Publish Your Patent Application? … Or Not
Posted on April 21, 2008 - Filed Under Legal and Law | Leave a Comment
Infringement and Provisional Damages
There is no action for infringement of your patent until it actually issues. However, through publication of your application, it may be possible to obtain provisional damages for the time between publication of the application and the issuance of the patent. Once your patent issues, infringement can give rise to treble damages and an award of attorney fees. During the phase from publication to issuance, only reasonable royalty damages can be awarded. Furthermore, a claim must survive and be substantially identical from publication to the issued patent.
Read More..>>Brief Overview Of U.s. Patents
Posted on April 20, 2008 - Filed Under Legal and Law | Leave a Comment
There are three different types of patents:
1. Utility Patent – a structure or apparatus that is new and useful (has “utility”). This type of patent covers function and can include machinery and medicine, and the patent protection lasts for 20 years.
2. Plant Patent – a newly discovered asexually reproduced new variety of plant. For example, a new type of rose can be patented, and the patent protection lasts for 20 years.
3. Design Patent – a new, original, ornamental design for a manufactured item. This patent covers the way an item looks, and the patent protection lasts for 14 years.
Read More..>>Ideas And Inventions- What To Do When You Are Inspired
Posted on March 13, 2008 - Filed Under Legal and Law | Leave a Comment
It all starts with an idea. You think, “Wouldn’t it be great if…” But now what?
The good news is that even if you are not the first to come up with your idea, you could very well be the first to do something about that idea. Maybe it’s not even unique. An improvement to an existing product or process could just as well place you on the path traveled by other successful inventors.
Read More..>>Maximizing Your Experience With Patent Attorneys
Posted on February 2, 2008 - Filed Under Legal and Law | Leave a Comment
Are you afraid of what it will cost you to obtain a patent? If you are an independent inventor, you might be. Large corporations may be able to shell out thousands of dollars without flinching, but when the money comes from a single income it’s a different story.
Read More..>>Three Options For Inventors
Posted on January 21, 2008 - Filed Under Legal and Law | Leave a Comment
There are three basic things that you can do with your invention. All three options can provide some financial reward and all have pluses and minuses attached to them that make it important for you to understand in relation to your goals and objectives.
You can sell the invention. This is where you assign your rights to the patent to someone else. Once you have sold the patent and assigned your rights, you have given up total control. The invention and the patent are no longer yours. This approach requires the least amount of investment of time and money and generally offers the least economic reward.
Read More..>>Can You Start Selling Your Invention Before Patenting It?
Posted on January 9, 2008 - Filed Under Legal and Law | Leave a Comment
Chemical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology companies spend large sums of money so that their employees burn the midnight oil and come up with great inventions, be it on a novel drug treat a heart disease or a process to make large quantities of a chemical used in the manufacture of a plastic. They know that patents are powerful when it comes to resisting competition. They also know that a patent provides an exclusive right up to twenty years. Thus, once they get their patent, they should be smiling all the way to the bank …correct?
Read More..>>Protecting Your New Invention
Posted on January 3, 2008 - Filed Under Legal and Law | Leave a Comment
O.K. so you have an Idea for an invention. This invention could be big or small. Your invention may even only be a simple idea at the moment. Nevertheless, you are going to want to make sure to protect yourself from getting your idea stolen and keeping your idea yours.
New inventions and ideas are the life blood of our economy, technology and innovation. Inventions come in all shapes and sizes. What do you do to make your invention known but to make the idea your property and keep others from copying it for their own profit?
Read More..>>10 Truths For Inventors
Posted on December 24, 2007 - Filed Under Legal and Law | Leave a Comment
My experience as an inventor combined with my work as a coach for inventors has resulted in the following 10 truths that every inventor needs to know.
1. New product ideas are a dime a dozen. (An invention’s value is directly related to how close the product is to commercial success.)
2. More inventors waste more money thinking that other people are going to take their product to market for them. (Moving an idea to commercial success is a long, time consuming, expensive process and you are the best person to do it. You have more knowledge, more passion and more at stake.)
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