His Dallas-based company is the top provider of natural gas vehicles. So you’ll understand if BAF Technologies president John Bacon makes the usual “green” arguments regarding natural gas for cars – green as in environmentally-friendly, and green as in slicing through energy costs.

“Natural gas is about a dollar a gallon equivalent less than gasoline,” Bacon said. “We start off saving money. Secondly, it’s clean-burning. All our vehicles are to the cleanest standards available – all our vehicles are SULEV” (Super Low Emission Vehicles, a U.S. emissions standard). “In fact in California, our vehicles are allowed in the HOV lanes.”

But Bacon – whose company designs the compressed natural gas (CNG) systems, installs them in fleets for Fortune 500 companies, and provides nationwide service and support – makes another point that also may be compelling in these dangerous times: CNG helps with national security.

“We don’t have to go outside the United States for the fuel. We have over 200 years of natural gas in the United States right now,” Bacon said. “So by staying here, we keep our dollars at home, we don’t do business with people that don’t like us a whole lot, and we keep our country safe.”

BAF Technologies has been doing its part for alternative fuels and natural gas for cars since 1992, when it was founded in response to the Clean Energy Act. Since then, it has converted some 12,000 vehicles from gasoline to CNG and has expanded to 11 installation plants across the country. Verizon and AT&T are two of its biggest customers, but a new designation as a Qualified Vehicle Modifier from the Ford Motor Company – whose vehicles are desired for CNG conversions – may mean more business from corporate fleets as well as those in use by governmental entities who are under mandates to switch to clean energy fuels.

“It’s a strategic relationship with Ford that allows us to submit to Ford our systems for approval by them. By them approving it, then they cover the entire warranty on any vehicle that we convert to compressed natural gas,” Bacon said.

“There’s increased interest in natural gas right now, due to the effort to reduce dependence on foreign energy sources,” said Dick Cupka, Ford Motor Company sustainability program manager. “It’s growing very quickly. Ford Motor Company is wanting to be part of that. We’re partnering with groups like BAF to make product available to the customers.”

Those BAF Technologies products meet Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resource Board requirements; in fact, a vehicle that has been CARB-certified has met some of the most stringent standards in the country. That is the result of a rigorous BAF testing regime for effectiveness and safety that goes beyond CARB – BAF is the only company in its industry that crash-tests its vehicles, Bacon said.

BAF’s process regarding natural gas for cars involves an “upfit:” a vehicle’s standard gasoline tank and fuel delivery system is removed at one of the company’s plants, and black, sleek CNG tanks are installed. Inspections and tests are conducted several times during the process to ensure effectiveness, safety and compliance with emissions standards.

For more information on BAF Technologies and natural gas for cars, go to http://www.baftechnologies.com.

DALLAS, April 6, 2011 – BAF Technologies has already converted more than 12,000 vehicles from gasoline to compressed natural gas (CNG). Yet more corporations and governmental entities may be in BAF’s pipeline thanks in part to its special relationship with one of the world’s top automakers, and this potential for new business is the subject of the latest spark360 “Social Business Video” profile, now available for viewing at www.spark360.tv.

BAF Technologies, based in Dallas, began operations in 1992 in response to the Clean Air Act and quickly became one of the top providers of natural gas vehicles, converting fleets for Fortune 500 companies such as Verizon and AT&T. The company designs the CNG systems, installs them in 12 locations across the United States, and provides nationwide service and support. And BAF is the only company in its industry that has approval from the Ford Motor Company for natural gas, having acquired QVM (Qualified Vehicle Modifier) status from the automaker.

“It’s a strategic relationship with Ford that allows us to submit to Ford our systems for approval by them,” BAF Technologies president John Bacon tells spark360 host/managing editor Renay San Miguel. “By them approving it, then they cover the entire warranty on any vehicle that we convert to compressed natural gas.”

