All posts by: Robert Yarbrough

About Robert Yarbrough

When the Supreme Court decides a case, the result is binding on all of us.  The Court will be busy with patent, copyright and trademark cases over the next few months.  The following are a few highlights: 1.  Are computer-implemented inventions patentable?  Particularly, is a general purpose computer programmed to perform a specific function patentable?  […]

In his state of the union speech, President Obama said:  “And let’s pass a patent reform bill that allows our businesses to stay focused on innovation, not costly, needless litigation.” Both houses of Congress are well on the way to enacting new patent legislation, in part as a  reaction to the bullying of small businesses […]

By filing a patent application and paying the filing fee, you are entitled to two reviews by the patent examiner.  The examiner has a very short and strict time limit to review your application.  If the examiner does not meet that time limit, then he or she may not meet productivity goals and may be […]

In general, only the Federal government and Federal courts have jurisdiction over patent matters.   However, the Federal government does not have effective tools for protecting individuals and small businesses from abusive and unjustified bullying by patent owners.   A small business often cannot afford to defend against a threat of patent litigation and agrees to pay […]

If you are a regular reader of this newsletter, then you know that a sale or offer for sale of your invention will terminate your patent rights unless you first file a patent application.   Did you know that the on-sale bar also applies to commercial sales of the invention to you, as from a contract […]

It’s time for a story.  We’ll start with the moral – read your non-disclosure agreements and comply with ALL of the requirements of the agreement to keep your information secret.  Back to the story: In license negotiations for an invention,  Convolve and another party signed a non-disclosure agreement.   Like many non-disclosure agreements, the agreement required […]

In the issue that will not die, the Supreme Court again considered what can or cannot be patented.  This time the question was whether human genes can be the subject of a patent. The U.S. Constitution at Article One, Section 8 gives Congress the power “to promote science and the useful arts, by securing for […]

Once upon a time, a farmer purchased a magic bean.  The farmer planted his magic bean, as farmers do.  The magic bean grew into a magic beanstalk and made more magic beans.  The farmer harvested the magic beans, as farmers do, and saved the new magic beans for the next year.   For eight years, the […]

Pardon the quote of the Bard, but there is one area of patent law that, indeed, ponders “that is the question.” Bear with us for a moment while we try to set the stage. To qualify for a patent, the patent law statute passed by Congress states that an invention must meet three criteria: it […]