Basic types of patents Three types of patents are issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. 1. Utility patent; 2. Design patent; and 3. Plant patent (not discussed here). Basic differences between utility and design patents Each of these types of patents cover different aspects of an invention. Utility patents protect functional features. [...]

Non Publication Requests A non publication request is a request by the patent applicant to not publish a non provisional patent application.  By default, every non provisional patent application is published 18 months after the filing date of the patent application.  The non publication request prevents the publication. Benefit of publication The benefit of publication [...]

Due diligence in searching for a competitor’s patents at the beginning of the design and manufacturing process may save more money in the long run since it is typically less expensive to make adjustments to a product earlier on during the design and manufacturing process than to make changes to avoid infringement after launch of a product.

Under the Federal Circuit’s decision in Lawman Armor Corp. v. Winner International LLC, 77 USPQ2d 2017 (Fed. Cir. 2006), the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court’s holding that Winner (Defendant) did not infringe U.S. Patent No. Des. 357,621 because various patents that Winner cited collectively but not individually disclosed each of Lawman’s (Plaintiff) points of [...]