Patent

Many inventors are not aware that it is supremely easy for a U.S. inventor to lose foreign patent rights even if the inventor’s U.S. patent rights are preserved.  How does that happen?  By publicly disclosing the invention prior to the filing a patent application in the U.S. or elsewhere. The laws of the U.S. are […]

The PTO is taking another step to reduce its workload through deferring examination of patent applications. The PTO has announced that it will soon start a pilot program to allow inventors to defer the payment of certain filing fees by one year.  The stated goal of the pilot program is to allow inventors a total […]

“InventorsEye” is a bimonthly online publication by the U.S. PTO for individual inventors.  Among other things, the publication gathers resources for individual inventors, such as inventor’s clubs and support organizations.  “InventorsEye” is a publication of the Inventors Assistance Center. If you’re an inventor, check it out. — Robert Yarbrough, Esq.

On-line patent searching has profoundly improved the patent system.  An inventor can use free Internet resources to search for patents and published applications relevant to his or her invention.  The mother of all free on-line patent databases is that of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO).   The PTO database has the advantage that it […]

The backlog of pending patent applications at the PTO is important to inventors because a large backlog results in long wait times before a patent application is reviewed by an examiner.   During the last years of the last administration, the backlog at the PTO grew so large that the average time to first office action […]

Your competitor newly advertises its product as ‘patent pending,’ but you know that the product or a similar product has been in use or on sale for a long time.   You fear that if your competitor is successful in obtaining the patent, the competitor may be able to prevent you from making, using or selling […]

Anyone who regularly or even occasionally watches late night television has seen the advertisements for patent invention services. These services usually advertise an ability to help an inventor both protect and promote his or her invention. There may, indeed, be responsible organizations out there that advertise honestly and help inventors get their products to market. […]

The USPTO has launched “Inventors Eye,” a bimonthly on-line publication for independent inventors.  Here is a link to the most recent edition.  “Inventors Eye” leans toward encouragement, anecdotes and success stories, but includes valuable information in a non-technical style.  We recommend that you check it out. — Robert J. Yarbrough, Esq.

June 28, 2010 — In an a unanimous opinion on the result, though fractured on the reasoning, the Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision today on patentable subject matter.  The Bilski v Kappos decision is important for inventors and owners of software, Internet and particularly business method patents. Under the law, even if an invention […]

The delay between the filing of a utility patent application to the first office action by the PTO averages three years.  The PTO is considering whether to offer multiple options for patent application review in an effort to reduce the delay.  The proposal would allow the applicant to select fast, medium or slow review.  For […]