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雷达卡
1 Why Inventors Need to Know About Law,
Business and Taxes
A. Business, Tax or Law? .................................................................................... 1/2
B. What’s Not in This Book ................................................................................ 1/3
2 Choosing the Legal Form for Your Inventing Business
A. Your Business Entity Choices ......................................................................... 2/2
B. Expense and Complexity ............................................................................... 2/4
C. Tax Treatment ................................................................................................ 2/7
D. Liability Concerns ....................................................................................... 2/12
E. Recommended Business Forms .................................................................... 2/18
3 Setting Up Shop
A. Choosing a Name for Your Business .............................................................. 3/3
B. Working at Home ......................................................................................... 3/6
C. Leasing a Workplace ................................................................................... 3/12
D. Business Licenses and Permits ..................................................................... 3/14
E. Federal Employer Identification Number ..................................................... 3/16
F. Insurance .................................................................................................... 3/17
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
4 Bookkeeping and Accounting
A. Simple Bookkeeping for Inventors ................................................................. 4/2
B. Length of Time for Keeping Records and Logs ............................................. 4/12
C. Accounting Methods and Tax Years ............................................................. 4/13
D. Creating Financial Statements ..................................................................... 4/14
E. Other Inventing Business Records ............................................................... 4/14
5 Tax Basics
A. Inventors Who Earn Profits ............................................................................ 5/2
B. Inventors Who Incur Losses .......................................................................... 5/6
C. Inventors Who Hire Employees ..................................................................... 5/7
D. How To Handle Your Taxes ............................................................................ 5/7
E. IRS Audits .................................................................................................... 5/10
6 How to Prove to the IRS You’re in Business
A. Qualifying as a Business ............................................................................... 6/2
B. Passing the 3-of-5 Profit Test .......................................................................... 6/4
C. Passing the Behavior Test ............................................................................... 6/5
7 Inventor Tax Deductions
A. Tax Deductions: The Basics ........................................................................... 7/2
B. Tax Deduction Road Map ............................................................................. 7/8
C. Inventing Expenses You May Currently Deduct ........................................... 7/10
D. Inventing Expenses You Must Deduct Over Time ......................................... 7/27
E. Special Deduction Rules ............................................................................. 7/33
8 Taxation of Inventing Income
A. Capital Gains vs. Ordinary Income ............................................................... 8/2
B. Capital Gains Treatment for Patents Under IRC § 1235 ................................. 8/3
C. Paying Self-Employment Taxes ...................................................................... 8/6
D. Paying Estimated Taxes ................................................................................ 8/10
9 Your Inventor’s Notebook
A. Why Keep an Inventor’s Notebook? .............................................................. 9/2
B. How to Keep Your Notebook......................................................................... 9/5
C. Witnessing Your Notebook ............................................................................ 9/7
D. Alternatives to the Inventor’s Notebook ........................................................ 9/8
10 Hiring Employees and Independent Contractors
Part I: Determining Workers’ Legal Status ..................................................... 10/3
A. ICs Are Business Owners, Employees Are Not ............................................ 10/3
B. Pros and Cons of Hiring Employees or ICs .................................................. 10/5
Part II. Hiring Employees ................................................................................. 10/7
C. Drafting an Employment Agreement ........................................................... 10/9
D. Tax Concerns When Hiring Employees ..................................................... 10/22
Part III. Hiring Independent Contractors ....................................................... 10/26
