I'm Riding a What?... An Intellectual Property Attorney's Gu

Intellectual property is everywhere, and encompasses, among other things, the areas of patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. As an industry, surfing represents a significant market that is heavily influenced and involved with intellectual property. In fact, the Surf Industry Manufacturer Association's (SIMA) managing director Sean Smith surprised me with the fact that the U.S. Surf market is estimated to be a $4.14 billion industry and the worldwide surf market is estimated to be a $6.5 billion industry. SIMA, in a fact sheet, further reports that there are about 1.6 million people who participate in surfing. This substantial market is segmented along several intellectual property borders that have been created by both organizations and individuals. As an indicator of this segmentation, just start looking for those telltale indicators that include "Patent Pending", "Patent No. ___",