I wrote about continuation-in-part applications earlier this week. Consider this a continuation-in-part discussion. I’m turning now to explore some of the reasons you may or may not want to file a CIP application. And last week’s proviso remains: CIP application…
A continuation-in-part (“CIP”) application is a special type of patent application. Today I’ll discuss what a CIP application is, and later this week I’ll go over reasons you might want to file a CIP or file an original utility patent…
I am pleased to have been asked to give a presentation on technical writing, patent drafting, and patent prosecution at the University of Advancing Technology in Phoenix, Arizona on Thursday, July 12, 2012. I have made the presentation slides available…
Titles of patent applications can be puzzling. Some titles are simple, some complicated, some precise, others vague. The most important consideration is that a title be descriptive of the invention. There once was a segment of practitioners that would purposefully…
This question was posed to me during a recent interview. Is it possible to patent something that is used for an illegal purpose or is used with an illegal substance, or is there a prohibition against such patents? Is patent…
An assignment can be filed with a patent application to immediately convey control of the patent application to the assignee. This is frequently necessary where the inventor is an employee of a company that will be controlling the patent application….
I hear too many people saying, “I’ve got this great idea. If I could just get it patented, I’d make a million dollars.” A patent isn’t a ticket into a life of luxury. It doesn’t mean squat if you don’t…
An invention must be of the appropriate subject matter to be eligible for a patent. Appropriate subject matter includes, by statutory definition, a machine, article of manufacture, composition of matter, or process. For most inventions, the determination regarding whether the…
Understanding patent claims is crucial when you are trying to understand what a patent is and what it can do for you as an inventor. I recently read in Mechanics of Patent Claim Drafting by John Landis a great, easy-to-comprehend…
After listening to a fascinating interview of double-amputee Scott Rigsby on IM Talk, I began thinking about the world of prosthetics and how it relates to my career in patents. With nearly all medical devices, intellectual property protection can often…