Patents Explained: The Abstract
The abstract is similar to a summary of the patent. It is intended to let the Patent Office and the public quickly know what the patent is about without having to read the entire patent. There aren’t hard rules on…
Patents Explained: A Series of Posts
People often don’t understand what exactly a patent is. I’m going to take the next few blog posts to describe the different parts of a patent. A patent generally consists of several items: Abstract Drawings Background / Field of Invention…
Finding and Hiring Reputable Patent Practitioners
When you’ve come up with an invention and are looking for someone to help you obtain a patent, do your comparison shopping and choose carefully. Whether you choose a patent attorney, a patent agent, or an invention promotion service,…
Secrecy, PR, and Media Intrigue
Marc Graser and Dave McNary wrote a great piece over at Variety regarding the difficulties in keeping a blockbuster movie under wraps during production. Pre-release leakage of information, pictures, scripts can destroy a movie – but it can also make…
Bilski v. Kappos – Patentability Tests
The long awaited Bilski decision was released today, and while I haven’t had the chance to read it yet, I have skimmed the blogosphere enough to know what it said. Basically, the Federal Circuit went a little too far, and…
Patience Urged for Bilski
Patent thinkers are going crazy for the Supreme Court to issue Bilski v. Kappos, a case with potential to change the patent landscape: Inventive Step Patently-O – guest post from my old Munich professor John Duffy IPWatchdog ABAJournal 271 Patent…
Patent Flowchart
The Patent Office has a nice flowchart on its website that describes the patenting process. It could be helpful to give the inventor an understanding of the road in front of him when he comes up with an invention and…
Expediting the Patent Examination Process for Age or Health
Patent applications typically take quite a while to become actual patents. It’s currently taking between 2 and 4 years just to get the First Office Action from the Patent Office. There are a few ways to speed up the examination…
Enlighted Designs bridges copyright-patent gap with lighted clothing
Fellow Harvey Mudd College grad Janet Hansen, who is President and Chief Fashion engineer of Enlighted Designs, has found, perhaps inadvertently, a way to combat the inability to get copyright protection in clothing design. While you generally can’t protect the…