Posts in Inventors Information

To paraphrase the famous quote of Ralph Waldo Emerson, if you build a better mouse-trap the world will make a path to your door. Inventors and entrepreneurs frequently take this quote all too literally, thinking that if they make a better product theirs will sell and make them rich beyond their wildest dreams. There are, of course, many different reasons…

Earlier today I stumbled across US Patent No. 7,631,368, which is titled Combined concealed carry holster undergarment and outergarment with quick release and quick access mechanisms.  This patent is one that offers a number of lessons, both for inventors and for those who are seeking to reform the US patent process.  The lesson for inventors is a cautionary one; namely…

It is about that time of year where we start to wind down the old and prepare for the new. So with retrospectives on my mind I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the United States Patent and Trademark Office Annual Report for 2009. The Patent Office adheres to a slightly different “year” than most of…

Patent and Trademark Depository Librarians read your October 25, 2009 blog entry, USPTO Designates New PTDL, But What About Online, which makes a strong and most welcome call for fully indexed access to all US Patents back to 1790. Many PTDL librarians have called for such access for the past decade. State of the art OCR of USPTO’s image files…

It is that time of the year when we frantically look for gifts for Christmas or Hanukkah.  Christmas comes each year predictably on December 25th, but Hanukkah moves around and this year will start at sundown on December 11th, so time is running short.  With the economy the way it is, extravagant gifts are likely not going to be as…

Disposable rainwear US Patent No. 6,658,665 Issued December 9, 2003 I have not been doing as many obscure patents as I once did, but I have been increasingly hearing from inventors that they miss this feature because humorous patents coupled with a story provide a good learning opportunity.  That being the case, I will try and write more about obscure…

I am just getting back from two days at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, having attended the 14th Annual Inventors Conference.  There is much to report, and much to write about, and I will continue to digest, analyze and write about what I saw and my impressions in the days to come.  It is, however, undeniable that there…

The 14th Annual Inventors Conference is presently ongoing at the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia.  The conference started yesterday and continues today.  I am here at the USPTO presently, and I was here yesterday as well and had an opportunity to hear Patent Office Director David Kappos address the attendees during a lunch speech and then…

Everyone views the world through a prism, and the prism I look through is different than the prism others look through.  That should hardly come as a surprise given that we each find ourselves at any point in time being where we are as a result of the journey we have taken.  It is, therefore, not surprising that those who…

False marking is a statute in the Patent Act that imposes civil liability for intentionally marking a product as patented when it isn’t. We’ve all come across a product marked with the phrase, “This product is covered by U.S. Patent No. (fill in the blank).” Such marking puts the world on notice that the patent holder has exclusive rights to…

Just 12 days ago I publicly resigned from the Board of Directors of the United Inventors Association over concerns I had with respect to the UIA.  Since that time I have received many e-mails and telephone calls regarding my resignation.  Some have been extremely supportive, and some have questioned my decision saying that I should not have run out on…

This article was written for the United Inventors Association Newsletter and is reprinted here with permission.  Sign up to receive the free UIA weekly newsletter. ******************************** Over the years I have received quite a number of e-mail inquiries and telephone calls from inventors who are looking for information and advice, perhaps even representation. Typically, the initial communication starts off with…

About 6 weeks ago I mentioned that Inventors Digest was holding an essay contest for teens in order to celebrate National Inventors Month, which is in August ever year. Realizing that the timing was conflicting somewhat with the annual pilgrimage to get new clothes, school supplies and the frenzy otherwise associated with the parental bliss associated with back-to-school (can you…

A little over a week ago, in a blog post written by Microsoft’s Deputy General Counsel Horacio Gutierrez started what will certainly become one of the most profound debates the patent and innovation industry has seen in a very long time, and perhaps the most profound debate that has occurred since Thomas Jefferson and James Madison argued whether the fledgling…