The Law Offices of Kevin M. Jones & Associates

11/03/2021

My engineering / problem solving clients will appreciate the following:
My wife Angela's car recently failed to start one morning due to a dead battery. I jumped it, checks for dome or headlights left on, and finding none gave her the jumper battery pack to carry if there were any future problems. After work, she had to jump it again.

When she got home, I verified the battery was good (no dead cells, held a charge) and figured it must have been a corroded or bad connector. I put it a charger on the battery overnight to top off the charge.

Car started the next morning, but required a jump after work to return home. What drained the battery by sitting in the school's parking lot all day? I figured it had to be a dome light, dash cam, etc. draining the battery. But I hadn't installed anything recently, so what had changed?

A couple of months back, I got a couple of USB cords for the girls to charge their phones in the front and/or back seats. So they can also charge their ear-pods, and backup batteries, I got the USB cords with the magnetic ends swappable to connect iPhone, micro-USB, or USB-C.

Issue turned out to be a Canadian dime that made it's way into the car, and was dropped onto the floor. When the cord was once left bare without a magnetic end, it attached itself to the magnetic coin, shorting out and draining the battery. Luckily, it would get hot, but not hot enough to start a fire.

Those cords have been replaced with the octopus cords that branch into 4 different ends for multiple devices. Now, it's just a matter of time before someone ignores my warning, plugs in multiple devices at once. I suspect it will result in a blown fuse.

05/30/2021

In 1666, a 23 year old Sir Isaac Newton, quarantined to his home due to bubonic plague epidemic, entertained himself with math problems discovering a relation of Pascal's triangle to the binomial theorem. Which allowed him to extend the known decimals of π beyond the 38 known decimal in less than 1/1000th the previous amount of time. So he extended π from 38 decimals to an infinite number with a known formula.

Today we, on the other hand, griped about the government, and watched a lot of Netflix. Feeling good about yourself?

Me neither.

For thousands of years, mathematicians were calculating Pi the obvious but numerically inefficient way. Then Newton came along and changed the game. This vi...

04/14/2021

Today (14 April 2021) Google focuses their homepage on Johannes Gutenberg (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Gutenberg
), inventor of the Mechanical Movable-type Printing Press. Which is the beginning of biggest scourge of my various profession's (Designer / Inventor / Patent Attorney). That of "Prior Art," used in determination of an innovation's novelty, for patent protection under government law. However, it is also the greatest advancement in my other professions (Engineer / Educator / Learner), making knowledge available and verifiable to all through the ages.

Interesting that Gutenberg was sued by his early investors over the "project of the book" in 1456. The court's ruling for the suing investors gave them control of the project and bankrupted the inventor. An action that continues to be repeated to this day by inventors around the world.

Remember that Patenting and Legal Advise are important when you are getting started. (832) 675-9680.

Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (/ˈɡuːtənbɜːrɡ/;[1] c. 1400[2] – February 3, 1468) was a German goldsmith, inventor, printer, and publisher who introduced printing to Europe with his mechanical movable-type printing press. His work started the Printing Revolution and is regar...

04/03/2020

Department of Homeland Security has identified "workers supporting the operations of the judicial system" as essential workers. Stating "Officers of the courts, lawyers, as well as their necessary staff, support the operations of the judicial system and are required for continued functioning of society."

But, I'm still gonna stay at home armed with a can of Lysol. Call if you need help, I'll do what I can from a safe distance. ;-)

03/18/2020

To all clients with Possession Orders in place by a Texas Family Court - All Counties: Possession continues according to the original school calendar. There are enough disruptions, issues, uncertainty without additional drama. Keep the little ones first in your mind and remain flexible to do what is best for the children. There is enough drama, uncertainty, and disruption in everyone's life at the moment. Call if you have questions, or need assistance. My office remains open to help to the best we can with the limited resources available to us.

03/16/2020

To all, if you know of someone effected by this, pass along the information.

07/29/2019

2 people want answers to this question. Be the first to answer.

01/06/2019

What are the most common reasons that patent applications get rejected? by Kevin M. Jones

Kevin M. Jones's answer: Most common reason is failure to respond to an office action making a rejection. Many inventors receive an office action, and don’t understand, or feel that the examiner’s determination is set in stone. Truth is that most office actions have incorrect assumptions, or imp...

01/04/2019

Do you have to wait to start your business for your trademarks and copyrights to be approved, or are you protected as soon as you apply? by Kevin M. Jones

Kevin M. Jones's answer: You do not have to wait for trademark protection, and copyright is effective as of filing, so there is nothing to wait for. However, you need to make sure your applications were properly prepared and filed. you also need to ensure you are not violating someone else’s tra.....

12/31/2018

How do I protect my idea (other than a patent) when making a pitch to a company that I'm seeking a licensing deal?

See answer by Kevin M. Jones

Kevin M. Jones's answer: You could get a non-disclosure agreement which specifies the permitted uses, but this is usually not as effective between parties that are not on equal footing. It would require a lot of effort and cost to enforce as a breach of contact, and does not involve a third party...

12/18/2018

Can a patent be filed on a newly discovered chemical element? by Kevin M. Jones

Kevin M. Jones's answer: Not the way you asked the question. Discovery is not Invention. A new discovery implies that the element was already in existence and was simply located. If someone comes up with a way to create a new element by maybe placing the electrons in the nucleus and having the pr...

12/15/2018

What are some things you consider a part of your intellectual property (IP)? by Kevin M. Jones

Kevin M. Jones's answer: I am not sure of the intent of your question. Intellectual Property is the fruition of creative processes. It includes a story, artistic work, or maybe an innovation or improvement on a process or product. A idea is not intellectual property, but once an idea is rendered ...