Using templates is like using someone else’s used toothbrush, only potentially worse. I see people all the time coming in with off-the-shelf agreements when a dispute arises. They rarely set out the relationship that the parties expected of it and often ends in heartbreak. Why not...
Continue ReadingIf you infringe a patent then if the patent owner or an exclusive licensee take action against you then you are effectively earning money for them as they can get damages against you and get all of your profits and more. They can also prevent...
Continue ReadingPatents are sometimes like wine. You can get a really cheap wine that makes you drunk and leaves you with a hangover the next day. You can also get excellent wines that last a long time and have a fantastic flavour and do not leave...
Continue ReadingIf they have a patent, then this could be problematic to you. Adding extra features does not avoid patent infringement. A competing design needs to change one or more core elements that are claimed in all of the main (independent) claims of the patent so...
Continue ReadingI think I might really be on to something, and if everything goes well, this will be my first foray into patents. What are common issues that inventors encounter with patenting their work? Advice about dealing with those issues will also be helpful. The biggest issues...
Continue ReadingI am considering applying for a provisional patent for a business method which I have developed. Is it worth it given the uncertainty of the law surrounding business patents? Business methods are hard to patent, but not impossible. If the potential commercial gains warrant it, and...
Continue ReadingThe short answer is there is no equivalent for patents for the Madrid system for trade marks. The closest thing is the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) that covers most of the world: It buys the applicant more time (30 months from the earliest application) to settle...
Continue ReadingThe paper clip was patented. The toilet-paper holder was patented. The "one-click purchase interface" for Amazon's online sales was patented. They all seem pretty obvious to me now, years later when I realised just how valuable each patent later became, not during the patent application...
Continue ReadingThere are many examples of this. One fascinating reinvention is the mechanical astronomical clock. A mechanical astronomical clock, the Antikythera mechanism was recovered from a shipwreck off the Greek Isles in 1901 and dates back to around 150–205 BC. Su Song in China invented a hydro-mechanical astronomical...
Continue ReadingPatents are granted for an invention as defined in the “claims” of a patent. If a competing device falls within the scope of the claims, then they infringe the patent. If not, then they are not an infringement. If a competing device does not infringe...
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