Patents

I had always assumed most patent applicants knew about the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) and were taking advantage of it.  Evidently not.  I just attended a patent conference where the speaker suggested that not many people are using the PPH.  The speaker indicated that the patent office wants this program to succeed.  He showed statistics…

If you qualify, this is a great deal.  The unfortunate part of patent prosecution is attorneys fees, which are largely the result of the complexity of the prosecution process, and the AIA did little to help that.  However, this is a nice start.  Also, per my previous post on small claims courts for patent litigation,…

The US Patent Office thinks so.  And they just filed a notice asking for comments.  The public has 90 days to provide any thoughts.  I, for one, think this is a great idea.  Right now it costs well over $1 million to bring a patent infringement case, essentially making patents worthless to most American inventors. …

I am always amazed at how entrepreneurs on Shark Tank try to argue the value of their company based on a provisional application.  This show was a classic case of this. http://abc.go.com/shows/shark-tank/episode-detail/episode-409/1043697?page=4.  The product was a simple leg wallet, and they acted like nobody else could compete with them.  Utter nonsense. First, the patent office isn’t…

More than 10% of patent litigation in America comes from so-called patent trolls.  If you or one of your clients have ever received a letter from one of these outfits, you understand the problem.  You read the patent claims referenced in the letter and they bear no resemblance to your clients products.  If you try…

In a recent talk, Kappos stated that the US has the best patent system in the world.  As one article pointed out, Kappos just assumes that software patents are good for the economy.  http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/11/us-patent-chief-to-software-patent-critics-give-it-a-rest-already/. Plenty of others disagree, citing the recent troll problem.  While patent trolls certainly are a problem, I think it is unfair to…

If you need free legal assistance with obtaining a US patent, several bar associations have joined with the US Patent Office to help out.  Here is a link to one site that gives the details of who may qualify:http://www.fedcirbar.org/olc/pub/LVFC/cpages/misc/pto.jsp.  Here in Denver, we also have a group of attorneys who have volunteered to help out. …

Last Friday, Michael Tseng showed off his Plate Topper idea.  I thought it was a good invention, and so did the Sharks (although he almost blew his deal because he didn’t have a clue about how to negotiate in a shark tank).  Anyway, he claimed his idea was covered by a patent.  That got me wondering. …

If you have never requested examination of a U.S. patent application, you may want to reconsider.  In the past, you could request expedited examination for very limited circumstances, all of which required the filing of a petition.  The time to act on this petition could often be longer than waiting in line with everyone else.…

Is it possible for an inventor to prepare and file his or her own patent application and save thousands of dollars?  Because I am a seasoned patent attorney, it is easy for me to write patent applications and shephard them through the patent office.  But I also have an experienced team behind me to take…