This blog post has been updated due to the America Invents Act enacted September 16, 2011. See Virtual patent marking and false patent marking post. Upon filing a patent application or issuance of a patent, a product disclosed by the patent application or covered by the claims of the issued patent may be marked either “Patent [...]
-
Penalty for False Patent Marking
-
Misconceptions of Provisional Patent Applications
After an inventor conceives of an invention, an application seeking patent protection may be filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The first or initial patent application may either be a provisional or non provisional patent application. The provisional patent application is described as a lower cost option compared to the non-provisional patent [...]
-
What Types of Inventions are Obvious?
Inventors frequently ask whether the Patent Office will grant them a patent on their invention. The general answer is that the Patent Office will grant a patent on inventions that are novel (i.e., new) and non-obvious in light of technology existing at the time the patent application was filed. The government does not have an [...]
IP Monthly Roundup January 2012
Prioritized Examination The Patent Office and Congress has responded to the patent user community. Many people were complaining that the examination process took too long. It currently takes about 2 to 3 years before your patent application is examined by the Patent Office. In years past, the Patent Office has given preferential treatment in special [...]
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
Print This Post
- Posted in: Monthly Roundup
- Continue Reading →
Be explicit about things implicit in your patent application to avoid written description issues
Written Description Requirement To get a patent, an inventor must satisfy the written description requirement. This is accomplished through the preparation of a patent application which describes the invention and shows any drawings if necessary for the understanding of the invention. To satisfy the written description requirement, the discussion of the invention must correspond to the claims. [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ... Print This Post
What is the fuss about patent trolls?
The broadest definition of a patent troll is a patent holding company that does not make products but asserts its patents against companies that make products. In legalese, a non practicing entity that sues a practicing entity. History of the term The term patent troll was used as early as 1993 and popularized by Peter [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ... Print This Post
- Posted in: Non practicing entity
- Continue Reading →
Defense to patent infringement based on prior commercial use under AIA
Choice between patents or trade secrets Inventions may be protected either through trade secret or patent. Inventions that are accessible to the public and can be reversed engineered cannot be protected through trade secrets. Trade secret protection requires that the information remain a secret. In these cases, the invention must be protected through patents. However, [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ... Print This Post
- Posted in: defense to patent infringement
- Continue Reading →
Large, small and micro-entity patent Fees
Most governmental patent fees are based on whether the applicant is a large entity or a small entity. Small entities are entitled to a 50% discount of the large entity fee. Under the America Invents Act, Congress created an additional category of entities identified as micro-entities which are entitled to a 75% discount of the [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ... Print This Post
- Posted in: patent fees
- Continue Reading →
America Invents Act
The America Invents Act (AIA) which changes major sections of the current Patent Laws became law on September 16, 2011. Under the AIA, the first inventor to file, not the first to invent is awarded the patent. Other sections changes the law on false marking, attacks on best mode, and many more.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ... Print This Post
Season’s Greetings
Thank you for making 2011 such a wonderful year! May your holiday season be filled with much joy and laughter. May your new year be more prosperous and satisfying than the last. James Yang OC Patent Lawyer James@OCPatentLawyer.com (949) 433-0900
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ... Print This Post
- Posted in: Uncategorized
- Continue Reading →
Recordation of assignment resolves ownership issue
Patent attorneys and employment lawyers are becoming creative when crafting invention assignment agreements. When I worked as an engineer, my employer’s invention assignment agreement was straight forward. I aassigned all inventions created on the job to my employer. Back then, this was a typical invention assignment clause. In the following case, an employer had its [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ... Print This Post
- Posted in: Uncategorized
- Continue Reading →
What types of inventions are LA and OC inventors patenting?
Los Angeles companies have been transitioning from communications to bio-tech. In contrast, Irvine has consistently been inventing in the areas of surgery, bio-tech and prosthesis. As the chart below shows, Los Angeles companies were inventing and patenting inventions in the field of communications. However, over the past decade, they have transitioned to bio-tech inventions. In [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ... Print This Post
- Posted in: Irvine patent, patent statistics
- Continue Reading →
USPTO Performance and Accountability Report for 2011
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has published its yearly Performance and Accountability Report. I’ve cut out some of the tables and provided a brief commentary below. Some of the graphics are barely legible. This is the way it was published on the USPTO website.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ... Print This Post
- Posted in: patent statistics
- Continue Reading →
