dynamic program are geared toward non-trademark attorneys, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and business students:

• How trademarks, copyrights, patents, domain names, and business name registrations differ
• How to protect your trademark
• The importance of selecting a strong mark
• Potential grounds for the USPTO to refuse registration
• When another trademark owner believes it has stronger rights in a mark and issues a “cease-and-desistâ€? letter
• How to find an attorney
• The distinction between what the USPTO does in the federal registration process and what a private attorney could do
• How to avoid "scams" perpetrated by companies that request fees for services not required by the USPTO