Bacon lists the benefits of natural gas for cars: CNG is about a dollar a gallon cheaper than gasoline, it’s cleaner-burning and safe. Bacon also argues that CNG helps address national security concerns: “We don’t have to go outside the United States for the fuel. We have over 200 years of natural gas in the United States right now. So by staying here, we keep our dollars at home, we don’t do business with people that don’t like us a whole lot, and we keep our country safe.”

The spark360 cameras capture the “upfit” process in BAF’s Dallas plant as workers remove gasoline tanks from corporate vehicles, install new CNG tanks and systems, and then inspect them to make sure they comply with Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resource Board (CARB) guidelines. Bacon adds that BAF Technologies not only easily meets those guidelines, it’s also the only company in its industry to perform crash-testing on its vehicles.

The cameras also go inside the company’s research and development division as application engineers draw up systems designs on computers. The spark360 profile includes comments about Ford Motor Company’s interest in natural gas for cars from Dick Cupka, sustainability program manager for the automaker.

“There’s increased interest in natural gas right now, due to the effort to reduce dependence on foreign energy sources. It’s growing very quickly,” Cupka said. “Ford Motor Company is wanting to be part of that. We’re partnering with groups like BAF to make product available to the customers.”

“John Bacon and BAF Technologies make a good case for natural gas for cars,” said San Miguel. “It’s a detailed behind-the-scenes look at a company providing a technology for alternative fuels, and it’s also an examination of the business partnerships that can develop in order to succeed in the clean energy fuels industry.”

About spark360

spark360 is a Web-based business television program that celebrates the spark of entrepreneurship in America by featuring the unique stories of small and middle-market businesses.

spark360 also provides a credible and relevant outlet to get your story to a global marketplace through our exclusive 360 Distribution social media platform. spark360 delivers broadcast-quality, network news-style programs via a comprehensive SEO-optimized “full circle” distribution strategy that reaches every corner of the Internet. spark360 is a division of Splash Media, L.P. http://www.spark360.tv <http://www.spark360.tv/>

For media inquiries for spark360, please contact: Steven Swaim sswaim(at)spark360(dot)tv

About Splash Media

Splash Media LP, based in Addison, Texas, is one of the largest agencies in the Southwest providing internet marketing, social media marketing and strategic video solutions. Splash offers a unique mix of services that blends interactive digital marketing with Emmy Award-winning video production.

Companies looking to outsource their social media marketing contact Splash Media for expertise in creating online communities, social media monitoring/interaction and content marketing. And since 2004, Splash has delivered web-enabled, custom strategic video solutions for training and communications.

For media inquiries for Splash Media, please contact: Chris Kraft ckraft(at)splashmedia(dot)com

But BAF president John Bacon is casting his company’s appeal as something much more valuable; namely, national security.

“It’s domestic fuel,” Bacon told me. “We don’t have to go outside the United States for the fuel. We have over 200 years of natural gas in the United States right now. So by staying here, we keep our dollars at home, we don’t do business with people that don’t like us a whole lot, and we keep our country safe.”

CNG is an alternative fuel option that has received much attention from government agencies and private analysts. More companies will soon be under pressure to find more cost-effective ways to maintain vehicle fleets. Municipal entities, utilities and public transportation outlets will also be looking to upgrade their vehicles to run a form of CNG, so BAF Technologies sees itself as being in a very sweet spot in the entrepreneurial process.

Our cameras visited BAF’s installation facility in Dallas to watch them switch out traditional gas tanks for CNG systems. The customer? A major telecommunications company that has already heard the siren call of alternative fuels. So the A-list companies on the Fortune 1000 have gotten the word; natural gas for cars can be greener and more economical for a company’s bottom line.

But with fresh unrest racing its way around the oil-producing nations of the Middle East, Bacon’s strategy for CNG as a safeguard against foreign oil dependence suddenly takes on new meaning.

- Renay San Miguel

DALLAS, March 17 – Thanks to its innovative methods of draining water away from residential and commercial building foundations, Dallas Drain Company has also built its own solid foundation: a successful business model that’s a combination of old-school craftsmanship and investments in high-tech research. Splash Media’s spark360 puts that ingenuity and hard work on display in its new “Social Business Video” profile, now available for viewing at www.spark360.tv.

