OCR Text |
Show BUSINESS EDITOR: NANCY BLISS DIO SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, IMS THE DAILY HERALD 2 As U.S. bonds get pricier, more quality buys surface as retirement approachea and begins. When deciding on the right mix of bonds, or bond mutual funds, it is important to consider your risk toler ance, your goals and your tax "" bracket. securities Clearly, treasury are the safest, followed by municipals and By KATHY BERGEN Chicago Tribune ( CHICAGO Karl Cannon Keep careful records to secure patents for inventors A patent is a powerful legal instrument. It is the key to the courthouse, a legal sword and a shield that can protect inventors from technology predators as well as from distant who develop inadvertently similar technology. But what if somebody else tries to attack the patent by claiming to have invented the concept first? Careful record keeping of the invention's development is the answer. Contrary to popular opinion, mailing a description of your invention to yourself in a sealed envelope will not do much to protect it. How does the court know you didn't simply mail several unsealed envelopes to yourself years earlier, and only last week seal them up with a hastily written invention description inside? com-petito- WITNESSED RECORDS are much more impressive to a judge and offer more credibility. Although the records themselves do not provide for that, a enforceable protection the records can patent is necessary be admissible in court to ehow you were the first to invent. Inventors should carefully follow these steps: 1. Keep an accurate and legally acceptable record of your work. Use a permanently bound notebook so that individual pages cannot be removed or substituted. 2. Make written entries in the notebook at the time your ideas occur or when the work is done. The entries should be sufficiently clear, concise and complete to enable anyone skilled in the field of your endeavor to understand the invention, repeat the experiment, apply the computer program, etc. as the case may be. 3. Include sketches, flow charts, and other graphical information that will aid in understanding the invention. If there is additional material that enhances understanding but is impractical to include in the notebook, a cross reference to such material should be made in the notebook. 4. Sign and date each entry. Have two or more trusted witnesses also sign and date each entry with a statement, such as "read and understood." who should not be Such witnesses must actually read and be able to understand the record. 5. AVOID ERASURES, obliterations and blank spaces. Make corrections by inserting interlineations, or by drawing a line through any unwanted portions. Date and initial all such changes before the witnessing of the entry, or have the changes themselves witnessed. 6. Avoid making written or verbal statements indicating that the inventive activity has been abandoned or that the product or process might be useless or obvious. 7. Avoid disclosing any aspects of the invention to anyone other than witnesses or trusted consultants until a patent application has been filed. 8. Insist that a legally sufficient confidentiality agreement be signed by anyone who is to be shown the invention, even while the patent application is still pending if possible. The confidentiality agreement should include legally effective provisions for jurisdiction, damages, enforcement, and choice of law, and ' attached exhibit evidence of what was disclosed, including drawings or ; photographs. There should also be specifically defined measures the recipient of the information must take to insure confidentiality is preserved. thit Calvin E. Thorpe article with Karl Cannon. ; R, Cannon, a law partner and a and copyright attorney, trademark patent, "wnfc reached at (801) ! Karl i 566-663- 3. As shelter-seekin- g investors have flocked to the safety of US, Treasury debt securities, boosting their prices and depressing their yields, other potential havens are starting to look like relative bargains, The standouts right now are municipal for the bonds, whose yields first time since 1986 are treaon those to nearly equal suries. The clincher for munis is that their yields are exempt from federal income tax effectively pushing them ahead of treasuries as high-qualit- high-grad- e , corporates." "There is some additional risk with any credit thai is high-qualit- y high-qualit- d high-grad- e high-qualit- Low-ris- k y investment sure, U.S. Treasury bonds, notes and bills are still the safest of safe