E. Drafting an Independent Contractor Agreement ........................................ 10/26
F. Tax Reporting for Independent Contractors ............................................... 10/37
11 Who Owns Your Invention?
A. Patent Ownership ........................................................................................ 11/2
B. Are You an Inventor? ................................................................................... 11/3
C. Are You a Solo Inventor? ............................................................................. 11/4
D. Are You a Joint Inventor? ............................................................................. 11/5
E. Are You an Employee/Contractor Inventor? ............................................... 11/13
F. Have You Transferred Your Ownership? ..................................................... 11/26
G. Trade Secret Ownership ............................................................................ 11/29
12 Introduction to Intellectual Property
A. What Is Intellectual Property and Why Is It Important to Inventors? ............ 12/2
B. Doing the Work of Obtaining IP Protection ................................................ 12/8
13 Ten Things Inventors Should Know About Trade Secrets
1. All Inventions Begin As Trade Secrets .......................................................... 13/2
2. Any Valuable Information Can Be a Trade Secret ........................................ 13/2
3. Trade Secrets Are the Do-It-Yourself Intellectual Property ........................... 13/3
4. You Can Make Money From Trade Secrets .................................................. 13/3
5. Trade Secret Protection Is Weak .................................................................. 13/4
6. Trade Secret Laws Don’t Protect Against Independent
Discovery or Reverse Engineering ............................................................... 13/5
7. Trade Secret Protection Has No Definite Term ............................................ 13/6
8. You Must Choose Between Trade Secret and Patent Protection ................... 13/6
9. You Must Keep Your Trade Secrets Secret .................................................... 13/9
10. When In Doubt, Use a Nondisclosure Agreement .................................... 13/11
14 Fifteen Things Inventors Should Know About Patents
1. Patents Are the Most Powerful IP Protection ................................................ 14/2
2. A Patent—By Itself—Won’t Make You Rich ................................................. 14/2
3. You Can Profit From Your Invention Without a Patent .................................. 14/3
4. Patents Don’t Work Well for Inventions With Short Commercial Lives ........ 14/4
5. Patents Are Expensive and Difficult to Obtain ............................................. 14/5
6. Most Inventions Are Not Patentable ............................................................ 14/7
7. Do a Patent Search Before Anything Else ..................................................... 14/9
8. You Must Document Your Inventing Activities ........................................... 14/10
9. You’ll Lose Your Right to Patent If You Violate the One-Year Rule .............. 14/10
10. Filing a Provisional Patent Application Can Save You Money .................... 14/11
11. Patents Last 17–18 Years ............................................................................ 14/12
12. Enforcing a Patent Can Be Difficult and Expensive .................................... 14/13
13. U.S. Patents Only Work in the United States ............................................. 14/13
14. Filing for Patents Helps Show You’re in Business ....................................... 14/13
15. Design Patents Can Protect the Way Your Invention Looks ........................ 14/14
15 Ten Things Inventors Should Know About Trademarks
1. Trademarks Can Earn Billions...................................................................... 15/2
2. Trademarks Identify Products and Services ................................................. 15/2
3. You Must Have Trade to Have a Trademark ................................................. 15/3
4. You Don’t Need a Trademark to License Your Invention (But It Can Help)... 15/3
5. Trademarks Are Not All Created Equal ........................................................ 15/4
6. Registering a Trademark Is Not Mandatory, But Provides
Important Benefits ....................................................................................... 15/4
7. Intent to Use Registration Can Protect Your Mark Before
You Use It in Trade ...................................................................................... 15/5
8. Do a Trademark Search Before Selecting Your Mark .................................... 15/5
9. Trademark Rights Are Limited ..................................................................... 15/6
10. Only Federally Registered Marks Can Use the ® Symbol ............................ 15/7
16 Ten Things Inventors Should Know About Copyright
1. Copyright Protects Works of Authorship, Not Inventions ............................. 16/2
2. Copyright Can Protect Invention Design ..................................................... 16/3
3. You Can Make Money From Copyrights ...................................................... 16/5
4. Copyright Protection Is Limited ................................................................... 16/5
5. You Get A Copyright Whether or Not You Want It ....................................... 16/6
6. Copyright Protection Lasts a Long Time ...................................................... 16/6
7. Register Valuable Copyrights ....................................................................... 16/6
8. Use a Copyright Notice When You Publish Valuable Works ........................ 16/7
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