Do your employees create new inventions, products or designs? Have all of your employees assigned all company inventions to the company? If not, then the company does not own the invention, even if the invention was created on company time and with company resources and in the course of the employee’s work for the company. […]
All posts by: Robert Yarbrough
Provisional Patent Applications – File Early and Often
April 30, 2014
Patent
A provisional patent application is a temporary application that provides patent-pending status for one year. The provisional application can be a relatively low-cost way to preserve your patent rights while you develop your invention. The protection offered by a provisional patent application is only as good as the information contained in the application and only […]
Google Street View Revisited…
April 30, 2014
Litigation
Last month, we reported that Google lost patent infringement litigation relating to the Google Street View technology and that Street View was off the air. While Google did lose the infringement litigation, if Street View was ever down it was back on line by the time our newsletter published. — Robert Yarbrough, Esq.
What Happened to Google Street View?
March 30, 2014
Patent
Google Street View is the popular feature of Google Maps that allows you to see panoramic photographs of, well, pretty much anywhere with different orientations and magnifications. The photographs are stitched together in software to allow the viewer to navigate through a virtual representation of the real world. You may have seen the Google photography […]
The Supreme Court Weighs In…
February 28, 2014
Intellectual Property
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? […]
State of the Union – The Innovation Act
January 31, 2014
Patent
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 […]
The ‘claims’ of a patent dictate the rights of the patent owner and define the property created by the patent. Where the invention is something physical, such as a machine or a drug, it is relatively easy to show infringement – the patent owner must show that the infringer made, used, or sold the machine […]
PTO’s ‘After Final Consideration’ Pilot Program
November 27, 2013
Patent
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 […]
Abusive Patent Enforcement – The States Step Up
September 30, 2013
Patent
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 […]
Beware of the On-Sale Bar
August 30, 2013
Patent
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 […]