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Incubate IP®, a Chicago intellectual property law firm serving startups and emerging companies, has been recognized in the inaugural Chambers Illinois Spotlight Guide 2027.

Incubate IP and founder Randy Micheletti have been recognized in the Chambers USA: Spotlight Guide for Illinois.

Incubate IP founder and intellectual property attorney Randy Micheletti has once again been selected to the Illinois Super Lawyers list, marking his fourth consecutive year receiving the recognition. Micheletti has been named to the Illinois Super Lawyers list each year from 2023 through 2026, a distinction that reflects consistent professional achievement and strong peer recognition [...]

(Photo Credit: Chicago-Kent College of Law) Fall 2025 edition profiles Randy Micheletti's approach to intellectual property practice for startups and entrepreneurs Randy Micheletti, founder of Incubate IP, was featured in the Fall 2025 edition of Chicago-Kent Magazine, published by Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Institute of Technology. The profile, titled "The Other Way Around," [...]

[Photo credit: Joe Ravi; CC-BY-SA 3.0] By Gage M. Meyers, Of Counsel   The Supreme Court rarely hears an intellectual property case, especially between two high-profile litigants. For that reason, Google v. Oracle has created rumblings throughout the IP and tech industries. But what was this case about? Oracle currently owns Java SE, a programming [...]

Exhibiting at a trade show is an important first step for startups to bring their products to market. Everybody has to do it; you have to do it, too. But did you know that exhibiting at a trade show before you file your patent applications can be fatal to your intellectual property portfolio? That's right. [...]

Every small business owner faces competition to try to attract new customers while still retaining older ones. Standing out amongst your competitors is always a challenge; copyright protection for your business’s creative works is one way to accomplish this. In general, copyright protection in the U.S. is available for any work that is (1) original, [...]

I hear this often from entrepreneurs: “Hi Randy, I need to patent protect my idea.” My response is always the same: “Can’t help you with that, because ideas can’t be protected by a patent.” That’s usually met with a puzzled look from the entrepreneur. But it’s true: IDEAS can’t be patented.  But IMPLEMENTATIONS of those [...]

If you are an entrepreneur who wants to make or sell a new product, it’s important that you understand what a patent is. Incubate IP suggests that you need to ask yourself two questions: "Is my specific invention the type that can be patented?" "Will getting it patented help me protect the product?"   Let’s [...]

We just announced that I’ve been booked for seven presentations to professional and educational associations over the next three months. I’ll be speaking on topics like “Everything You Need to Know About Intellectual Property Law” and “Export while protecting your company’s intellectual property.” The venues include the Great Lakes Regional Meeting of the American Chemical [...]

Let’s say that you have a new invention or idea that you want to bring to market. You believe that your invention will provide entertainment to people, change the world or provide aid. It is pretty obvious that you will want to protect this idea. Obtaining a patent will give you exclusive rights to the [...]

When you create a unique logo for your company or a name for your company’s products or services, you want to be sure that no one else uses the same logo or name elsewhere. Aside from this, you also need to make sure that the image/name you are using doesn’t infringe upon any registered trademarks. [...]

Regardless of the industry you operate in and the size of your business, some aspect of it will be built on your IP (Intellectual Property). Whether it's your commercials’ jingle, brand or even an invention, IP a huge portion of your business’s value and you should take appropriate steps to protect it. While most small [...]

Legal due diligence is the investigation into the workings of a business. This is done by reviewing documents and often interviewing key employees. This investigation is conducted when an investor or business is interested in investing in or buying a business. The information sought seeks to reveal all the vital facts as well as potential [...]

There can be no dispute that Apple’s iPhone has revolutionized the way we connect with people, do our shopping, entertain ourselves, and learn new things. We admit it: we’ve lost count of how many rounds the Smartphone Wars have gone. Unless you’re Samsung. The Smartphone Wars have been skillfully reported by others before, and this [...]

“Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of ticky tacky, Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes all the same. There's a green one and a pink one And a blue one and a yellow one, And they're all made out ofticky tacky And they all look just the same.” Malvina Reynolds, “Little Boxes” [...]

Sometimes — very rarely — a single patent is enough protection for your startup.  Almost always, however, proper protection of your company’s ideas will require additional intellectual property (trademarks and trade dress, copyrights, and trade secrets). Read on to find out why a single patent may not be enough intellectual property protection for your startup. [...]

Building a company from a great idea is the dream of many. Far too often, however, entrepreneurs make simple—but costly—missteps along the path when it comes to their intellectual property (IP) assets. Sometimes, the mistakes are correctable at a reasonable cost. Occasionally, however, the sin is so great that recovery breaks the bank. Or is [...]