Category Archives: Patents

Patents are valid for 20 years from the filing date of the first non-provisional patent application to which priority is claimed. After the patent issues, the patent owner must pay a patent maintenance fee in a window between 3 years … Continue reading →

Patent attorneys can help streamline the patent process and help you get a patent with a lot less headache.  A patent application is a legal document that concludes with a set of claims. These claims are typically written in legal … Continue reading →

The answer to this question is that it depends.  The United States Patent Office has a wide variety of art groups to which patent examiners, who are typically patent agents or patent attorneys, are assigned to.  Some art units take … Continue reading →

As Patent Attorneys we are often asked the question: Do I need a patent to make my product?  The answer to the question is no, you do not need a patent to make something.  A patent provides the negative right … Continue reading →

Patents provide protection typically on a country by country basis.  A United States patent provides protection in the U.S. whereas Canadian patents provide protection in Canada and Chinese patents provide protection in China.  One limited exception is for European patents, … Continue reading →

The patent system is an exchange between the Federal Government and the inventor.  In exchange for publicly disclosing his or her invention in a patent, the U.S. provides the inventor with (at current) a 20 year pseudo monopoly on the … Continue reading →

Inventors and companies often ask if they should file for a patent or keep their invention secret and protect it as a trade secret.  The answer depends on the facts of each situation. Patent protection is federally provided right that … Continue reading →

The short answer to this question is NO, patent infringement is not based on a percentage of how close to the original your device is. Patent infringement is determined by comparing the claims of a patent to the accused devise. … Continue reading →

United States Patent law sets forth “whoever without authority makes, uses, offers to sell, or sells any patent invention, within the United States or imports into the United States any patent invention during the term of the patent therefor, infringes … Continue reading →

The term nonobviousness is a legal term of art in the patent world.  The question is would the invention have been obvious to  a person having ordinary skill in the art (a PHOSITA) at the time of invention.  While this … Continue reading →

One of the requirements for receiving a patent on an idea is that the idea must be novel, or new.  This requirement is found at 35 U.S.C. 102.  In general, the novelty patent requirement means that the idea as claimed … Continue reading →

In order to obtain a patent on an idea, that idea must be “useful.”   In other words, the idea must have some useful purpose.  The “useful” patent requirement is a low standard and typically easy to meet.  Typical exceptions … Continue reading →

If you have an idea that you view as worth protecting, you should file a patent application before you disclose the idea to any third parties.  In the United States, you have a 1 year grace period from the time … Continue reading →

How do I get a patent in a foreign country? In order to have patent protection in a foreign country, a person or company must have a patent in whatever entity or jurisdiction provides patent rights in that country.  This … Continue reading →

What qualifies for utility patent protection? Section 101 of Title 35 of the United States Code states that “any new and useful process, machine, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof” can be the subject of … Continue reading →

What is a Provisional Patent Application? The “provisional” patent application system was created after the GATT treaty was signed in 1995. A provisional application may be filed without claims, is not examined or even read by anyone at the Patent … Continue reading →

What is a plant patent? A plant patent is a grant from the government of the right to exclude others from making, selling or using the claimed asexually reproduced plant for a period of twenty (20) years from the filing … Continue reading →

What is a design patent? A design patent is a grant from the government of the right to exclude others from making, selling or using the claimed ornamental design features of an invention for a period of fourteen (14) years. … Continue reading →

What is a utility patent? A utility patent is a grant from the government of the right to exclude others from making, selling, or using the claimed group of functional features of an invention for a period of 20 years … Continue reading →

  Patent pending means that the person or manufacturer is giving notice that some kind of patent application has been filed for some portion of the object on which the words appear. It is illegal to mark a product or … Continue reading →