Patent

‘Best mode’ is the requirement that a patent applicant disclose the best way that the applicant knows to practice an invention.  The purpose of the ‘best mode’ requirement is to fulfill the public disclosure goals of the patent system by preventing a patent applicant from obtaining a patent while at the same time keeping the […]

This is the second of our newsletters to discuss the ‘America Invents Act,’ which was signed into law on September 16, 2011.  The Act moves the US patent system away from ‘first to invent’ and to ‘first to file.’  So what does ‘first to file’ mean for an inventor or invention-owning business? The most important […]

On September 16, 2011 President Obama signed the ‘America Invents Act‘ into law.  More than five years in the making, the Act will have profound consequences for inventors, for companies whose employees create inventions and for persons accused of patent infringement.  Over the next several newsletters, we will bring you up to speed and explain […]

What should you know about the Patent Reform Act?       1.  Rights to a patent will be determined by who filed first, not who first conceived the invention. To preserve patent rights inventors should consider filing one or more provisional patent applications very early. 2.  Marking products with an expired patent is no […]

The America Invents Act at section 102 changes the way that inventors and companies that own inventions do business. In one of the most important developments for inventors and invention owners, ALL U.S. PATENT RIGHTS IMMEDIATELY TERMINATE if any of the following events occurs on or after March 17, 2013, unless the inventor has filed […]

The United States’ patent system is broken.  It should be fixed.  Doing so will improve America’s competitive position in the world.  Bad patents should not be granted.  Patents should be examined more quickly.  Inventors should be encouraged to invent new technologies and get them to market. It would be difficult to find anyone to disagree […]