Utah Patents Legal Questions

Dear Inventor, To be patentable - your mixture of herbs and spices must be (1) new, (2) useful, and (3) not-obvious in view of other such products. First, new - never before made. You should search for other mixtures on the internet - Chinese Medicines are often mixtures like this. Other traditional medicines may be relevant too. Second, useful - it sounds like the mixture is useful. Third, not-obvious - this is the hard one. If others have come close to your mixture, you might be an obvious variation from the earlier work. A patent search (www.uspto.gov) might help you see what is before you. Finally, if you have already sold this or otherwise disclosed it to the public - you only have one year in which to file your patent application.... Read More

Dear Inventor, Yes you should use a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before disclosing your invention if feasible. Many large companies will not sign a NDA as a matter of policy. You should consider discussing all the issues with a patent attorney to see how best to protect your invention. Good luck with your invention.... Read More

No, but if you can't afford to pay we would not enter into an agreement to have you as our client (e.g. lawyers have bills to pay too, and many patent lawyers have their own great ideas they might spend time working on). You might be able to find someone to help you pro bono (e.g. free)- that would be your best shot.... Read More

Send a cease and desist letter to the other party and, if your artwork is part of a registered trademark, to the grantor (state or federal) of the protection with a request to terminate the mark's registration. If you haven't already, register the artwork with the U.S. Copyright Office. The other party may be willing to stop using your artwork or may purchase/license it. But be prepared to go to court.... Read More

You need to hire a trademark lawyer to help you with this. If I understand your question - you created an original artwork. Someone else filed a trademark application claiming that the artwork was their trademark - for goods or services. They may have done this thinking that the work was their property - as perhaps they [aid you to create the work for them. Facts will determine who has rights in this case. GOOD LUCK.... Read More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

It's entirely up to you; you don't "have to do" anything if you don't want to. However, if the idea is eligible to be patented and you have the money and time to submit an application, you can always obtain the patent and then donate any money you make from it to the charity of your choice.... Read More

In fact most applications receive at least one rejection. You have many options in deciding what to do after you receive an office action from the patent office. You need to consult with a patent professional to discuss the details and how best to proceed. Good luck and don't be discouraged.... Read More

Under certain circumstances some of these things are possible/permissible. For example, the government can fund work through the national laboratories or by way of small business initiation grants involving collaboration with universities. There is an inventor's help desk at the US Patent Office that will answer questions regarding patent prosecution, and the patent office provides many informational resources, but in so far as I am aware, the USPTO has no programs that directly help people develop and market specific patents.... Read More

Assuming this question is in relation to obtaining (prosecuting) a patent, there is no set answer. Here are my suggestions based on my own experience first as an inventor, and more recently as a patent attorney: 1. Chose the attorney who will be doing the work for you, rather than a law firm. 2. If the invention is in a technical field, I would choose an attorney who has previous personal experience as a technical worker, manager, or individual contributor in that general area. For example, look at educational background and employment experience on the attorney's resume. Publications. Project experience. Advanced degree in math/science/engineering etc. 3. Next, consider the attorney's legal and patent experience. I would favor an attorney who has at least 3-4 years experience in patent prosecution. 4. You could ask the prospective attorney for references, then contact one or two of those references. Contact a reference for whom the attorney has drafted/prosecuted patents.... Read More