The USPTO recently did a press release about the issuance of the 700,000th design patent. The patent for the ornamental design for a “Hand-Held Learning Apparatus” was issued to Jason Avery of Berkeley, California and is currently assigned to Emeryville, California-based LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: LF). In case you did not already know a design patent…
What if you come up with ‘new subject matter’ for your invention after you’ve already filed a non-provisional? No problem – the USPTO accounts for this and allows what is known as “continuation-in-part” (CIP) applications. CIP applications allow you to expand the scope of your patent application while it’s still pending, without losing the patent…
Do I need international patent protection? Though the location of manufacture is an important consideration for international patent protection, I would ask: “Where do you plan to sell your product?” If your product is to be sold around the world, you should be considering international patent protection immediately for several reasons. Let’s say you are…
Here’s 7 Things to know about Patent Rights – #4 is what most people DON’T know, #1 is the most important to know, and #7 reflects a recent change to our patent laws. Our Patent laws have seen some fundamental changes with the recently enacted America Invents Act. Whether you have a large patent portfolio…
The newly enacted Patent Laws make patents more important to obtain and more enforceable to carry. Best of all, in the midst of big corporate world’s patent cold war, the new Patent Laws open a door to let startups and early-stage companies join the battlefield on even ground. Here’s how. The America-Invents-Act (AIA) created a first-to-file standard…
How would an entrepreneur go about patenting a newly discovered material? Say if they were to discover a room temperature superconductor, a discovery that would affect life as we know it. The first question you must ask is whether this superconductor exists in nature, or whether you had to create a special environment to foster its existence….
The standard for submitting drawings in a provisional patent application is rather simple. Ask yourself, are these drawings necessary for “one of ordinary skill in the field of my invention” to understand what it is that I am trying to patent. If the answer is NO, then you don’t need drawings in a provisional at all. If…
Most of us like to feel that we were the first to have conceived of our great idea. Before investing the time and resources into applying for a patent, it is good to know if there are any other patents or publications disclosing something similar to your idea. Ultimately, this information will help you and…
In order to transfer patent rights from an inventor (Assignor) to an entity (Assignee), the inventor must sign an assignment agreement. Upon execution, the assignment agreement become a legally binding and enforceable contract. With the assignment, each inventor transfers the patent rights embodied in the patent or patent application to the Assignee. In turn,the Assignee…
Let’s say you came up with a novel design for a boombox or a watch. Although this newly designed boombox or watch may be ‘inventive’ from the utilitarian standpoint, a utility patent may not protect the physical design of your product as it would protect the corresponding function. This article considers protecting product designs that may be functional, but…
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