Posts in Patent Basics
Disclosure Requirements in Software Patents: Avoiding Indefiniteness
How much detail is needed in a patent application for a software-based invention? Software patents present some unique challenges that many other kinds of patent applications do …
Patent Procurement and Strategy for Business Success Part III: Prosecution – Wielding an Invisible Hand
In the United States Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO’s ) patent academy (or today’s version of such), patent examiners are taught that the objective of the …
Patent Procurement and Strategy for Business Success Part II: Claims – Targeting the Right Infringers
To protect the inventions that are important to a company's current and future success, the claims of the patents covering those inventions must accurately define the subject …
Patent Procurement and Strategy for Business Success: Building and Strategically Using Patents that Target the Right Infringers and Thwart Competitive Countermeasures
Successful patent strategies for business are inexorably tied to the quality of the patents upon which the patent strategies depend. The quality of a patent depends upon …
Fit to Drive: Three Inspiring Office Action Responses from the USPTO’s Art Unit 3668
Every patent practitioner has faced the same obstacle — a client's application is assigned to an unfamiliar art unit. This presents two challenges: unfamiliarity with the examiners and …
Design Patents 101: Understanding Utility Patents’ Lesser-Known Cousin
Design patents provide powerful protections both on their own and as a complement to their more well-known cousin, utility patents. The highly publicized Apple v. Samsung lawsuits …
Two Key Steps to Overcome Rejections Received on PCT Drawings
A large number of patent applications are rejected in the initial stage of filing via the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) route. One of the most common reasons …
Errors in Issued Patents as a Measure of Patent Quality
Companies spend considerable sums of money to develop patent portfolios that protect their valuable innovations. Given the large stakes, it behooves companies to obtain high quality patents. …
Intellectual Property for Startups: Building a Toolkit to Protect Your Products and Design
Although it may seem like the name “startup” says it all, the reality for many inventors, engineers and companies is that it’s difficult to know where …
Why the Patent Classification System Needs an Update
Patent categories were established more than 100 years ago. There are dozens of categories that reflect industry at the time: gears, sewing machines, and bicycles, to name a …
Understanding What a Design Patent is Not
You have probably heard of a company called Apple. They sell computers, watches, tablets and all kinds of accessories. You have probably also heard that Apple was …
Design Patents: Under Utilized and Overlooked
Once upon a time, one of the ways you could spot scams from legitimate operators in the patent industry was to look at who was directing clients …
Deciding Where to Obtain International Patent Rights
Determining where to seek patent rights is an important and expensive decision. If you know you are going to want international patent protection, the best, most cost-effective …
When to Use the Patent Cooperation Treaty—and Why It’s So Popular
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) enables applicants to file one application, called an international application, in a standardized format in an authorized Receiving Office, and have that …
Why and When Design Patents are Useful
Simply said, the rights provided by one design patent will be extremely unsatisfactory. However, design patents must be considered because a design patent can in many instances …
