• Home
  • About
    • Client Reviews
    • Patent Samples
    • Accolades
    • About Firm
    • Technologies
    • FAQs
  • Services
    • Patents
      • Patent Consultation
      • Patent Search Service
      • Patent Application Service
      • Patent Prosecution
      • Utility Patents
      • Design Patents
      • Patent Defense
      • Patent Enforcement
      • Working with In-House Attorneys
    • Trademarks
      • Trademark Search
      • Trademark Application Services
      • Trademark Prosecution
      • Trademark Enforcement
      • Trademark Defense
    • Licensing
    • Worldwide IP
    • Risk Management
    • Due Diligence
  • Industries
    • Browse Patent Samples
    • Automotive Patents
    • Construction Patents
    • Consumer Products Patents
    • Electronics Patents
    • Food, Beverage, & Other Culinary Patents
    • Manufacturing Patents
    • Medical Products & Devices Patents
    • Optics Patents
    • Software & App Patents
    • Tools & Equipment Patents
  • Learning Resources
    • First-Time Inventor?
    • Why Patent Your Invention in a Bad Economy?
    • Videos on Patents
    • Search 180+ Articles
      • Patent process
        • Overview of Patent Process
          • Patent process timeline and major milestones
          • Patent Process: Invention to Patent Granted (Simplified)
          • Patent process, overall steps and procedures
        • Overview of the examination process within the USPTO
          • Highs and lows of securing patent protection for your invention
          • What is the Patent Office procedure after filing a patent application?
        • Benefits of a Patent Search
          • What is a patent search and How to do it?
        • Patent attorneys, agents and the USPTO can help with the patent process
        • USPTO Website
      • Invention Agreements
        • What is an NDA and when to use them?
        • How to use a contract to protect your invention?
        • Working with others without losing your IP rights
        • Patent Assignments for Independent Contractors
        • Losing Invention Rights When Hiring or Collaborating with Others
        • Avoid Problems: Get an Invention Assignment Agreement
      • Protect Inventions
        • Misconceptions of Provisional Patent Applications
        • Do you need to get your patent attorney to sign an NDA?
        • Can a confidentiality agreement protect me like a patent application?
        • Four types of intellectual property to protect your idea and how to use them
          • Overview of Patents and Intellectual Property
          • Patent protection benefits and why every inventor should consider getting one
          • 8 tips to successfully protect your idea
          • Benefits of Patent Protection
          • Best uses for design patents
        • Reasons to only market your invention after securing patent pendency
          • Dangers of 1 yr grace period under first-inventor-to-file system
          • File a patent application before telling others about the invention
        • Risks and benefits of securing software patent protection
          • Strategy to overcome patentable subject matter rejection
        • Pros and cons of filing a continuation-in-part application
          • What is a continuation patent application?
      • How Patent Applications Work: the Basics
        • How to respond to an office action?
        • Request for non-publication of a patent application
        • Anatomy of a Patent Document
        • How to write a broad patent application?
        • Design patents: pros and cons
      • Patent costs
        • How much does it cost to get a utility patent?
        • Provisional Patent Application: Cheap Alternative?
        • Patent Cost Framework and cash flow
        • Provisional patent application: a cheap option?
        • Cheap provisional patent applications
      • Patent infringement
        • Basics of writing a patent claim for a patent application
        • Patent Marking: Everything you wanted to know
        • Avoiding Patent Infringement
        • Can I Copy My Competitor’s Product?
        • Can I Copy My Competitor’s Product? (Design Patent)
      • Worldwide patents
        • Pros and cons of securing worldwide patent protection and their steps
        • Foreign patent filing to secure protection in other countries
      • Responding to Office Actions
        • Overview of Office Actions
      • Trademarks
        • Trademark Registration: common law, state and federal
        • How to obtain a federal trademark registration?
        • How to select a trademark?
          • Protect your idea when pitching to an investor, potential licensee, or buyer
  • Schedule Consultation
  • Contact

Top-Rated Orange County Patent Lawyer | Helping Inventors in Orange County, Los Angeles County & Beyond | OC Patent Lawyer, Irvine CA

Orange County Patent Attorney

(949) 433-0900
You are here: Home / Archives for Protect Inventions

How to use patents to make money?

August 17, 2019 by James Yang

Patents can help businesses make money through four different strategies.  However, the pitfalls of each strategy should be understood so that you don't waste your money.So, how do you use patents to make money? The four main strategies for making money with patents are:Commercialize your patent rightsMarket your invention as patent pending or patentedSell your patent … [Read more...]

