Filing a patent application: all the steps you need to know. 1. Do a Prior-Art Search. To determine whether your invention already exists and to gauge the “state of the art,” we do a prior-art search. It’s optional, but we strongly advise it. Here’s why. 2. File a Provisional Patent Application. A provisional patent …
There are no “international” patents. To protect intellectual property in other countries, we file foreign patent applications, but in certain jurisdictions that cover those countries, as well as individual countries. There is an international application that leads to patents in specific countries, but there is no single patent or application that protects an invention globally. …
Before you spend all that time and money applying for a patent for that cool innovation, perhaps you’d like to determine its chances of patentability. The USPTO has a webinar series just for that. It’s called Think Like an Examiner, offering four days of workshops (with homework), from Tuesday, August 5, through Friday the 8th. …
Learn how to protect your innovation as you transition from idea to product. Join the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as they present monthly intellectual property training sessions. Held on the first Thursday of every month, these sessions cover general information about patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. They guide inventors to local …
Like professional athletes, student athletes should protect their name, image, and likeness (NIL) with a trademark. Study up on the USPTO’s name, image, and likeness basics or just visit the USPTO’s trademark basics page.
“She faced numerous thefts of her intellectual property and legal challenges to her patents and designs, but she refused to back down.” It’s 1867. You are a single woman working as a bundler at the Columbia Paper Bag Company in Springfield, Mass. And you are tired. Surely, you think, there is a better way to …
A design patent is simply a patent on the design of an invention. It differs from a utility patent in that it covers how an invention looks rather than what it does. This sounds obvious, but there’s nuance to know. A design patent is granted for any “original and ornamental design for an article of …
We advise our clients to do a preliminary prior-art search before considering filing a patent application. Why? Because even a quick prior-art search will save a smart inventor from developing something that’s already patented, or already in the public domain. A prior-art search also helps inform an inventor about the state of the art of …
Anyone may file a trademark pro-se (independently). There is no middleman required. Learn about the process at the USPTO’s federal trademark filing webinar from 3 -4 p.m. ET on Friday, August 30. The webinar will cover: The fundamentals of the USPTO’s new filing system in Trademark Center. A pre-filing checklist A filing demonstration Where to …
We have seen it happen too many times: inventors losing momentum after they receive their patent grant, having little knowledge of how to develop or market their product. Although we offer our own contacts and advice in manufacturing and design, there is much to learn. The USPTO addresses this issue in their Successful Inventing Series, …