Posts in Patent Basics
Types of Subsequent Patent Applications in the United States (Part II)
In Part I of this five-part guide to U.S. subsequent patent applications, the authors reviewed the law governing such applications. In Part II, we review the …
Getting a Patent: The Devastating Consequences of Not Naming All Inventors
Naming the correct inventors is critical when drafting a U.S. patent. Patents must have all inventors properly named. Deciding who is an inventor is a complicated …
Getting A Patent: Who Should be Named as An Inventor?
Every time a patent application is filed, we have to ask, “Who are the inventors?” It is a simple question, but the answer can be complicated. And …
Make Your Disclosures Meaningful: A Plea for Clarity in Patent Drafting
Legal writing has long attracted criticism. In Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift complained of lawyers’ “peculiar cant and jargon of their own, that no other mortal can …
Applying for a Patent in Germany
This year, Germany shot to the top of Bloomberg’s rankings for the most innovative nation worldwide, breaking South Korea’s six-year winning streak. Germany is a …
Autopilot or Advocate? Raising the Bar in Ex Parte Appeals at the USPTO
Despite their best efforts, patent practitioners may reach an impasse during negotiations with patent examiners at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). If an applicant …
Time to ‘Think PCT’: Rethink Your Global Patent Strategy to Preserve Your Seat at the Table
Greetings; John White here. It is time for you to “Think PCT” [Patent Cooperation Treaty] anew. If the last thing you remember hearing me say about the …
Patent Office Insights from Two Former Examiners
In the United States patent system, patent applications are handled by two separate, yet equally important, groups: the patent practitioners, who prepare and prosecute applications on behalf …
Conventional Patent Wisdom Revisited
The time is upon us when young patent professionals, many of them fresh out of law school (or out of engineering school) begin their professional lives as …
Develop Your Database of Templates for Responding to Office Actions
Beginners in answering office actions may find it intimidating and hope to learn from similar cases. If they are able to learn from the formats and arguments …
Background Pitfalls When Drafting a Patent Application
Generally speaking, the first section of a patent specification will be the Background. The Manual of Patent Examination and Procedure (MPEP) recommends that the Background be broken …
Eight Tips to Get Your Patent Approved at the EPO
Patent prosecution can sometimes seem to be a rather byzantine process. As with anything, the more you understand, the better prepared you will be for the strategic …
Four Things C-Suite Executives Need to Know About Patents
Executives that have decision making capacity within any innovation-based organization, whether a young startup or a Fortune 500 corporation, almost universally have little or no familiarity with patents …
Starting the Patent Process on a Limited Budget
If you are an inventor new to inventing, you undoubtedly believe you’ve come up with an idea, or two or three, that could really be successful. …
What to Know About Drafting Patent Claims
In order to obtain exclusive rights on an invention, you must file for and obtain a patent. Many inventors will initially opt to file a provisional patent …
