patent attorney Archives

A Guide to Paying Patent Maintenance Fees

The current enforceable period for a utility Patent is 20 years from the date of filing. However, in order to maintain the enforceability of your utility Patent, you must pay maintenance fees at regular intervals throughout the 20-year term of…

Tesla’s Lasers on Vehicle Patent

In May of 2019, Tesla filed a patent application for “Pulsed Laser Cleaning of Debris Accumulated on Glass Articles in Vehicles and Photovoltaic Assemblies.” Instead of using conventional windshield wipers, Tesla envisioned a system to clean debris from any glass…

Why Perform a Patentability Search before Filing Your Patent Application?

Patentability searches can be useful to get a better idea of whether an invention can be patented. A good search may prevent the cost of a wasted patent application on an already-invented and published invention, but can also be useful…

Amazon Brand Registry

What is Amazon Brand Registry? Brand owners work hard to protect their intellectual property (IP), including their trademarked brands. Amazon has recently become one of the largest companies in the world by providing a marketplace for sellers and buyers to…

What is the life of a patent in the US?

How long does a US patent last? The term for which a utility patent is valid is generally 20 years from the date of filing, and the term for which a design patent is valid is generally 15 years from…

What Does Patent Pending Mean?

People often encounter products that are marked with the phrase “patent pending,” but what does that really mean? “Patent pending” can be somewhat misleading to those unfamiliar with the lengthy process involved with obtaining a patent in the United States.…

Is My Idea Patentable?

Under Article I § 8 of the United States Constitution, Congress was given the power to grant inventors exclusive intellectual property rights over their discoveries. In 1952, Congress codified a law that allows “[w]hoever invents or discovers any new and…

U.S. Patent Office Revises Guidance on Subject-Matter Eligibility

The U.S. Patent Office has issued its much-anticipated update to the guidance on examining patent applications for compliance with the subject-matter eligibility provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 101. Those familiar with the situation will know that the U.S. Supreme Court…

U.S. Patent Court Suggests Improvements in GUI Usability Are Patentable

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that patent claims generally directed to tabbed electronic spreadsheets were patent-eligible in Data Engine Techs. LLC v. Google LLC , No. 2017-1135, 2018 U.S. App. 28412 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 9,…

The Federal Circuit Finds Finjan’s Behavior-Based Virus Scanning Patent-Eligible

Finjan owns several patents in the field of cybersecurity and virus protection, which it asserted against Symantec-owned Blue Coat Systems. Over the objections of Blue Coat, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California concluded that the subject…

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