Patents Legal Questions

We advise our clients to be aggressively seek to evaluate the market for their technology once the Provisional Application is filed. Once the Provisional Application is filed, the product can be marked "Patent Pending" to advise competitors that you are seeking to protect any and all patent rights associated with this product. The competitors do not know whether you have filed a Provisional Application or a Patent Application. If it is a Patent Application, it could have been filed last week or it could have been filed 16 months ago and a Patent is about ready to issue. You cannot sue someone for infringing a Patent Application but need to wait for the Patent to issue. Nevertheless, a competitor will need to invest in manufacturing to build the product and advertising to promote the product not knowing when and/or if the rug will be pulled out from under him at any time. It's a risk many business people prefer not to make. Good luck!... Read Answer

Most new products are developed in stages. This is particularly true when only one or two inventors are involved and research is often needed. Sometimes what appears to be a minor improvement will be significant in the Patent Office, particularly, if functionality is the issue. Under U.S. law, an inventor can link a new Patent Application to a previous Patent Application, if the older one is still pending in the Patent Office. Based upon your fact pattern, it would seem that you would be well-advised to move forward immediately if you can link to your previous Patent Application. You should seek the advice of Counsel here, to make sure that that you don't lose any rights here. Good luck!... Read Answer

This is an excellent question! The first question that a potential funding source will ask you is "Do you have Patent Protection?" A Patent Attorney will seek to protect all intellectual property rights (Patents, Copyrights, Trade Secrets, and Trademarks) to your technology (both U.S. and foreign rights), if you are interested in global protection. In addition, the Patent Attorney will obtain all of the patent rights that you are entitled to, at an affordable price. If you are seeking to launch, the Patent Attorney can direct you to resources specializing in developing business plans and licensing your technology or otherwise finding a funding source, but these latter functions are generally beyond the Patent function. Good luck and I hope that this helps.... Read Answer

When you submit a Patent Application to the U.S. Patent Office, you are required state that you believe that you are "the first and true inventor". You may be wrong but you do believe that you are the "first and true inventor". If you were to be granted a U.S. Patent for an invention that you did not invent or that you copied from someone else, the U.S. Patent would be of no value and would not be upheld in court once the true facts were revealed. Many Patents are improvements to inventions that someone else has made, and you would certainly be entitled to a Patent for the improved portion of the invention. I hope that this helps.... Read Answer

If you try to skimp and the technology has great value, it will be difficult to remedy the situation down the road. The utility patent has always been the crown jewel for protecting technology. Sometimes, an inventor can obtain a utility patent and a design patent for related inventions. However, there is no common law protection for an invention (unlike trademarks protection for marks and copyright protection for authored works). In some instances, trade secret protection is of considerable value. The forms of protection are not separate and distinct, and there is oftentimes considerable overlap and several different forms of protection should be used. If you have the resources and the technology is of sufficient value, it is recommended that you consider applying for any and every form of protection that is applicable to deter your competition. It is recommended that you consult an attorney and map out a plan to protect your technology.... Read Answer

In addition to new (1) processes, (2) machines, (3) articles of manufacture, and (4) compositions of matter, the U.S. Patent Office has granted patents for new business methods and man-made life forms. Examples of U.S. Patents for articles of clothing are U.S. Patent No 6,801,140 "System and Method for Smart Clothing and Wearable Electronic Devices"; U.S. Patent No 5,555,490 "Wearable Personal Computer System"; U.S. Patent No 5,285,398 "Flexible Wearable Computer" and U.S. Patent No 5,416,310 "Computer and/or Scanner System Incorporated into a Garment".... Read Answer

It is strongly recommended that you consult with an intellectual property attorney concerning the protection of your idea. The attorney can search patent databases to determine if your idea is novel or whether others have developed the same or similar solutions. Sometimes reviewing such a patent search will assist an inventor in arriving at the best solutions. The attorney can recommend whether or not it is worth the inventor's time to proceed with further development. And, the attorney can assist the inventor in drafting and negotiating an agreement for prospective investors who want to see what you have and how your solution compares with what others have done.... Read Answer

NO - the internet is NOT public domain. Content posted on the Internet is owned by the person who made the content - even if the owner did not post it. There are materials on the Internet that have a free license for reuse - but this is not true for all content. Do not copy unless you know the material is free to be copied.... Read Answer

By firm title I assume that you mean the name of the business - also known as the trade name. Trade names cannot be protected by copyright or trademark registrations. Trademarks protect the brand name of goods - Ford (brand) cars and trucks, etc. Copyright protects artistic products - books, movies, paintings, etc. Trade names can be protected under unfair competition laws - if another company seeks to confuse the public by having a name like yours - but this requires litigation to stop such activity. Hire a trademark lawyer to help you.... Read Answer

This is the question that has no definitive answer. The patent office is not supposed to use "impermissible hindsight" which renders almost all inventions obvious. This is the kind of thing that happens when you see an good answer to a problem and think to yourself - "Why didn't I think of that?" That would be an example of impermissible hindsight. Of course getting to the "right" kind of obviousness is the patent office's job. It is difficult to say exactly what is permissible and what is not. The letter of the law is written so that if it would be obvious to one skilled in the art of whatever your invention is - the so-called PHOSITA - (person having ordinary skill in the art) then you are not entitled to a patent. If your invention would be deemed obvious to a person skilled in the field of knowledge related to your invention, then it is not patentable but if would take experimentation, etc. to come up with your solution, then it should be patentable. It is anything but clear and that is the way it is with most things in the law. You have the black letter and then you have to decide the individual case based on the particulars. Since most patents are for improvements over things that already exist (very few patents are for brand new areas of invention) the answer to the question of what is obvious is a tough problem and one that no patent professional can answer with absolute surety.... Read Answer

Yes, if you and/or you and your colleagues are the inventor(s) and were the first to disclose it publicly (3 mos ago). You can file a patent application provided you do so within 1 year for the date of public disclosure. After that, your disclosure will be prior art that may anticipate or make your invention obvious.... Read Answer