When most inventors think of a patent, they think of a better-mousetrap type patent, known as a utility patent. A utility patent protects what an invention is and how it works. U.S. Patent 269,766 for a mousetrap that plugs a mouse with a bullet from a .44 is an example of a utility patent. Our […]
Dear Doc: For years, it’s been nearly impossible to do repairs on some kinds of equipment. For instance, unless you had a handheld computer that cost over $4,000, it was impossible to diagnose and fix a GM-Saab automobile. The same is true of John Deere farm equipment. Manufacturers use copyright and trade secrecy laws to […]
‘It’ being the nonsensical state of U.S. patent eligibility, that is. Over the last decade or so the U.S. Supreme Court has restricted the patentability of numerous inventions as ‘abstract’ or ‘laws of nature,’ including business techniques (Bilski v Kappos), medical inventions (Mayo v Prometheus), biotech inventions (Myriad Genetics), and computer software (Alice v […]
On July 13, 2020, the era of the NFL’s Washington Redskins ended (following pressure from the public and from corporate sponsors) and a new era began. Unfortunately, it was – and remains – an unnamed era. The team is currently called “The Washington Football Team” – it’s better than “The Washington Insert Name Here” but […]
Dear Doc: Recently, many companies are sending me long emails with their new “Terms and Conditions”. These are harder to read than hieroglyphics on a pyramid wall, but some parts seem more important because THEY ARE PRINTED IN ALL CAPS. So what is “arbitration” and why do companies want me to consent to it? Can […]
Food technology has come a long way over the past several decades. Great strides have been made in developing substitutes for meat, dairy, and gluten containing flours. We now have “milk” made from oats and almonds, meat substitutes made from various vegetable based ingredients, and gluten free bakery products made from amaranth, millet, sorghum and, would […]
Patent and invention owners should care. You should care. Barely a decade ago, Congress created the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and gave it the power of life and death over patents. In the years since, the PTAB has done exactly what Congress intended – reduce the cost to challenge and kill patents and […]
For 35 years, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) has been a powerful weapon in law enforcement’s arsenal against computer hackers. Essentially, it criminalized the standard definition of hacking – accessing information on a computer, where the user lacks authorization to do so. But what happens when someone is authorized to access the information, […]
Dear Doc: When some big company just outright steals an inventor’s patented invention and makes zillions of dollars off of it, why can’t the inventor stop them? What gives? Signed, Little Guy Dear LG: The Doc has found a very good answer to your question. The Doc may not agree with everything the author says […]
What, if anything, can an employer do about the employee who leaves the company, taking his or her ideas along? Inventions belong to the inventor (that’s your employee, not you) unless there’s an agreement to the contrary. If the employee created the invention on company time and using company resources, then the company may have […]