Dallas Drain Company, in business since 1984, specializes in installation of drainage systems using the French Angled Slotted Pipe (FASP). The pipe’s self-cleaning design does away with the need for filter cloths that can clog up with dirt, which necessitates digging up the systems for replacement. But Dallas Drain’s FASP systems are good for the life of the house and come with a 10-year warranty.

FASP helped fast-track the company’s success, but Dallas Drain – led by president and CEO Kevin Travis – has also designed new ways of protecting other areas such as sports complexes, golf courses and roads. The company takes in-house research and development seriously; it’s won patents or has patents pending for products that clean downspouts and monitor basement sumps. Dallas Drain has put cameras in experimental pipe systems underground to check fluid flows and has even built a golf sand trap on company grounds for testing drainage methods.

The spark360 cameras take viewers behind the scenes as Dallas Drain Company workers install a new residential drainage system and show the company’s monitoring and control systems for its research projects. Examples of the company’s work in “rain harvesting” are shown, and speeded-up photography is used to show the sand trap testing area draining off water from a simulated downpour in 8.5 minutes.

Travis also appears on the spark360 virtual set for an interview with host Renay San Miguel, and talks about why architects and engineers should work with Dallas Drain Company before they begin drawing up their blueprints. “Usually what happens is, we get the call to look at the plans and we see immediately ways that we can better the design upfront,” Travis said. “If they got us in on the design process, we can make it easier on them and we can make it easier on all the (construction) trades involved.”

“At first glance, Dallas Drain Company might look like another plumbing-type firm,” said San Miguel. “But there’s more engineering and technological innovation going on at Travis’ company. It’s one of the few drainage-only companies in the U.S., but it’s carved a very successful niche for itself, and that’s the kind of entrepreneurship we like to highlight on spark360.”

About spark360

spark360 is a Web-based business television program that celebrates the spark of entrepreneurship in America by featuring the unique stories of small and middle-market businesses.

spark360 also provides a credible and relevant outlet to get your story to a global marketplace through our exclusive 360 Distribution social media platform. spark360 delivers broadcast-quality, network news-style programs via a comprehensive SEO-optimized “full circle” distribution strategy that reaches every corner of the Internet. spark360 is a division of Splash Media, L.P. http://www.spark360.tv <http://www.spark360.tv/>

For media inquiries for spark360, please contact: Steven Swaim sswaim(at)spark360(dot)tv

About Splash Media

Splash Media LP, based in Addison, Texas, is one of the largest agencies in the Southwest providing internet marketing, social media marketing and strategic video solutions. Splash offers a unique mix of services that blends interactive digital marketing with Emmy Award-winning video production.

Companies looking to outsource their social media marketing contact Splash Media for expertise in creating online communities, social media monitoring/interaction and content marketing. And since 2004, Splash has delivered web-enabled, custom strategic video solutions for training and communications.

For media inquiries for Splash Media, please contact: Chris Kraft ckraft(at)splashmedia(dot)com

It’s called a FASP – French Angled Slotted Pipe – and it’s a better way to remove water from around the foundations of residences and office buildings. Traditional pipes need filter cloths, which get clogged with dirt and need frequent cleaning – and that means digging up areas around buildings. But a FASP pipe’s unique design is self-cleaning and is good for the life of the structure.

FASP pipe doesn’t just protect the foundations of buildings from water damage. It’s also been the foundation for Dallas Drain Company’s rise to success as one of the few drainage-only companies in the country; Dallas Drain doesn’t do irrigation or landscaping. Since it was founded in 1984, the company has focused on providing the protective envelope around structures and other areas through drainage systems that come with 10-year warranties.

That focus is prompting Dallas Drain Company president/CEO Kevin Travis to ask architects and engineers to bring his company into the construction process at an early stage. “Usually what happens is, when we get the call to look at the plans, we see immediately ways that we can better the design upfront,” Travis said “If they got us in on the design process, we can make it easier on them, we can make it easier on all the (construction) trades because it all interrelates, of course. And once we work with an engineer, they usually jump on board because they see the value of what we do.”

