Posts Tagged: "inventor"

Give Inventors a Chance: The PTAB Must Be Regulated

Recently, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a Request for Comments on Discretion To Institute Trials Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), seeking “focused public comments, on appropriate considerations for instituting America Invents Act (AIA) trials.” Comments are due on November 19. US Inventor provides a streamlined tool for submitting comments here. This is a big deal for inventors. We desperately need help. We simply cannot participate in the patent system until the PTAB is regulated to provide predictability with respect to the validity of our issued patents. Director Iancu has made a valiant effort to restore balance, but it has failed thus far. As it stands, we cannot use our issued patents because it is utterly impossible to predict whether or not they survive the PTAB – no matter how carefully we follow the existing laws and procedures.

Inventors Sound Off in Reply to Big Tech NHK-Fintiv Suit

In August, Apple, Google, Cisco and Intel filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in the Northern District of California challenging the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB’s) adoption of the NHK-Fintiv discretionary denial framework as procedurally invalid under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), and arguing that the PTAB’s application of them violates the America Invents Act (AIA). Shortly after, a number of “Small Business Inventors” (US Inventor; 360 Heros, Inc.; Larry Golden; World Source Enterprises, LLC; Dareltech LLC; Tinnus Enterprises, LLC; Clearplay, Inc.; and E-Watch, Inc.) filed a Notice of Motion and Motion to Intervene and related Complaint in the case. Now, US Inventor has filed its reply brief, in which it contends that “AIA trial reviews have stifled innovation, crushed inventor morale, and created a lopsided process whose use alone (irrespective of individual merits) can destroy innovative businesses”. The organization is asking the court to enter a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in order to preserve “the one lifeline giving any hope of escaping this ongoing catastrophe for American innovation and fair competition.”

American Innovators Express Support for Recent and Proposed Changes in Patent System

Yesterday, a group of 324 American innovators sent a letter to the bipartisan leadership of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees to express support for several improvements in the patent system implemented by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director, Andrei Iancu, over the last several years. The letter also expressed support for recently proposed rulemaking concerning the USPTO’s discretion in instituting inter partes review Proceedings (IPR). The group of innovators included universities, nonprofit foundations, individual inventors, startups, small businesses, manufacturing, technology and life sciences companies.

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 there can be severe consequences if you get it wrong. You could lose your patent. As the Grail Knight in the Indiana Jones movie stated so well, “You must choose, but choose wisely.” As you know, patents typically have a number of claims broken down into independent and dependent claims. So, you have to look at each of the claims and determine who conceived the invention. There can be cases where different inventors conceived different parts of the invention in different claims. What’s important to understand is that you must include as named inventors anyone who conceived of an invention in any claim – even dependent claims.

The U.S. Patent System Works! Kind Of

Not too long ago, independent inventor Josh Malone finally received a settlement for willful infringement of his patents. He won in court and at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), and from what I’ve read, I know it was a long, hard fight, and the cost to litigate was in the tens of millions of dollars. But, he did it, and his product Bunch O Balloons continues to be a number-one hit summer toy. Licensing his invention to one of the fastest growing toy companies in the world (ZURU) clearly had its advantages for Malone. But what about the rest of us independent inventors? For the last decade or so, the patent system has not been in favor of the independent inventor. But has it ever been? I don’t think so.