investments as far as credit risk is concerned, and they appeal to investors who are highly To be risk-avers- "If a client comes to us with a depression kind of attitude, and has lived through it, we usually use not the US. government," noted Peck, of Scudder Kemper, Nevertheless,1 he said a compelling case can be made for taking on the modest amount of additional risk associated with an ' municipal bond backed by tax revenues. Kabarec feels similarly about corporate debt; "If these kind of companies go out of business through bankruptcy, we're all in trouble anyway." Many of his clients buy a bond and hold it to maturity, so they are unaffected by.ny price fluctuations. AA-rate- income-producer- "On a historical basis, municipal bonds relative to treasuries, are ridiculously cheap," noted Bruce J. Young, of Mesirow president Financial a Services, Chicago-basebrokerage. Some corporate bonds also are good buys relative to treasuries, he said. "A lot of people are really tired of what the stock market has been doing," said Carol C. Pankros, a Palatine, 111. based financial planner, in reference to its recent volatility and downward swings. For those folks, the presence of some municipal and corporate bonds in a portfolio can be a "welcome relief" she said. y JIM TRISCHING Knighl Ridder Newspapers Bargain bonds: Financial planner Michael Kabarec prefers buying municipal and corporate bonds. He looks to companies such as Sara Lee when buying. well-know- n y j accounts Tax-deferr- treasuries," Pankros said. But due to a worldwide flight to quality, their "prices are high relative to other parts of the market," noted Bob Peck, managing director of Scudder Kemper Investments in Chicago. When bond prices rise, and treatheir yields fall farfallen have sury yields ther and faster than those on bonds other since the stock market peaked in treaRates on suries ranged from 5.8 to 6.1 percent from the beginning of the year until the end of May, Peck said. In early October, bond the yield on the hit a record low of about 4.7 percent before rebounding to high-qualit- 5.11 percent. The "sharpest decline has been in the past month or so," he noted. Yields on other bonds moved downward, too, but not as steeply, with some interesting results, high-qualit- y Higher yields municipal Long-ter- bonds, whose yields typically are equivalent to 82 percent of the yields on treasury now have yields bonds, amounting to 96 or 97 percent of yields, noted Bradford W, Shaw, manager of exchange-tradefunds for y mid-Jul- long-ter- act, after which we saw voltremendous ume in munis." Since midsummer, the gap between yields on corporate bonds and treasury securities has widened, with yields on corporate bonds that are rated AA and AAA now about 0.75 to 1.25 percentage points greater than those on treasuries. "They are selling at the widest spread to treasuries in about 15 years," said new-issu- e high-grad- e Young of Mesirow. Nuveen & Co, in Chicago. 'The last time I saw this was in 1986," he said, "and it was due to the 30-ye- tax-refor- Whenever possible, advisers recommend putting .treasuries and bonds in accounts, such as individual retirement accounts, to postpone the tax bite on yields. Munis work well in taxable accounts, particularly for individuals, because their yields are generally exempt from federal income tax. As well, yields, on municipal bonds issued . in your state often are exempt from that state's income tax. Planners also favor short-anintermediate-terbonds right now, because yields ion bonds are not sigeven greater, nificantly though the risks are, due to their longer maturity. tax-deftjr- high-incom- e d Diversify with bonds d John Many financial advisers recommend including some sort of bonds in a diversified investment portfolio, tilting more heavily toward bonds long-ter- Lace specialists celebrate opening today By CHRISTA TADY y Specialty Lace,, the bridal and heirloom fabric store will begin its grand opening for the public with a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. today. "We specialize in laces, fabrics and other supplies needed to make wedding gowns, christening, blessing and baptism articles, and communion and temple dresses," said Cassie Hjorth, owner of Specialty Lace. After the grand opening, the store will hold an open house from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Everything in the store will be 10 to 25 percent off during the open house. The Beehive Lacers, a sewing club that has been around since the pioneers came to Utah, will demonstrate lace. An