Posts Archive
The Benefits of a Provisional Patent Application
There is a great misunderstanding among many inventors and entrepreneurs regarding what many simply refer to as a provisional patent. The first thing that needs to be …
Register of Copyrights Testifies on Copyright Office Modernization, Streaming Piracy and Music Modernization Act Implementation
On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property convened an oversight hearing of the U.S. Copyright Office featuring testimony from Karyn Temple, the …
What is a patent and where do patent rights come from?
A patent is a proprietary right granted by the Federal government pursuant to laws passed by Congress. The Congressional power to authorize patents is found in Article …
A beginner’s guide to patents and the patent process
Whether you are an independent inventor, an fledgling entrepreneur or a seasoned inventor who is going out on your own for the first time, the best thing …
How Long Does a Patent Last?
Generally speaking, utility and plant patent applications filed on or after June 8, 1995, have a term that begins on the date the patent issues and ends on the …
An Overview of the U.S. Patent Process
The first time you will substantively hear from the examiner is when the examiner issues what is referred to as a First Office Action on the Merits (…
Patenting Board Games 101
In my experience one of the things that inventors of board games frequently forget is the inclusion of alternative methods of play. Don't just focus on the …
Drafting Patent Applications: Writing Method Claims
Method or process claims are relatively easy to write once you know what the core invention is and what is necessary to be included in the claim …
Protecting an Idea: Can Ideas Be Patented or Protected?
Many people ask: can ideas be patented? The short answer is no. Unfortunately, despite what you may have heard from late night television commercials, there is no …
The Myth of the 18-Month Delay in Publishing Patent Applications
Starting in November 2000, the USPTO started publishing patent applications 18 months after their earliest filing date. So the simple assumption is that you file a patent and 18 months …
Top 10 Patents for 2014
Today, we’re picking the best inventions for which corporations from the Companies We Follow series have actually earned patent rights from the U.S. Patent and …
Does My Degree Qualify Me to Take the Patent Bar?
Some of the most popular pages month after month on IPWatchdog.com are our Patent Bar information pages, and given that I teach for the PLI Patent …
Top Patent Law Firms for 2017
We compiled a list of the top patent firms that are ranked based on the total number of U.S. utility patents that issued in 2017 where the …
What is a Trade Secret?
A trade secret is defined as any valuable business information that is not generally known and is subject to reasonable efforts to preserve confidentiality. Generally speaking, a …
Reflections on Taking the Patent Bar Exam
If you are reading this article beyond the title, you are either preparing to take the USPTO’s patent bar exam or you are considering whether you …
