Patents are expensive. You should avoid the cost of getting a patent if possible. If you must get a patent, then you should delay the cost of a patent as much as possible. The goal is to avoid and delay patent costs if and when possible. So, how do you protect your invention without a patent? You can use contracts and trade secrets to avoid using a patent to protect your … [Read more...]
Patent application process
The patent application process includes three main time frames: 1) before filing patent application, 2) after filing a patent application and 3) after patent grant. Browse related articles below.
Is a patent worth getting?
A patent might seem like a waste of money when you launch your product. You're not making any money yet. Patents are expensive. Plus, a patent is never guaranteed. So, is a patent worth getting? A patent is worth the cost if sales of the invention are much greater than the expenses of getting a patent. Unfortunately, you don't know what sales will be like before you … [Read more...]
Can you patent [Fill-in-the-Blank]? Yes or No
Have you ever wondered if you could patent your invention? I reviewed 32 different types of inventions with the requirements to get a patent. Read through the types of inventions to see where your invention fits in. So what can you patent? You can patent an invention if it meets four patent requirements, specifically, utility requirement, eligibility requirement, novelty … [Read more...]
Patent Pending: Definition, Benefits and Warning
Inventors and competitors often misunderstand patent pending. Inventors will mark their products with “Patent Pending” thinking that no one else can copy their invention. This understanding would be incorrect. Competitors might see this and ignore the patent pending notice. This ignorance would be foolish. Patent pending notice is something you’ll come across in … [Read more...]
Provisional patent application: a cheap option?
A provisional patent application (PPA) is not a cheap option but it is a lower cost alternative to a non provisional patent application. The reason is that although the provisional patent application has lower minimum requirements than the nonprovisional patent application, the PPA has to disclose all of the details that the NPA must disclose. The provisional patent … [Read more...]
Licensing Termination Provisions
Licensing Termination Provisions for Under-performing License Agreements After securing a patent on an invention and you are making money, another company may want to use the patented technology in their product or service. To give a business the right to use the patented technology, the patent holder and the business enter into a contract for the right to use the intellectual … [Read more...]
Patent Marking: Burden of production and burden of proof
Failure to properly mark a product with its patent number limits an infringer's liability for damages. Infringers have the burden of production to initially identify products which the patentee failed to mark. The patentee then has the burden of proof to show that the unmarked products are not covered by the patent. In Arctic Cat Inc. v. Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. … [Read more...]
Patent search websites
The two online patent search resources that I utilize the most to retrieve patent documents and to research patents are freepatentsonline.com and the uspto.gov website. The uspto.gov website provides two different databases. One for issued patents and one for published patent applications. Some published patents applications mature into a patent but some do not. Hence, … [Read more...]