That value is a result of Dallas Drain’s business model, an interesting mix of old-school craftsmanship – something Travis calls an “artisanal” approach – and a laser-like focus on technology and engineering. Travis, a former engineer himself, is constantly looking for innovative ways to not only protect homes and commercial buildings, but larger areas like sports complexes, golf courses and roadways. Travis doesn’t outsource tech development; all research and development is done in house. This strategy has resulted in patents and patents pending for Dallas Drain Company products like a downspout-cleaning system and a basement sump monitor.

The best example of this? The golf course sand trap that’s in the backyard of Dallas Drain’s office. Travis had it placed in order to test new ways of draining sand traps. A nearby sprinkler simulates a sudden, soaking rainfall. But Travis’ system can drain the water from that soaking in less than nine minutes.

“This is more dewatering,” Travis said. “No one wants to play out of a trap that has six inches of water. No one wants to putt on a green that’s sending out water trails. We can take out the water off of greens, sand traps, even the fairway. We’ve gone through a baseball field and cleaned it up where they could go out and play within a day after a rain instead of six days. We’re looking into getting into road structure, you know. Everybody sees – we get potholes in the roads, the streets. We can help with that.”

Such technological advances are pushing drainage techniques to new heights of effectiveness, Travis said. “Drainage today is where irrigation was in the Fifties, you know. So now we are doing it for more of the larger homes, although we do smaller homes as well, but it’s going to be more accessible – good drainage to protect foundations, crawlspaces, basements.”

Also on display at Dallas Drain Company’s offices: a test facility showing off the drainage properties of FASP. The U.S. Department of the Interior uses FASP systems to protect buildings such as historic landmarks, and has added Dallas Drain Company to its list of vendors.

For more information on Dallas Drain Company and FASP pipe, go to www.dallasdrain.com.

Indeed, the company’s roots are in plumbing – the company’s founder worked 27 years for one of the bigger plumbing companies in Dallas. But after just one meeting with Kevin Travis, Dallas Drain’s president and CEO, you would come away thinking that his company is on the leading edge of technology and engineering, thanks to his knowledge of water and what it can do to structures and foundations.

And you would also hear the pride he has in his staff, which he consults with regularly for ideas on water drainage solutions. “These guys who work with us, they’re artisans, pure craftsmen,” Travis told me. “Everyone has been with me for a very long time. There’s very little turnover.”

Besides keeping the right personnel, Travis has also invested heavily in homegrown research and development, going so far as to build a golf course-style sand trap behind the Dallas Drain Company offices so he can study new ways of draining traps. His company is in the right part of the country for working on water drainage; one out of every five foundation failures occurs in Texas, according to Dallas Drain. That may be why he’s set up several testing areas around his offices, complete with cameras and monitoring equipment as he and his team try to design innovative ways of drawing water away from buildings, or keeping tree roots from wrapping around and through underground pipes.

“We’re doing stuff no one has even heard of before,” Travis said. “Most of it is learned from practical applications – just fixing problems. A lot of the stuff that we see is needed is not really available commercially, so we either modify it or make our own.”

The innovation gives Kevin a chance to use his engineering background, and his solutions and success are added to the long line of entrepreneurs who build businesses by identifying problems – and then go and fix them.

- Renay San Miguel

When it comes to choosing the right heating and cooling systems for their houses, U.S. homeowners have so many issues to consider in the early 21st century, it might make some of them hot under the collar:

Is there a solution that can save on energy bills in a challenging economy? Are there options available that are environmentally-friendly? And how can I be sure that the system I install won’t send allergens and pollutants to my kids’ rooms along with all that hot and cold air?

Mitsubishi Electric Cooling and Heating Solutions has maintained that it had the answers to those questions – long before the latest recession, the trend toward green initiatives and the rise of childhood asthma rates in the U.S. The company’s technology breakthroughs include ductless air conditioning, “smart” compressors that vary energy output depending on temperatures achieved, the use of nanotechnology to help filter out pollutants and the ability to vary climate controls in different rooms. Yet it has probably seemed to homeowners that they have had few choices in providing comfortable temperatures in their homes.

