Posts in Patent Basics
The Most Common Design Patent Application Rejections (and How to Avoid Them) – Part II
In Part I of this article, we examined the top three rejections for design patent applications, which are due to non-enablement, inconsistency, and ambiguousness. The fourth most …
Lessons from an Independent Female Inventor: Today’s Patent Laws Preclude ‘SUCCESS’
It has been one year since my software patent was invalidated in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Now, this intellectual …
Practical Tips for Drafting Patent Applications After American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. v. Neapco Holdings
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decided on October 3 to affirm the ruling by the United States District Court for the District of …
What Every Patent Attorney Should Teach Their Entrepreneur-Inventor Clients About the Patent Process
Navigating the patent process can often be challenging and filled with subtleties and nuances for the entrepreneur-inventor, especially for first-time filers. Having a trusted patent attorney who …
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 …
Distinguishing Colloquial Obviousness and Legal Obviousness
Have you ever worked with a lay inventor who had a hard time dealing with obviousness under U.S. patent law? Many patent lawyers have. It is …
Matching Patents to Products: Determining Which Patents Will Be Implemented in Real-World Commercial Products
An important part of any patent portfolio manager’s work is to understand which patents are likely to be implemented in real-world technology. We can think of …
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 …
Combating the ‘Dunning-Kruger Effect’ in Inventors
Patent professionals encounter many different personality types working with their colleagues and inventors. On one end, there are those who do great work but lack confidence in …
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, …
Dear Examiner: I am an Imposter
That feeling that you are a fraud and that, one day, people will find out you have no idea what you are doing has a name—Impostor …
Keeping a Good Invention Notebook Still Makes Good Sense
It is worth remembering, however, that an invention notebook is not just for proving when you invented aspects of your invention, which will rarely if ever be …
