Can you patent an idea? No. Many potential inventors say to me “I have an idea I would like to patent” but what they do not understand is that the invention itself is patentable, not the idea. In order for an idea to become a patented invention, the inventor must be able to teach someone […]
Tweet of the week Thanks to Innovator, Consultant, Strategist, Emerging Media, Social TV, Canadian Expatriate Richard Kastelein for tweeting @expathos this week about a Sony patent application that may give us a preview on how viewers could interact with their TVs. What is the future TV of and TV apps. We all know that one […]
The Buffalo Law Journal May Special Report focusing on Intellectual Property is now available. Thanks to Matt Chandler and the staff at Buffalo Law Journal for allowing me to author a guest column in this months issue. If you haven’t had a chance to check it out, here is a sneak peek at what’s inside: […]
What Inventors Need to Know… The “IP.com Global Patent Search” tool may be your answer if you’re looking for a free and easy way to search for prior art patents. The speed of this search engine is amazing. It finds a result almost immediately. IP.com offers a free search engine box to be integrated into […]
Is the United States patent system broken and does it need to be fixed? Can our governmental leaders fix the patent system through legislation? Patent reform legislation has been introduced in each of past three Congresses and has yet to be ratified. Through the current Reform Act it is hoped that better patents are issued, […]
How do you protect your intellectual property? What is intellectual property? Is a special sandwich that you make better than anybody else intellectual property? Imagine you are the owner of a new restaurant who has created a new edible masterpiece. And subsequently, to your surprise, you discover that a copycat sandwich is being made across […]
The patent reform legislation has been amended and introduced in the Senate as Amendment to S. 515 (“Patent Reform Act of 2010 (.PDF)″). When and if it will ever be enacted is a question in and of itself, however here is my summary of one of the more relevant sections of the proposed patent reform […]
New inventors are often looking for a short overview of the patent process. Ordinarily sending inventors to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) web site is like sending someone into a great quagmire. But there is a nice flow cart with links directing viewers to pertinent information regarding each step of the process […]
The Patent Reform Act of 2010 was recently made public in the form of an (“Amendment to S. 515”). Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) spoke at an Executive Business meeting (webcast) February 25, 2010 about this amendment to the patent reform act. Leahy stated, “When Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and I started this […]
Guest Blogger: Brendan S. Lillis, Registered Patent Attorney These days, with the average waiting period to hear back from the patent office regarding a new application exceeding three years, the patent office needs all the help it can get. As such, filers of patents are required to disclose all relevant information about prior art that […]