“They either had a big ugly central air conditioning unit that was inefficient and used up a tremendous amount of energy, or they had a window unit that they stuck in a window, which was ugly and noisy,” said Bud Nardello, Mitsubishi Electric’s vice president of sales. “That (window unit) was the only solution they had for the problem of heating and cooling a particular space in the house. There’s never a home that I’ve ever been in where every room was comfortable. There’s always a hot spot or a cold spot.”

The hot trend in cooling and heating systems has been solutions that can save on energy costs, which can also lessen the impact on the environment. Mitsubishi Electric says it began solving that problem when it first introduced ductless air conditioning and heating systems into the U.S. market 30 years ago.

Company product manager Chuck Applebee explains how ductless systems solve the energy cost riddle:

“It takes energy to move air, and air is heavy, and you’ve got to push it around in ductwork,” Applebee said. “Refrigerant on the other hand is much easier to move because the compressor is forcing the refrigerant through tubes, through pipes from the outdoor unit to the indoor unit.  And that’s much easier and takes much less energy than pushing a large amount of air.  All ductwork leaks, so you’ve got a 140-degree attic with a big run of ductwork running down throughout the house, you’re losing energy in that attic all the time.”

Features like ductless air conditioning, when coupled with special filtration measures that Mitsubishi Electric builds into its systems, mean fewer pollutants that can impact family health, said director of applications support Meredith Emmerich.

“”If you think about it, about 25 percent of Americans struggle with allergies or have asthma. 90 percent of us spend 90 percent of our time indoors, not outside, and the pollutants inside are so much worse,” Emmerich said. “All of those things that can make your life a little uncomfortable – cause the sneezing, the wheezing – we can make sure we help protect your family against those things.”

That same family will be able to enjoy custom climate control – zoning, as Mitsubishi Electric calls it – in individual rooms thanks to compressors using INVERTER technology – the same technology that allows the systems to use only the amount of energy that is needed to heat or cool areas of the home.

Innovative technology from Mitsubishi Electric has helped the company become a primary source of heating and cooling solutions in Europe, Japan and China. Those same advantages are also available to take the load off of U.S. consumers worried about energy bills, environmental impact and a child’s health.

“When you stand on a rooftop in Tokyo and you look down and you see thousands of these units below you, you realize this isn’t a fad,” said Mitsubishi Electric senior vice president and general manager Bill Rau. “This isn’t something that’s an accident. This stuff works.”

For more information on Mitsubishi Electric and features like ductless air conditioning, go to www.mitsubishicomfort.com.

DALLAS, January 18, 2011 – Mitsubishi Electric Cooling and Heating Solutions’ innovative technology breakthroughs – such as ductless air conditioning and individual climate control for rooms – are already helping companies and governments save money and energy around the world. But the same features are also available for U.S. homeowners, and those consumer options are the focus of the new spark360 “Social Business Video” profile, now available for viewing at www.spark360.tv.

The news-style story is the second to highlight Mitsubishi Electric’s products and services; a previous spark360 feature that aired in late November profiled what the company offers its professional customers – architects, engineers, contractors and commercial building owners. That story can be found at http://www.spark360.tv/2010/ductless-air-conditioning-just-one-mitsubishi-electric-cool-idea/.

Now the spark360 spotlight is on offerings that allow homeowners to cut down on energy costs, keep pollutants and allergens away from loved ones and help the environment, all thanks to Mitsubishi Electric technologies. The spark360 team traveled to the company’s U.S. headquarters in Suwanee, Georgia, and toured the cavernous warehouse area loaded with boxed products ready for shipping to distributors. spark360 audiences will also go inside the company’s training and demonstration facility, where Mitsubishi Electric’s specialists show off tech advances like:

* INVERTER compressor technology that enables compressors to use only the amount of energy needed to cool or heat a specific area, which saves money on monthly electricity bills and is environmentally “green;”

* Ductless air conditioning and heating systems that cut down on airborne pollutants and allergens, a concern among many families. The elimination of ductwork also allows the homeowner to cool and heat those areas that are either too hot or too cold.