inch of lace takes approximately one hour to make. Specialty Lace offers several different class and a workshop. Specialty Lace offers a large selection of bridal and heirloom materials including silk, polyester, satin, chiffon, organza, crepe, georgette, brocade, " & r Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 10 ; ft Saturday, closad Sunday Ciaaaot: Beginning smocking, Tuesdays, 6:30-Oct, p.m., 1l: 7 1 accepts donation Deseret OREM Industries received a generous donation Friday. J.C, Penney Co, donated new merchandise to the LDS Church-ownethrift store. at the received Shipments location Mall University after the store closed has been earmarked for dona- tion. The items will go to needy individuals in foreign countries. "We wanted to donate to D.I. because we knew they ship overseas," said Ron Rhoades, Penney's store manager. Rhoades was manager at the Orem store and continues as manager at the new Provo Towne Centre location. It was determined that any TtrH $60, Beginning smocking, Fridays, Oct. 20, 10 a.m.-- 2 p.m., $60 Beginning heirloom sewing, Nov, 14 10 a.m.-- 2 p.m., $25 1! 16-No- MARC (.ESTERThe Information; http;www. ' specialtylace.com or call 374-522-3 jacquard, eyelet, crepe back satin and satin back crepe. The store's inventory also includes hundreds of varieties of materials and lace made in England, France, Spain and Switzerland as well as a reference library of wedding and merchandise received after a particular date would be written off and given to the LDS Church according to Rhoades. The men's, women's and children's apparel items are valued at approximately $50,000, heirloom books and magazines. Specialty Lace's most popular varieties of lace are Alencon, Chantilly, Cluny, Royal Battenburg, Tatting, Point de Venise Swiss embroidery and French Vallienese, "We are committed to further increased 4 percent. Operating income increased for the rocket motor manufacturer, while sales declined 8 percent because of declines in defense and commercial activities. Cordant earnings up New Iomega CEO SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -Cordant Technologies Inc., which owns rocket motor manufacturer Thiokol Propulsion, reported a 26 percent increase in net income for the quarter ending Sept. 30. Jodie Utah (AP) K. Glore, a former senior vice president at Rockwell International, has been named the new president and chief executive officer at Quarterly earnings were $38.5 million, or $1.03 per share, compared to $28.6 million, or 76 cents per share, for the same period last year. Thiokol's income Herald develop anyone's creative abilities with a needle and thread," Hjorth said. "We are in the process of organizing different sewing clubs. These will provide a fun environment , for members to expand their creativity and improve their sewing skills." , t;d and CEO Kim Edwards abruptly resigned after the company announced it had lost $25 million in the first quarter. Since then, Iomega, the maker of the Jaz and Zip e removable systems for personal computers, data-storag- d ROY, , Daily Open for business; Cassie Hjorth, owner of Specialty Lace, exhibits a bolt of lace available at the new Provo store, The new shop features fabrics for special occasions. BUSINESS BRIEFING D.I. '&JH 9 hand-mad- e il ' Location: 1700 N. State . Street, Provo PROVO ,", 3 Cpcdclty Lcso For The Daily Herald d Iomega Corp. He replaces interim president and CEO James E, Sierk,.who will remain on Iomega's board of directors. Sierk was named to the post last March when president has continued to struggle in the marketplace. Last week, it announced a $14.8 million loss in the third quarter and losses totaling more than $73 million year-to-dat- That compares with earnings of $79 million in the first nine months of 1997, The company laid off 700 of workforce its this summer, Glore, 51, joins Iomega after leaving Rockwell Automation, a subsidiary of 5,000-perso- n Rockwell International, as: its former chief operating officer and president. Iomega chairman David ! Dunn said Thursday that ! Glore brings leadership, experience and understanding of the technology to Iomega. "Most importantly, his record of profitably growipg Rockwell Automation from" $2.1 billion to $4.5 billion, in just four years makes hint an ideal person to lead Iomega into the next millenj nium," Dunn said. Rockwell Automation,. located in Milwaukee, YtW, manufactures industrial' automation products, including electric motors, mechanically powered transmission equipment, sensors andj industrial software, ! f IPOOR |