Beer Glass Design Patents
Beer glasses can raise a lot of controversy among beer drinkers. Some think a glass is a glass is a glass (or a cup), while others believe that each beer type should be poured in its own specifically designed glass. …
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Public Disclosure and Filing a Patent Application
Your ability to file and obtain a patent depends on many things. The novelty and non-obviousness of the invention may be foremost in your mind. However, other things are influential as well, such as the skill of the patent attorney…
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What is a patent declaration?
Simply, a declaration is an inventor’s promise – or acknowledgment of the promise – with the Patent Office. A patent application contains numerous pieces of information and paperwork. There is the patent disclosure itself, which includes the summary, background, description,…
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Does a patent assignment need to be notarized?
Generally, no. Assignments are transfers of the entire interest in a patent from one entity to another. They are distinguished from licenses, which give another person a limited right to the patent. In the US, there is no requirement that…
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What is a patent assignment?
A patent assignment is a transfer or sale of the entire interest in a patent. That means all rights that were originally granted to the patentee transfer to the assignee. Any other transfer of lesser than full rights in a…
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What is a patent license?
Patents can be thought as a “bundle of rights.” An issued patent carries with it a number of exclusive rights, each of which can be divided up individually from the others – removed from the bundle like one of many…
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Original, Continuation, and Divisional Application Strategy
The law prohibits an inventor from patenting two separate inventions within one patent application. However, sometimes an application is written with more than one invention. What happens after that original application is filed depends on the structure of the description…
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Right to Use versus Right to Exclude
The law provides for different rights, depending on the subject matter concerned, the evolution of the law through courts and legislative bodies, and practical implications. Some people think that a patent or a trademark gives the owner a right to…
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Patent Office Action Response Deadlines
When the Patent Office sends you an Office Action, you typically have a few deadlines for response. The OA will indicate the deadline on its front page: 3 months, but that time can be extended up to 6 months with…
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Patent Dashboard Displays a Clear, but Sad, View of Patent Pendency
The Patent Office has taken a number of steps in the last year or so toward transparency, approachability, and clarity. It recently released the Patent Dashboard, or “Data Visualization Center.” The Dashboard is a simple display of the average time…