Posts in Patent Basics
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 …
Beyond the Slice and Dice: Turning Your Idea into an Invention
The patent process actually starts well before you file a patent application or seek assistance from a patent attorney. Every patent application starts with an invention, and …
Mitigating ‘Justified Paranoia’ via Provisional Patent Applications
As mentioned in Part I of this series, many inventors will seek to obtain some kind of patent protection so they can stake claim to their invention. …
Justified Paranoia: Patenting and the Delicate Dance Between Confidentiality and Investment
Most inventors understand that a certain amount of paranoia goes a long way when dealing with an idea or invention. Ideas cannot be patented, but every invention …
Anatomy of a Valuable Patent: Building on the Structural Uniqueness of an Invention
From a conceptual standpoint, it would seem logical to assume that writing text to describe a particular invention ought to be easy for the inventor of that …
How Can I Sell an Idea for Profit? Unlocking the Idea-Invention Dichotomy
Selling an idea and waiting for lottery-like winnings to arrive at your doorstep seems to be the American dream. It is certainly the dream of every inventor, …
