Author: Matt Miller, Registered Patent Attorney
I am a former software engineer turned lawyer, practicing patent, trademark, copyright, and technology law in New Orleans, Louisiana with Carver Darden. You can read more about me, or find out how to contact me. You can also follow me (@NolaPatent) on Twitter or Linked In. All content on this website is subject to disclaimer.

Practical Tips in view of the Equation Group Hack

Last week, in a series of events seemingly a mix between Mr. Robot and Austin Powers, something fairly unusual happened that could potentially cause security problems for many people and businesses. And, perhaps because the story is a little crazy,

Ripoff Report – Help Manage Online Reputation

The Internet is an amazing tool for communications, literally letting anyone publish information for others to view; and search engines like Google let the world find that information. Unfortunately, the fact that anyone can publish information on the Internet also

We’re attorneys, not businessmen.

I am an attorney. I’m not actively involved in technology development anymore. I don’t run a technology business, nor a business that develops new technology to run its business. Why does this matter? Well, most patent attorneys are just like

Copyright Term of What Pet Should I Get? by Dr. Seuss

So, according to the New York Times, a new, previously unpublished Dr. Seuss book originally called The Pet Shop will be published this year as What Pet Should I Get?. Because I practice copyright law, my first thought was “what’s

Pinterest’s Privacy Policy

If you’re a Pinterest user, you may have recently received an email like this one, by which Pinterest is updating its users about Pinterest’s privacy policy. Why is Pinterest doing this? Well, there could be a number of reasons why.

American Sniper Discussion

There’s been a lot of talk about Ventura v. Kyle, Captain Freedom’s Jesse Ventura’s lawsuit against Chris Kyle (AKA American Sniper). Certainly, it appears odd that a public figure like Jesse Ventura would sue a widow for such a large

Public Domain Day 2015

Happy New Year’s Public Domain Day 2014! The duration of copyright for a work can be very complicated. For many works, it’s the life of the author, plus 70 years. For other works, it’s 95 years from publication or 120

Patent Medicine

This year, I made homemade Satsuma, Navel Orange, Grapefruit, Lime, and Kumquat “Cello” (liqueur) for Christmas presents for a number of friends and some of my work colleagues. Because I’m a Registered Patent Attorney, it’s labeled as “Patent Medicine,” which

Turkey Thermometer Patent

Given the Thanksgiving holiday, I thought it appropriate to post about a Thanksgiving-related patent, namely, U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,103 issued to Anthony Volk on September 18, 1973. If you’re interested in the history of turkey thermometers, the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center

Louisiana State Trademark Registration

Louisiana law permits businesses to register trademarks with the Louisiana Secretary of State; and, in fact, many businesses do so, thinking that a Louisiana trademark registration provides them with substantive rights. Unfortunately, they are wrong. You see, a trademark is

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