Patent Ownership: Inventor or Employer?
When you create an invention while employed, who owns the right to acquire a patent: you or your employer? That depends.
Patent My Ass! Five Remarkable Butt-Related Patents
We've dug deep into the bowels of the patent office for five butt-shaking patents, all focused on the human rear-end.
Patents -- What are they Good For?
It takes a good deal of time, money, and effort to get a patent. Is it worth it? In other words, what is a patent good for?
Plant Patents
Can a plant be invented? Yes, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office which issues two types of patents for plants: plant patents and util...
Patent Marking an Invention
The America Invents Act, passed in Setpember 2011, initiated two changes regarding patent marking.
Patents and GATT: The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is among the most important international trade treaties in our history.
Patent Interference
An “interference” is patent jargon for an administrative proceeding to determine who gets the patent in situations where two pending applications...
Patent Misuse
Use of a patent in a manner that violates federal patent or antitrust laws may result in the patent being declared invalid or unenforceable by a cou...
Patents and File Wrapper Estoppel
The official file in which a patent is contained at the U.S. Patent Office is known as the file wrapper.
Patent Invalidity as a Defense
Patent invalidity is a common defense in patent infringement lawsuits.
Design Patents: Ornamental Design?
For patent purposes, “design” refers to the visual and reproducible appearance of products.
Design Patents: Novelty and Nonobviousness
To meet the standards of a design patent, a design must be new and original, nobvious, and an ornamental design for a functional device.
What are Patent Claims?
Claims are statements included in a patent application that describe (or “recite”) the structure of an invention in precise and exact terms, usi...
America Invents Act: Analysis by David Pressman
Patent It Yourself author David Pressman analyzes the America Invents Act.
Summary of Leahy-Smith America Invents Act
Here is a summary of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act.
Preparing a Design Patent Application
Here are the elements required when filing for a design patent.
Should You Get a Design Patent?
Design patents offer broad legal rights but there are some drawbacks, as well.
First-To-File Patents: Derivation Proceedings
With a "First-To-File" Patent System, an opportunity for patent theft is opened up, allowing someone to "steal" an unpatented idea and file for pa...
Design Patent Basics
By Rich Stim A design patent covers the unique, ornamental, or visible shape or design of a useful object.
The Patent Cooperation Treaty
Using the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), an inventor can file a patent application in the U.S. and then file a single “international application...
Foreign Patents and Patent Treaties
U.S. patent rights stop at the American border. Learn more about foreign filing and treaties.
Timeline for Patent Reform Act (America Invents Act)
The America Invents Act (also referred to as the “Patent Reform Act of 2011”) was enacted September 16, 2011.
Prior User Rights in a First to File Patent System
A change in patent law in the United States, to a "First-to-File" system, may require the addition of prior user rights to allow those using non-paten...
Proposed First-to-File System: Advantages & Disadvantages
The proposed Patent Reform Act of 2011 is once again attempting to bring the United States in line with the first-to-file priority systems of the rest...
Is Your Pre-Invention Assignment Legal?
Contract rules and state laws affect the legality of pre-invention assignments ...
Pre-Invention Assignment Agreements
It’s a nearly universal practice for employers to require employees involved in development to sign agreements assigning inventions in advance ....
Patent Ownership
The fact that you’ve invented something doesn’t necessarily mean that you own it, or that you own it exclusively.
Employee Inventors: Patent Strategies in the Workplace
Here are some basic strategies for an inventor dealing with an employer
Patents and Government Employees and Contractors
Do you work for the government? Here are the ground rules for invention ownership.
University Employees and Patents
Many universities own large patent portfolios and earn substantial royalties from them ...
Assigning and Recording Patent Ownership to Your Business
How do you make sure that your business owns your patent?
Preventing Joint Patent Ownership
Fortunately, it’s relatively easy to avoid claims of joint ownership by contractors, assistants and others who perform tasks for you.
Voluntary and Involuntary Joint Invention and Ownership
Voluntary joint ownership comes about whenever two or more people deliberately jointly invent something. Involuntary joint ownership occurs when anoth...
Patent Usage By Small Business In The US: A Neglected Line Of Business
The more time I spend working in the patent and trademark field the more apparent certain inequities become. Despite what appears to be a sincere ef...
Should I Use a Local or National Patent Attorney?
This is a very good question, and one that should be thought through carefully. First, let’s discuss the advantages in using a local attorney. For...
Patent Filing and Rights for Employees
The general rule is that your rights to an invention can be acquired by your employer either through a written agreement (such as an employment contra...
The Patent Application Process
Getting the USPTO to grant a patent is a rigorous, time-consuming, and often complex procedure ...
Registration Provisional Patents Process
In 1995, a system went into effect that permits an inventor to file a Provisional Patent Application (PPA), an interim document that is equivalent t...
Filing a Patent Application
Are you considering filing for a utility patent? Are you curious about what’s contained in the application? If you opened a typical utility patent a...
Do You Need a Lawyer to File a Patent?
Despite the savings, when it comes to filing a patent application, most inventors prefer to use the services of a certified patent specialist with a...
Patenting Computer Software
The U.S. Patent and Trademark office doesn't issue utility patents on software itself; they issue patents on inventions that use innovative software t...
Understanding Patents
Before you contact a law firm to discuss protecting your intellectual property (IP), understand the basics of IP. The basics include the differences...
Enforcing Patent Rights
So what is patent infringement? Typically, it comes in one of two forms: literal infringement or a similar invention that qualifies as an infringe...
Nonobviousness & First to Invent
When preparing a patent application, an inventor must declare that the invention is novel, and nonobvious, and that the inventor is the first to i...
Patent Infringement:
Once a patent is granted, the owner may enforce it by bringing a patent infringement action (lawsuit) against anyone who makes, uses, or sells the i...
Patents Legal Issues When Applying for a Patent
The four legal issues (or requirements) for a utility patent are: (1) the invention falls within one of the classes described in the statute; (2...
Types of Patents
Have you invented or designed something new? You may be able to protect your rights with a patent. A patent is a grant by the U.S. Patent and Tradema...
Patent Litigation Defenses
When a patent owner sues for infringement, there are a number of defenses, the most common of which is that the defendant’s invention doesn’t infr...
Patent Legal Services
An extensive list of patent legal services is provided to clients by patent attorneys. The common factor in all of these services is that the atto...
The Cost of Patent Filing
Obtaining and maintaining a patent can be an expensive and time-consuming process. Not only must you pay a variety of patent fees, but you may also ...
Drafting Patent Drawings
Patent drawings (also known as “drawing sheets”) are visual representations of the invention that must be included with the application, if ne...
Should you File a Patent Yourself?
This is a portion of an interview with patent attorney David Pressman, the author of the world’s best-selling guide, “Patent it Yourself,” a...