In addition, Mitsubishi Electric consumer products are environmentally-friendly; they meet ENERGY STAR® standards, the components in the company’s air conditioners are designed to be nearly 90 percent recyclable, and the refrigerant used offers zero ozone depletion potential (ODP).

Bill Rau, senior vice president and general manager of Mitsubishi Electric, tells spark360 host Renay San Miguel that while his company first introduced many of its breakthroughs three decades ago, “it’s a different concept than what United States contractors are familiar with. We have an answer that doesn’t rely upon that old technology. We can put cooling or heating exactly in the space where you as a homeowner want to have it.”

“This is the first time that most Americans are going to realize that they have a choice,” adds Meredith Emmerich, Mitsubishi Electric’s director of application support. “They don’t have to settle for what goes in their home, what keeps their families healthy, their kids safe and comfortable.”

“Our spark360 audiences learned a lot about the revolutionary technologies pioneered by Mitsubishi Electric Cooling and Heating Solutions during our first story on their professional products,” San Miguel said. “But now they can get an inside look at how those same technologies can make their homes more energy-efficient and the air inside those homes healthier for their families.”

About spark360

spark360 is a Web-based business television program that celebrates the spark of entrepreneurship in America by featuring the unique stories of small and middle-market businesses.

spark360 also provides a credible and relevant outlet to get your story to a global marketplace through our exclusive 360 Distribution social media platform. spark360 delivers broadcast-quality, network news-style programs via a comprehensive SEO-optimized “full circle” distribution strategy that reaches every corner of the Internet. spark360 is a division of Splash Media, L.P. http://www.spark360.tv <http://www.spark360.tv/>

For media inquiries for spark360, please contact: Steven Swaim sswaim(at)spark360(dot)tv

About Splash Media

Splash Media LP, based in Addison, Texas, is one of the largest agencies in the Southwest providing internet marketing, social media marketing and strategic video solutions. Splash offers a unique mix of services that blends interactive digital marketing with Emmy Award-winning video production.

Companies looking to outsource their social media marketing contact Splash Media for expertise in creating online communities, social media monitoring/interaction and content marketing. And since 2004, Splash has delivered web-enabled, custom strategic video solutions for training and communications.

For media inquiries for Splash Media, please contact: Chris Kraft ckraft(at)splashmedia(dot)com

The story that hit home with me involved the individual zoning capabilities for every room of a house that her company’s products deliver for consumers. “So at night I like to keep it a little cool – 69 degrees in my room,” Emmerich said. “But my baby’s nursery, it can be 73 degrees. So you have that capability to customize your room to how you live in your home.  No traditional centralized heating or cooling system can do that.”

Of course, our spark360 story also includes interviews with those who don’t work for Mitsubishi Electric testifying to how features like ductless air conditioning, exclusive filtration systems and other innovative technology help them stay healthy in their own homes.

“The idea of the Mr. Slim (air conditioner) having the ability to have a filter that was an anti-allergen filter was a selling point,” said Kelly Lee.

“For health reasons, it’s been a benefit,” added Evelyn Kennedy. “I have a tendency to have allergies, particularly in the summer.  I do not have that anymore and I really have not had a severe nasal infection at all.”

When you work on the kinds of stories we do at spark360, you always look for outside, independent support in terms of testimonials. You would expect company employees to rave about their own products, right? But in new mother Meredith’s case, her words can highlight another key selling point for Mitsubishi Electric: she practices what she preaches.

- Renay San Miguel

FORT WORTH, January 13, 2011 – You’ve come up with a killer idea for the next Killer App. You’ve persuaded the U.S. government to grant you a patent for it. Now what? How do you turn technological inspiration into business reality? And how can you protect your million-dollar idea from plunder by intellectual property pirates?

