Posts Tagged: "patent"

Patent Reform Legislation Coming to Town

It is almost impossible to believe that given all the turmoil  our economy is facing, with trillions of dollars being spent by the US government as if the US dollar were some kind of Monopoly money, but patent reform legislation is likely to be introduced this week, perhaps as early as Monday, March 2, 2008.  Why is Congress thinking about…

PLI Patent Bar Review Tour

Hello everyone.  I am coming to you live from a Hampton Inn located just south of Cleveland, Ohio, in a town named Independence.  I have to tell you that I am staying at the nicest Hampton Inn I have ever stayed at.  I have a living room, full kitchen and a jacuzzi all for $130 a night, so if your…

USPTO Not Laying Off Employees

Earlier today I was contacted by the Wall Street Journal asking whether I had heard about the United States Patent and Trademark Office laying off employees in such a way that it would create problems for the Office with respect to keeping up with the growing backlog of patent applications.  From what I can tell this rumor was started by…

Patent Litigation Settlements in the News

General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), and Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing, L.P., announced on February 11, 2009, that the two settled the patent litigation between the parties. Also announced on February 11, 2009, was a settlement between BCD and Power Integrations. Although BCD maintains it did not infringe, and the claims asserted by Power Integrations are under final rejection in reexamination, the settlement was for business reasons so BDC could move forward.

The Top 25 Patent Blogs

Last Updated: February 21, 2009. This will be the last update of this list for now, but I will revisit it in several months again. I was wondering what the top patent blogs were so to inject some sense of objectivity I did some search using Technorati, which was not as easy as I had anticipated.  While Technorati is the…

US Manufacturers Tell Obama Patent Reform Will Cost US Jobs

Earlier today more than 130 US manufacturing companies sent a joint letter to President Obama detailing their serious concerns about the economic impact that enactment of patent reform legislation would have on the US economy should such reform look anything like what was proposed during the 110th Congress last year. The letter sent to President Obama coordinated by the Manufacturing Alliance on Patent…

Fraud Leads to Lost Trademarks and Patents

Today you can hardly do a search on any search engine on the topic patents or trademarks without stumbling across an ad from LegalZoom.com, or one of the other numerous companies that promise to prepare and file patent or trademark applications on your behalf.  On September 15, 2008, the United States Patent & Trademark Office issued new rules that should have…

Don’t Get A Patent? Plainly Ridiculous!

Increasingly on the Internet invention advertising is taking an odd and seemingly inexplicable turn toward advising independent inventors to not seek patent protection, which is undeniably bad advice that will undoubtedly cause much disappointment and heart break for those who actually follow it.  But why is it that you are starting to see more and more advertisements that say it is…

ATM Advertising Patented by Diebold

You can file this under the “just what we needed” category.  Yes, more advertising will be thrust upon us as it seems thanks to Diebold, Incorporated, who announced on September 25, 2008, that they had received seven patents on software that will transform automated teller machines (ATMs) into revenue-generating business tools.  Said another way, Diebold is going to bring us…

Patent Self Help Now More Difficult

On August 14, 2008, the United States Patent & Trademark Office decided to profoundly changed the rules that govern patent attorneys and patent agents may do when working with independent inventors who are seeking advice but not full representation.  In a nutshell, the Patent Office has decided that patent attorneys and agents can no longer provide limited consulting to inventors, but rather if an…

Writing Software Patent Applications

When you sit down to collect the information necessary to create the “design document” you have to keep three things in mind. Any good patent application that covers a software related invention will need to put forth three specific pieces of information. First, you need to describe the overall computer architecture of the system within which the software will exist. Second, you need to prepare a single flowchart that depicts the overall working of the software. Third, you need to prepare a series of flow charts that show with painstaking detail the various routines and subroutines that together connect to create and deliver the complete functionality of the computer system as enabled by the software.

John McCain on Technology & IP

John McCain has a broad and cohesive vision for the future of American innovation. His policies will provide broad pools of capital, low taxes and incentives for research in America, a commitment to a skilled and educated workforce, and a dedication to opening markets around the globe. He’s committed to streamlining burdensome regulations and effectively protecting American intellectual property in…

Inventors Need to Have Inventions

I am frequently asked the same or similar question with respect to patent applications by independent inventors — How much information do I have to include in a patent application?  Sometimes this question is prefaced by something like — I have the concept but I am no scientist and I don’t know how to actually create the invention. The first…

Beware Invention.net

Over the years I have written quite a bit about invention scams, and in fact one of my most popular pages is The Truth About Invention Promotion Companies, which typically comes up in the top few sites in Google and Yahoo when a search is done for invention promotion companies. It is sadly true that there are a lot of…

Apple’s Solar iPod & iPhone

  One month ago today a patent application filed by Apple Computer back on October 20, 2006, was published by the United States Patent Office.  The application titled Solar cells on portable devices could signal the entry into a new generation of mobile devices, more particularly the entry into the age of the solar iPod and iPhone. Now, while this…