During the past decade or so, the topic of disparaging trademarks, logos and team mascots has become more frequently discussed.

Developing new products is difficult enough, whether it is a new invention from the proverbial drawing board or a modification of an existing product. One of the key issues facing corporations today is how to protect developments for new machines, products, forging processes, etc.

You may be curious as to how the FTC defines Made in the USA and how that affects forges and forging suppliers.

While many of us might not think of trade secrets (such as the formula for Coca-Cola) as being commonplace, the National Science Foundation estimates that corporations actually employ trade secrets perhaps two times as often as patents.

The high numbers of packages and containers entering the U.S. make it a daunting task for government officials to stop the importation of imitation and counterfeit goods, which cost American companies up to $250 billion annually and are directly responsible for the loss of 750,000 U.S. jobs.

When the topic of cybersecurity comes up, many of you might ask why we should consider it. You might think that your forging operation is not a tech company, so why worry about cybersecurity?

You may not be aware of it, but every forging operation – in fact, every business – has some form of intellectual property. Yet, for many, intellectual-property law is a confusing mass of regulations and definitions.

3D printing has enjoyed a surge of interest in the past few years, and we should examine how it may be a game changer for forging production.