The partners of Friedman, Suder & Cooke, a Fort Worth law firm, have spent the last 17 years successfully providing answers for engineers, inventors and small-to-medium businesses entangled in intellectual property litigation. The firm’s unique method of sharing the risks and rewards with its clients is the subject of the new spark360 “Social Business Video” profile, now available for viewing at www.spark360.tv.

“We represent people who own the patent, the inventors of the patents,” firm shareholder Mike Cooke tells spark360 host Renay San Miguel. “It’s a situation where it’s economically not feasible for this individual to be able to enforce his property right, this patent that he holds, against other companies. He doesn’t have the assets to try to monetize it, to try and make a business of it, much less incur years of litigation trying to enforce that and try to have other people respect his rights. So what we do is jump in the same boat with the inventor.”

The firm does that by being one of the few to work on a contingency basis – that way, individuals and small companies can hire experienced attorneys to go up against giant corporations with deep pockets and teams of lawyers. “And that’s one of the most rewarding things about this – to get to know these people who are very creative, who are innovators in our society, work with them and help them realize the value, the benefits of their dream, their idea, their invention,” Cooke said.

Friedman, Suder and Cooke has a track record of success, winning several high-profile judgments that have drawn the attention of publications like the Wall Street Journal, the National Law Journal and Texas Lawyer. The partners’ passion for finding justice for their clients is evident as the spark360 cameras go behind-the-scenes at a strategy session at the Fort Worth law office led by firm shareholder Jon Suder, who was recognized by Texas Monthly Magazine in 2003 as a “Texas Super Lawyer.”

San Miguel interviews Suder on the spark360 virtual set and asks about the firm’s motivation for focusing on the arcane, technical maze that is intellectual property/patent infringement litigation, which can require time, financial resources and endurance to go up against teams of lawyers hired by big corporations. “We’re there to operate a business and be successful, but there’s a noble cause to representing inventors and enforcing patents that the government has determined are worthy of protection, something that an inventor may not fully appreciate what he has or what he can do with it,” the Fort Worth lawyer said.

Suder also provides a history lesson for spark360 viewers: the ideas behind patents and IP rights were deemed worthy enough by founding fathers like Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin – both prolific inventors – that they wanted them enshrined in the Constitution. “They recognized that the patent system was important to get our country up and running as a great industrialized nation. Innovators needed business partners to take it (an idea) and show it and teach people how to do it, so that they can then move the ball forward and say, ‘All right, I can’t do that, but let me see if I did it this way.’ And that’s what made us a great country.”

San Miguel also gets Suder’s take on so-called “patent trolls,” or non-producing entities. “I had done a little bit of reporting in the past on patent trolls and their role in several high-profile technology-based lawsuits,” San Miguel said. “Suder says they actually have some value in the patent law process. There is a business side to patents and intellectual property litigation that can be overshadowed by the gee-whiz technology aspects and it’s been educational to work on this spark360 story to help dig that up through the work done by Friedman, Suder & Cooke.”

About spark360
spark360 is a Web-based business television program that celebrates the spark of entrepreneurship in America by featuring the unique stories of small and middle-market businesses.

spark360 also provides a credible and relevant outlet to get your story to a global marketplace through our exclusive 360 Distribution social media platform. spark360 delivers broadcast-quality, network news-style programs via a comprehensive SEO-optimized “full circle” distribution strategy that reaches every corner of the Internet.spark360 is a division of Splash Media, L.P. http://www.spark360.tv <http://www.spark360.tv/>

For media inquiries for spark360, please contact: Steven Swaim sswaim(at)spark360(dot)tv

About Splash Media
Splash Media L.P., based in Addison, Texas, creates and develops custom web-based communications and training solutions that are powered by video. We specialize in developing video communications strategies and video delivery platforms that drive our customer’s bottom line. Splash Media is a leader in the Enterprise Video Communications industry and has been delivering Internet enabled strategic video solutions since 2004. http://www.splashmedia.com <http://www.splashmedia.com/>

For media inquiries for Splash Media, please contact: Chris Kraft ckraft(at)splashmedia(dot)com