Method and apparatus for documenting use of a trademark or service mark

• US 20040153434A1
• Filed: 11/06/2003
• Published: 08/05/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Ipcomm
• Original Assignee: Ipcomm
• Inventors: Colson, Thomas J., Cogen, Jeffrey Morris
• Application Number:
  US10/477,084
• Publication Number:
  US 20040153434A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

The present invention comprises a method of documenting first use of a trademark including the steps of posting the trademark in a virtual storefront file accessible over a global information network, retrieving the storefront file, rendering the retrieved storefront file into a storable file format, storing the rendered retrieved storefront file in a memory, and notarizing the rendered retrieved storefront file to document a date and time of first use of the trademark. The invention also includes an apparatus to implement the method. The invention includes the steps of digitally notarizing a web page, web site, or portion of a web site in order to provide proof that the content was present at the web site on a particular date. In particular, an Internet-based advertisement for goods and services which uses a trademark or service mark, or an Internet-based “virtual storefront” which uses a trademark of service mark, is digitally notarized to provide proof that the trademark or service mark was in use at a given time and in a specific manner.

Claims

1. A method of documenting first use of a trademark comprising:

posting said trademark in a virtual storefront file accessible over a global information network;

retrieving said storefront file;

rendering said retrieved storefront file into a storable file format;

storing said rendered retrieved storefront file in a memory; and

,

notarizing said rendered retrieved storefront file to document a date and time of first use of said trademark.

2. The method of documenting first use of a trademark recited in claim 1 wherein said memory is a temporary storage memory device.

3. The method of documenting first use of a trademark recited in claim 1 wherein said memory is a database.

4. The method of documenting first use of a trademark recited in claim 1 wherein first use is first use “

in commerce”

which the Congress of the United States of America can regulate under the United States Constitution.

5. The method of documenting first use of a trademark recited in claim 1 wherein said rendered retrieved storefront file is in a format selected from the group consisting of PDF, MHT, HTML, JPG, TIF and GIF.

6. The method of documenting first use of a trademark recited in claim 1 wherein said storefront file is located in a location remote from a location where said rendering step is performed.

7. The method of documenting first use of a trademark recited in claim 1 wherein said virtual storefront file is selected from the group consisting of web pages, emails and data files.

8. The method of documenting first use of a trademark recited in claim 1 wherein said virtual storefront file contains information pertaining to goods or services for sale.

9. The method of documenting first use of a trademark recited in claim 1 wherein said steps of retrieving said storefront file, rendering said retrieved storefront file into a storable file format, and storing said rendered retrieved storefront file in a memory are performed by a computer program operatively arranged to run on a web server.

10. The method of documenting first use of a trademark recited in claim 1 wherein said step of notarizing said rendered retrieved storefront file to document a date and time of first use of said trademark is performed at a location remote from all other steps in said method.

11. A method of documenting first use of a trademark recited in claim 1 wherein said storefront file is transmitted from a virtual storefront to a web server over said global information network.

12. A method of documenting first use of a trademark recited in claim 1 wherein said notarization step creates a notary file, and said notary file is transmitted to a web server via said global information network.

13. A method of documenting first use of a trademark recited in claim 1 wherein said steps of retrieving, rendering and storing are performed by a computer program running on said web server.

14. A method of documenting first use of a trademark, comprising:

posting said trademark in a virtual storefront file accessible over a global information network; and

,

implementing an automatic computerized documentation process to document first use of said trademark.

15. A method of documenting first use of a trademark, comprising:

posting said trademark in a virtual storefront file accessible over a global information network;

retrieving said storefront file;

rendering said retrieved storefront file into a storable file format; and

,

storing said rendered retrieved storefront file in a memory, wherein said stored storefront file includes information related to a date and time of first use of said trademark.

16. An apparatus for documenting first use of a trademark, comprising:

means for posting said trademark in a virtual storefront file accessible over a global information network;

means for retrieving said storefront file;

means for rendering said retrieved storefront file into a storable file format;

means for storing said rendered retrieved storefront file in a memory; and

,

means for notarizing said rendered retrieved storefront file to document a date and time of first use of said trademark.

17. The apparatus for documenting first use of a trademark recited in claim 16 wherein said means for posting said trademark in a virtual storefront file accessible over a global information network comprises a general purpose computer specially programmed to post said trademark in said virtual storefront file.

18. The apparatus for documenting first use of a trademark recited in claim 16 wherein said means for retrieving said storefront file comprises a retrieval method that use file transfer protocol.

19. The apparatus for documenting first use of a trademark recited in claim 16 wherein said means for retrieving said storefront file comprises email.

20. The apparatus for documenting first use of a trademark recited in claim 16 wherein said means for rendering said retrieved storefront file into a storable file format comprises a general purpose computer specially programmed to perform said rendering.

21. The apparatus for documenting first use of a trademark recited in claim 16 wherein said means for storing said rendered retrieved storefront file in a memory comprises a general purpose computer specially programmed to perform said storing.

22. The apparatus for documenting first use of a trademark recited in claim 16 wherein said means for notarizing said rendered retrieved storefront file to document a date and time of first use of said trademark comprises a general purpose computer specially programmed to perform said notarization.