General Info:
Thank you for visiting us. We provide high-quality, service oriented legal representation in the areas of business law, patent and trademark law, and real estate matters. In matters of patent law, we can serve clients nationwide, in all other matters, we serve clients across the state of North Dakota. Why you should call us. If the amount is $10, 000.00 or less, the simple answer is that you can sue the person in small claims court. The office of the clerk of court in your local courthouse will provide you with a small claims packet containing all the forms in the required triplicate, along with instructions. The forms are also available online here, but we recommend you get the packet from the clerk's office. If you don't want to take the time or risk not doing everything correctly, we often help people with their small claims collection matters. We can act as a coach and answer your questions to assist you in doing it yourself, or we can guide you through the process and help you complete and serve the documents and prepare for the hearing. If the amount owed is more than $10, 000.00, then you have to file suit in district court. In this case you should hire an attorney to proceed with the collection. In some cases, the matter can be settled by simply having the lawyer make a demand for payment and negotiate timing and terms of payment. If the matter cannot be settled, a Complaint can be filed with the court and the process of discovery ( exchanging documents related to the case ) and preparation for trial can begin. If you have unpaid accounts and require assistance in collecting them, please give us a call in Steele at 701-475-5200, and we'd be glad to assist you. This week I had a conversation with a potential client that reminded me that people often don't know what details are required to really convey what is new and unique about their invention. Whether you are attempting to prepare a provisional or non-provisional patent application yourself or simply drafting a complete invention disclosure to give to a patent attorney to help you with a patent application, you need to be sure to include enough detail and the right details. In terms of preparing a description of your invention, first decide who is your audience. Think of your audience as someone generally familiar with the products and technology generally used in competing products or to solve the same or similar problems. Write your description of your invention in sufficient detail to teach someone who is familiar with this area of technology how to make the product and how to use the product that is your invention. Take this step-by-step. You don't need to teach someone how to make parts that you can buy off the shelf. But whatever is new about what you've come up with should be explained in enough detail for someone else to be able to make it or step through the process. If at all possible, your description should highlight in what measurable way your product is better than competing products. One way to think about this might be to make a little cell phone video comparing your product with a commonly available competitor. Can you show on video how yours works better in some way? Are there measurements you can take? Consider taking inspiration from an infomercial persuade the reader of the merits of your innovation. Part of the process is to some extent selling your invention to the examiner at the patent office, just like you will have to sell the merits of your invention to investors and potential buyers or licensees. UPDATE: yes, we covered a very similar topic about two months ago, but this is a recurring issue and I think it is well worth explaining again in another context. Once you've finished up your application, convert it to a PDF. Many modern word processors will save to PDF. If yours doesn't, install one of the free PDF printing tools such as the one