Pros and cons of filing a continuation-in-part application

July 6, 2019 by James Yang

Bottom line The pro for filing a continuation-in-part application is lower downstream costs.  The cons are a shortened patent term and also your prior arguments and statements made in the parent application/patent can and will be used against you to narrowly interpret the claim language in a patent maturing from the subsequent continuation-in-part application. To discuss … [Read more...]

Risks and benefits of securing software patent protection

March 8, 2017 by James Yang

In the past few years software patent protection has come under intense scrutiny by the courts and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).  In that short time, it has become commonplace to see software inventions characterized as an abstract idea and thus not eligible for patent protection under 35 U.S.C. 101.  As such, for software patent protection, one must … [Read more...]

Strategy to overcome patentable subject matter rejection

February 19, 2017 by James Yang

A brief history of patentable subject matter rejections Ever since Alice/Mayo, a number of decisions have been rendered regarding patentable subject matter or 35 USC 101.  In other words, whether a claim in a patent or patent application is eligible for patent protection under Section 101.  Each new case adds to the body of patentable subject matter case law to help the … [Read more...]

File a patent application before telling others about the invention

November 3, 2015 by James Yang

Inventors often ask if they can tell others about the invention before filing a patent application.  They want to get feedback from others (i.e., friends, investors, licensees, customers) to see if their is good enough to warrant the high cost to hire a patent attorney.  After all, if no one willing buy the product, then why waste money on legal fees.  I would feel the same way … [Read more...]

Broad patents spread a wide net but more likely to be invalid

November 18, 2014 by James Yang

In Abbvie v. Janssen (Fed. Cir. 2014), the claims of the patents at issue defined the claimed invention by its function, rather than by its structure. To put it in layman’s terms, it claimed a sports car going 0 to 60 mph within X seconds instead of claiming a V-12 engine having certain technical features that enabled the car to reach 0-60 in so many seconds. Functional … [Read more...]

Abstract idea hard to define for patent eligibility purposes

November 17, 2014 by James Yang

Under U.S. patent laws, an invention must be directed to a statutory category that is eligible for patent protection. These categories include a process, a machine, a manufacture or a composition of matter. (35 USC § 101). If the invention does not fall within one of these four enumerated categories, that is, if an application claims an abstract idea, a natural phenomenon, or a … [Read more...]

Dangers of 1 yr grace period under first-inventor-to-file system

November 7, 2014 by James Yang

In 2013, the United States transitioned from a first-to-invent system to a first-inventor-to-file system under the America Invents Act. A basic difference between the two systems is that the first-to-invent system focuses on the inventor’s date of conception, whereas the first-inventor-to-file system primarily relies on the filing date of the patent application to determine who … [Read more...]

Next Page »

Popular Posts

  • Patent process overview
  • Patent process explained
  • How much does a patent cost?
  • Why patent your invention in a bad economy?

Patent Book

Navigating the Patent System - new book by Orange County patent attorney, James Yang

Navigating the Patent System: Learn the patent process and strategies to protect your invention

Read for Free
Buy at Amazon

RECEIVE PATENT ARTICLES

Stay up to date on major changes and get tips on the patent process.

We respect your privacy.

Popular Posts

Patent process overview
Patent process explained
How much does a patent cost?
Trademark process and costs
Patent process and costs

 

Services

Patent Consultations
Patent Searches
Patent Applications
Utility Patents
Design Patents
Patent Prosecution Services
Patent Defense Services
Patent-Law Counsel for In-House Attorneys
Trademark Overview
Trademark Search Services
Trademark Application Services
Trademark Prosecution Services
Trademark Enforcement Services
Trademark Defense Services
See All Services

Industries

Automotive Patents
Consumer Products Patents
Culinary Patents
Manufacturing Patents
Medical Patents
Optics Patents
Software & App Patents
See All Industries

Contact

James Yang
OC Patent Lawyer
2372 Morse Ave., Suite #178
Irvine, CA 92614
Tel: (949) 433-0900

Connect

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

Sitemaps

Sitemap: Pages | Sitemap: Posts

Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

By accessing this blog, you agree that no attorney-client relationship is formed except by a subsequent written retainer agreement. Also, you agree to not send confidential information unless directed by me to do so. The information posted on this blog is legal information and not legal advice.
Complete Terms of Use
Complete Privacy Policy

ADA Compliance

OC Patent Lawyer aims to ensure that its services are accessible to people with disabilities.
Accessibility Statement

Service Area

From our office in Irvine, California, we serve clients from all areas within Orange County and Los Angeles County, California.

© 2023 · James Yang, Your Entrepreneur and Mid-Size Business Patent Attorney