Patents Legal Questions

The answer to your question is very fact specific and will require a review of both patents and the products being sold by your competitor. But, in principal, if you have a utility patent that "covers" their product and you in fact have priority over your competitor's version of your invention, you should have the full gamut of legal remedies available under US patent law. The difficulty is usually in making sure your patent actually "covers" their product. Furthermore, there may be ways to invalidate their patent if in fact your patent application anticipates their patent, or if your product or the disclosure of it was publicly available prior to their patent application priority date. We would be delighted to advise you if you need further assistance. Initial consultations are always free.... Read Answer

It depends on complexity and whether it is drafted by hourly or fixed fee (either way can end up being the more expensive than the other). Generally cost for drafting and filing a skillful application can be between about $8000-$20000. Be aware that the cost of drafting and filing can be less than expenditures later on for prosecution (you will often need an attorney to respond to office actions such as a rejection.... Read Answer

Mere reference is likely to be protected under "Fair Use". You seem to be confusing trademark and copyright protection, they are different things. A trademark protects an identifying mark/phrase/logo used in commerce- in a word, the owner is entitled to prevent a likelihood of confusion with another thing. A copyright protects a creative work fixed in a tangible medium.... Read Answer

The bank can't force you to remove the reference on the grounds that it infringes their copyright because the bank has no copyright ownership in another's work (the articles on your web site). It also can't object to your using its trade name because there's very little protection for trade names. And how else are you going to refer to the business except by using its name. It may have a valid object to the use of its trademark on a couple of grounds: 1) if you're using the mark without acknowledging that it is a trademark that belongs to this particular company, 2) if the information contained in the article is defamatory or derogatory, or 3) if the articles on the site are somehow misleading or the bank does not want the author's name associated with its services. Ask the bank to clarify its reason for objecting, what specifically it objects to, and why the only solution is to pull all of the web pages.... Read Answer

A patent attorney or agent will help you obtain a patent on your invention but finding investors is usually up to the inventor. The patent attorney may be able to assist you in the paperwork required to commit the investor to the project. However, if you are raising large amounts of money, you may want to find an attorney with specific expertise in that area.... Read Answer

Patent attorneys typically do not help inventors find investors. This is not a legal function - but is instead a business development function. Software is currently tough to patent - after the Supreme Court's Alice decision - software that is an "abstract idea" is not patentable subject matter.... Read Answer

U.S. patent law changed a few years ago from "first to invent" to "first to file." If your invention is similar enough to the other invention, the USPTO will grant that patent and deny yours. However, if the other patent is denied, you may still have a chance with your submission. Check with an experienced patent attorney about how to distinguish yours from the other application.... Read Answer

A U.S. Patent is a contract between the government and the inventor. The government grants to the inventor a limited monopoly, that is, the right to exclude all others from making, using, or selling the invention within the U.S. during the patent term. In exchange, the inventor gives the public a full and complete disclosure of the invention with a teaching of how the invention works. Once the term of the Patent expires, the invention enters the public domain and can be used by anyone. Another inventor may obtain a Patent on an improved version of your Invention. A Design Patent will protect the design for 14 years from the date that the Patent Issues. A Utility Patent will protect the invention for up to 20 years from the date that the Patent Application is filed. Depending upon the nature of your invention, A Design Patent or a Utility Patent may be preferred, or you may be entitled to both. If you do not file a Patent Application for your Invention, someone else may, and you may be barred from practicing your own Invention. I hope this helps and Good Luck with your Invention.... Read Answer

The term DELUXE is a common adjective meaning luxurious or sumptuous, or of a superior kind or nature. It is a term that is merely descriptive of an attribute of the object to which it is attached. So, by itself the term DELUXE is not a mark that could be successfully enforced against you. An example of how this term has been used to describe sandwiches might be instructive.... Read Answer

There is no quick or easy way to obtain a patent and develop a market for a product. especially if this is a medical device. However, if you can find an existing company to purchase/license your product and do the marketing for you, that would save you a fair amount of time and trouble. It's probably best if you have already applied for a patent before showing your product to anyone else. Working with a registered patent attorney will also save you time and money.... Read Answer

The fact that you have shared your idea with others could make it very hard (maybe impossible) to prove that you were the first to come up with the idea. Copyright is a form of protection grounded in the U.S. Constitution and granted by law for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Copyright covers both published and unpublished works. Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed. Next time - keep an "idea journal" - write down your ideas in a bound book - date the pages, keep a record. Then you can share and you will have something to prove that you had an idea as of a certain date.... Read Answer

Drug development is very expensive - some estimates are over 1 Billion dollars to create and market a new drug. Patent protection allows the drug maker a limited time to recoup some of those costs - as nobody else can make, use or sell the patented drug until the patent expires - 20 years after the filing date. FDA delays for approval to sell the drug can be added to the patent lifetime - up to five years more. Without patent protection in a given country - anyone can make and sell the drug there.... Read Answer

The US provisional patent application is a document with a one (1) year lifetime, which allows an applicant to secure a first filing date before any public disclosure of the invention described in the application, if (1) the application is filed before any such public disclosure, and more importantly, if (2) the provisional application meets the requirements of the patent laws, by providing sufficient information regarding how to make and how to use the invention. A provisional application is NOT a patent, but filing it does allow you to state that your invention is "patent pending." Applicants use provisional applications so they can "test the market" for their invention for the one year lifetime. If the market looks favorable, a formal utility application can be prepared and filed from the provisional." The key difference between the applications is the formal application requires "claims" while the provisional does not. Claims provide the legal definition of the invention and they must be new and not obvious over what was done before - the "prior art."... Read Answer

If your business will just be local, then no big need to get a federal trademark. If you market is nationwide or more than just local than you should consider getting a federal trademark registration. Your chances of properly preparing filing and prosecuting your own trademark application are low. It would be best if you worked with an attorney who has trademark experience.... Read Answer

Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed. An e-mail might or might not qualify for copyright protection - it would depend on the content. Go see a copyright lawyer to find out.... Read Answer

US Copyright - Term Basic Information: The duration of copyright protection is governed by the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998. The easiest rule to state is that Copyrights have expired on all United States works registered or published prior to 1923. As a result, all such works have entered into the public domain. Beyond that, however, it is more complicated to determine when a copyright will expire. Like the old provisions, the duration of copyright protection under these new provisions depends upon when the work was created and first published. The three relevant time frames are: * works created on or after January 1, 1978 * works created before January 1, 1978, but not published until after this date * works created and first published before January 1, 1978 GOOD LUCK!... Read Answer

A provisional application will usually cost less than a formal utility application - as no claims are required. The provisional application must teach how to make and use your invention - so that anyone skilled in the area of the invention can reproduce it. Once the provisional application is filed - you can state that your invention is "patent pending" and you can safely market the invention. NOTE - the provisional application expires one year after the filing date. Before expiration - you must convert the case to a formal utility filing. So you have little time to get the rest of the money you need. GOOD LUCK!... Read Answer