All posts by: Robert Yarbrough

About Robert Yarbrough

Patents of the New Year (the new year of 1836, that is)

February 1, 2024 Patent

The new year of 1836, that is. 1836 was big for the U.S. patent system. It’s the year that the USPTO switched to the current patent numbering system, the year the USPTO started actually examining patent applications, and the year the patent office burned down – in that order. A little background – the Federal […]

That Patent Looks Exhausted!

January 11, 2024 Patent

Let’s say that you sell patented printer cartridges. Nefarious actors, both inside and outside the U.S., collect your used cartridges, refill your cartridges, and sell your cartridges, now refilled, to U.S. customers.  They’re thumbing their noses at your patents.  The nerve. The patent law should protect you, right?  After all, the law says that you […]

USPTO Creates a New Design Patent Bar

December 7, 2023 Patent

A ‘utility’ patent is different from a ‘design’ patent.  A ‘utility’ patent is directed to how something works – for example, how a mousetrap catches mice.  A ‘design’ patent addresses the decorative appearance of something – for example, a mousetrap that looks like a piece of cheese. Utility and design patents differ in their scope, […]

USPTO’s ‘First-Time Filer Expedited Examination Pilot Program’

November 2, 2023 Patent

A sore point among inventors and invention owners is the time required for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to review a utility patent application.  That time generally runs between eighteen months and two and a half years or more. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has created a new “first-time filer expedited examination […]

Trypanophobia

October 31, 2023 Patent

Through a fog, an indistinct, faceless man in a white lab coat approaches you with what appears to be a heavy wooden log. The faceless man struggles under the weight.  The log morphs into a giant… syringe.  The sharp, menacing point of the needle extends toward you, an evil liquid oozing from the tip.   […]

Why Not Fib to the Patent Examiner?

September 7, 2023 Patent

You and your patent attorney have a ‘duty of candor’ to the USPTO You’ve created a great invention.  You hire a patent attorney and file a patent application.  While your application is pending, you poke around in Google Patents and come across prior art that would preclude a valid patent for one of your claims.  Do […]

Sometimes a Bargain Isn’t

August 10, 2023 Patent

So you came up with a great invention – let’s say a floating grill for cooking your burgers.  You know that unless your grill has patent protection it will be knocked off immediately. Clearly, you need a patent. You read up on the topic and learn that you can file a patent application yourself – you […]

Shady Manipulation of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board

July 20, 2023 Patent

Between the stock market crash of 1929 and the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, the U.S. economy fell off a cliff.  During that three-year period, five thousand banks failed and nine million bank accounts were suddenly worthless.  In the calamity of the Great Depression, millions of people were thrown out of work, unemployment stood at […]

USPTO Warns of Scammers Targeting Patent Owners

July 6, 2023 Patent

This month the USPTO warned of scam telephone attacks on patent owners.  The scammers spoof USPTO phone numbers so the call appears to come from the USPTO.  The scammers pretend to be USPTO employees and ask the patent owner to pay fees over the phone or for personal information.   The USPTO warns that it does […]

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