The United States Patent and Trademark Office is hosting its 16th Annual Independent Inventor Conference on August 15-16, 2014 at its offices in Arlington Virginia. The conference will enable independent inventors and small business owners to learn about the patent...
A client of mine came to me recently lamenting the fact that someone in her industry was using an almost identical business name and service mark. She was given to understand that because the name is a family name, she was powerless to do anything about...
Attention starving entrepreneurs, college students and all others with not much other than a great idea. As part of the recently enacted America Invents Act, the US Patent Office is developing a patent pro bono program. The US Patent Office, in conjunction...
Recently, I was discussing with one of my clients what strategy to implement in moving forward with a provisional patent application filed less than a year ago. Our discussions highlighted the pros and cons of filing domestically or internationally, especially...
Usually the Patent Office website provides a gateway to other information, such as a patent or trademark search information, related forms, general information, etc. However, on the home page, there are news items and information worth checking out. One of those is...
Confidentiality agreements are one of those things that most people think of in the beginning of a commercial relationship. But once the agreement is signed, its a bit like Tony Soprano’s favorite phrase, most people just forget about it. There...
One provision in the America Invents Act enables a third party to submit to the U.S. Patent Office prior art patent references and publications relevant to a published application. This can be done in for up to six months from publication, before the first...
We hear a lot these days about cost cutting and austerity. I also hear a bit of grousing from time to time from people who use IP legal services about costs. I believe inventors and companies can find reasonably priced intellectual property law services...
There may be times when deciding not to seek patent protection is appropriate, and will likely provide you with a stronger competitive advantage. To help you decide whether seeking patent protection on your latest development is worthwhile, consider the...
With the implementation of the American Invents Act, the United States patent system is changing from a first-to-invent system to a first inventor to file system. Without going into all of the nuances and rules of the new act, the basic change is that the patent...
