The Business of Patents
Obviousness rejections are among the most, if not the most, frustrating rejections a patent applicant can face. The examiner typically assembles two or three old patents or published patent applications as prior art references, announces that a person of ordinary skill in the art (a “POSITA”) would have combined them, and then supplies a reason […]
Read more →Few questions in patent law have caused clients more frustration than the most basic one of all – whether an invention is even eligible for a patent in the first place. Since the Supreme Court’s decisions in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International, 573 U.S. 208 (2014), and Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., […]
Read more →On more than one occasion we have heard a client express surprise or frustration that the Patent Office issued one of their competitors a patent which seems invalid because it claims something known in the “prior art” or has some overly broad claims relative to the prior art. This can be especially frustrating if the client […]
Read more →With the incredible advances in computing technology over the last 20 years has come a vast array of inventions that are implemented in some form of software. Smartphone apps, TV apps, manufacturing processes, facial recognition technology, artificial intelligence program, the list of products and processes that rely on some form of software is endless. Some […]
Read more →Lately, we have had several inquiries about whether it is possible to patent a new way of using an existing product. The answer is “yes”. This type of patent is typically called a “method of use” patent.” A method of use patent has claims that recite a sequence of steps, and in some cases, the […]
Read more →Clients often ask us to perform patentability searches to determine whether it’s worth seeking a patent for an invention. The focus of a patentability search is to determine if an invention is novel, i.e., whether all of its features have been disclosed in a single prior art reference. The purpose of a patentability search is […]
Read more →Today, we want to discuss something you can do in your patent applications to drastically increase your chances of getting them granted as patents. In order to get a patent, an invention has to be novel, and it has to be non-obvious. An invention is “novel” when no single piece of prior art discloses all […]
Read more →One question that comes up from time to time is whether you can get apatent on a new method of treatment (sometimes called a new “indication”) using an existing chemical composition. The answer is “possibly.” If a chemical composition is known, you cannot obtain a patent to the chemical composition itself. The US Court of […]
Read more →In recent years, it has become increasingly difficult to patent computer-related inventions such as those concerning smart phone and web applications or even more specialized computer programs used in industry. The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has been applying the US Supreme Court’s ruling in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International, 573 U.S. 208, […]
Read more →When we first meet with a client who is interested in getting a patent, we ask whether they have conducted a patentability search and whether they wish to do so before incurring the expense of preparing a patent application. Many are reluctant to do so because they think they “know” the market for their invention. […]
Read more →Companies often want to discuss some of their latest innovations at industry conferences to establish their technical prominence and build their brand. Inventors who are academics often want to describe their work to their peers to develop their reputations in their chosen fields. While such activities are commonplace, they need to be coordinated with patent […]
Read more →With the implementation of the America Invents Act (AIA), the United States went from a first to invent to a first inventor to file system of determining priority of patent rights. However, that was not all that changed with the implementation of the AIA. The AIA includes some significant changes to the on-sale bar which […]
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