We are proud to be a resource for our clients and referral sources especially when it relates to intellectual property matters. We have a network of lawyers and firms across the world to help keep us apprised of new procedures and changes in the patent and trademark law. We recently received an update related to […]
Widerman Malek Law Blog
New Guidelines for Software Patents
Effective January 7, 2019 U.S. patent examiners will have a new set of guidelines at their disposal to evaluate software patent applications. The guidelines have codified recent case law to provide more consistency in Patent Office actions dealing with software. The new guidelines emphasize that when evaluating a software patent application an examiner must apply […]
Laura Peter announced as deputy director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross today announced the appointment of Laura A. Peter as deputy under secretary of commerce for intellectual property and deputy director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), effective November 13, 2018. Peter most recently held the position of deputy general counsel of A10 Networks in Silicon Valley and […]
Japan Patent Law, Just Amended
At Widerman Malek, we pride ourselves on being a resource for our clients and referral sources especially when it relates to intellectual property matters. We work closely with other intellectual property professionals across the country and the world which allows us to best service our clients. We recently received an update regarding patent law procedure […]
How To Obtain A Software Patent
Up until recently, software patents accounted for about half of all patents issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The U.S. Supreme Court has since made it more difficult to receive a software patent. However, the tide is shifting back in favor of inventors and patent owners. In fact, since the initial […]
Protecting Software Using Patent And Trade Secret Law
Protecting Software Using Patent And Trade Secret Law Traditional legal strategies have pitted trade secret law and patent law against one another. This is because patents are made public while trade secrets must be kept confidential. However, there is a way to utilize the best of what both have to offer.
Overcoming Patent Application Rejections by the USPTO
35 USC §101 Rejections Since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Alice v. CLS Bank in 2014 there has been a drastic increase in 35 USC §101 rejections. The decision emphasized that inventions “directed to an abstract idea” are not patentable. The U.S. Patent Office has used this decision to reject a majority of software utility […]
Protecting Your Software’s Application Programming Interface (API)
In this article, we are continuing the discussion of a legal strategy to protect software that involves segmenting software into three tiers and protecting each tier separately. This strategy has been developed in response to a 2014 U.S. Supreme Court case, Alice v. CLS Bank, that effectively slammed the door on receiving and enforcing software […]
Design Patents to Protect Your Software
In a previous article, we discussed a legal strategy for protecting software that involved segmenting software into three tiers and protecting each tier separately. Those tiers are as follows: Level One: User Interface Level Two: API Level Three: Algorithms and Data Structures This article focuses on the first tier, which involves how the user interacts […]
Is There Legal Protection for Software?
Although the protection strategy has changed, the answer is yes. Until recently, software patents accounted for about half of all utility patents issued by the USPTO. Application of a 2014 U.S. Supreme Court case, Alice v. CLS Bank, effectively slammed the door on this practice. Likewise, software patents issued prior to this decision have been […]
