In a word, yes. Consider this situation: An entrepreneur comes up with a new invention, let’s say, a self-inflating tire. A big tire company, which has unsuccessfully tried to develop self-inflating tires for years, signs a non-disclosure agreement and comes to inspect the tire. The non-disclosure agreement is a contract by which the big tire […]
Patent
Can I Patent my Software or Internet Invention or Smartphone App?
February 21, 2019
Patent
You can create a great software or Internet invention that is completely novel, unobvious and has utility, but you still may not qualify for a patent. Why not? Congress enacted 35 USC §101 to identify which inventions are the proper subject for patents. That section states: Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, […]
Treble Damages for Willful Patent Infringement
January 3, 2019
Patent
Stryker Corporation sued Zimmer, Inc. for patent infringement. There was no question whether Zimmer infringed Stryker’s patent – it did. Zimmer believed Stryker’s patent was invalid and believed that it would prevail in the infringement lawsuit. Zimmer had good reason to believe that the Stryker patent was invalid. As a result, Zimmer continued to infringe […]
USPTO Fixes Some of the Problems with the PTAB
November 22, 2018
Intellectual Property, Patent
The ‘Patent Trial and Appeal Board’ (‘PTAB’) has 174 administrative judges, who hear appeals of actions by the USPTO, such as denials of patent applications. In the past, the USPTO has been accused of packing the PTAB panels with handpicked judges to reach a desired result in a particular case. Panels of the PTAB also […]
Zombie Detector
November 1, 2018
Patent
Here’s a familiar situation: the shuffling figure, arms outstretched moving slowly toward you, emitting indecipherable moans, munching on what could be human brains… And the universal question: Is that a zombie or is it your teenage offspring? The answer will determine whether you dispatch it in the most grisly way imaginable or feed it mac-and-cheese. . […]
The Sound of a Ferrari
September 6, 2018
Patent
Disappointed that your new Ferrari 488 Pista isn’t loud enough? You’re not alone – we’ve all been there. Fortunately, the boys and girls at Maranello have been busy and they’ve come up with new ways to make that great Ferrari sound. First, consider U.S. Patent Publication 2017/0350287 published December 7, 2017 and owned by Ferrari. The […]
Patent Fun Facts:
July 19, 2018
Patent
Try rolling these out at the bar tonight. You’ll be the life of the party! Here goes: The USPTO issued its 10,000,000th patent on Tuesday June 19, 2018. That’s 10 million patents. The 10 millionth patent is owned by Raytheon and addresses LADAR range-finding technology, as used in self-driving cars. In 1997, the USPTO issued about 100,000 patents. In 2007 […]
Supreme Court to Consider the On-Sale Patent Bar
July 12, 2018
Patent
Love ’em or hate ’em, we have the most enthusiastically activist Supreme Court in memory. The Supremes are taking on another patent case, this time relating to the on-sale patent bar. In general, when the Supreme Court decides a patent case, the law is in worse shape than it was before. As a refresher for […]
China is the second largest market for pharmaceuticals on the planet, behind the United States. In one of its first concessions to U.S. trade pressure, China has extended patent protection for drugs to 25 years, up from 20 years. The change brings China into line with the U.S. and Europe, which allow a drug maker extra […]
We previously described the evils of inter partes review, by which administrative panels within the USPTO kill issued patents with wild abandon. Former Chief Judge Rader of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals described inter partes review panels as ‘death squads killing property rights.’ A constitutional challenge to inter partes review was recently decided by the […]