OC Patent Lawyer Orange County Patent Attorney welcomes clients in the Orange County region, recommends cost efficient patent protection strategy

A patent provides the right to exclude others from practicing the patented invention. In other words, a patentee can demand that competitors stop selling a device that infringes on the patent. This is the traditional offensive aspect of a patent. However, patents have other purposes. For example, when a company is accused of infringement, the [...]

A patentee can seek money damages and/or an injunction against companies that infringe their patent.  Damages are calculated as the dollar value that the patentee suffered due to the infringement.  However, in certain situations, the patentee may not have suffered any damage or the damage suffered by the patentee was de minimus.  For example, the [...]

You file a patent application. You go through a couple of rounds with the examiner but are unsuccesful in obtaining a patent grant. You appeal to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (“BPAI”) arguing that the examiner is incorrect. At this point, you’ve gone through a lot but there is still more you can [...]

California has a strong public policy that allows employees to change jobs, seek employment, or otherwise practice their trade or skill.  This policy is embodied in Business and Professions Code Section 16600 (“Section 16600”).  Under Section 16600, all contracts that restrain an employee’s ability to work are void unless the contract is based on a [...]

To be liable for patent infringement, a “single” entity must sell a product or perform all of the steps of a claim in a patent. If “two” different parties provide different components or different steps of the patented product or method, then there is no liability unless one party control or directs the other party. [...]

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. The benefit of marking a product with a patent number is that damages accrue upon infringement and not upon actual notice of the patent.  However, if the product is incorrectly marked [...]

Departing employees pose a problem for former employers.  These employees may have been on the verge of discovering a new patentable product, formula, etc. during employment with the former employer.  When they depart, the information acquired during research and development by the employee belongs to the former employer and should not benefit competitors or others.  [...]