Ohio Patents Legal Questions

It is irrelevant that you invented something 20 years ago and can prove it. The US no longer grants patents to the first to invent something and instead has joined the rest of the world in granting patents to the first to apply for one. Furthermore, if you didn't apply for a patent 20 years ago, you would be considered to have abandoned your rights in the invention. Thus, you have no rights to enforce and do not need a lawyer to enforce nonexistent rights. However, if this other party obtained a patent on your invention and you can prove that they got the invention from you, you may have an action to obtain their patent and should consult a patent attorney.... Read More

The titles of songs, books and movies, by themselves are not protectable by copyright which is why you can find such titles used over and over by various persons.  However, depending on the uses made of the title as other than the title of the movie which enable it to become identified by the public as identifying the source/sponsor of goods or services (e.g., Star Wars), then it can be protected as a trademark.  Based on the limited amount of information you have provided, it does not seem likely that you have anything to worry about, but more information about the usage of the documentary title is needed to be sure.... Read More

It sounds like you may be voicing two concerns. One concern would be getting ripped off by the development company. The second concern would be having the idea copied by others in the industry. If the app is novel, you can file a provisional patent application to protect it before the app is created and without having the programming background to build it on your own. All you need is a clear, distinct vision of how it will operate and what the novelty is. If patenting is not an option, it comes down to contracts, trademarks and copyrights. You can execute a contract with the development company to make sure they don't build anything similar to your idea. You can then copyright the appearance of some of the app screens to keep others from blatantly copying the software and you could copyright the app code. You trademark the materials on the app that differentiate you from the competition. If patenting isn't an option, there is always going to be room for someone to create something comparable without violating your contracts/copyrights, but then you hope being first to market gives you an advantage over copycats. I believe much of Angry Birds could be imitated (at least, I'm not aware of any patents), but nothing comparable has been created that has provided the same success. They were first to market, they built a brand, and they keep producing new material and that has given them a leg up. And that IP is easy to sell. Good luck.... Read More

Recipes are notoriously difficult to patent.  Here is information from the patent office: http://www.uspto.gov/inventors/independent/eye/201306/ADVICE.jsp. As the patent office suggests, trade secrets are often a better strategy for protecting recipes. http://www.uspto.gov/ip/global/patents/ir_pat_tradesecret.jsp   Good luck.... Read More

For US patents, it is not as simple as you might think. If the filing date of the application is before  June 8, 1995, it is simply 17 years from the issue date.  However, patents with filing dates after  June 8, 1995, it is 20 years from the filing date, but if the application refers back to one or more earlier filed case, being, e.g., a continuation or a divisional application, then it is 20 years from the filing of the earliest application, but still further, if the patent has been awarded a patent term extension, you have to add that to the expiration date.... Read More