Nothing conjures memories of law school like writing a case brief (with the possible exception of an emergency root canal). Nonetheless, the judicial bar fight that is the Federal Circuit en banc decision in CLS Bank v. Alice Corp inspires me to dust off my case briefing skills, starting with Judge Lourie’s plurality concurrence as joined by Judges Dyk, […]
Widerman Malek Law Blog
Who Is An Inventor In A Patent Application?
It is important for a patent application to list the proper inventors. An inventor is not just someone that you want to put on a patent application, but must be someone that contributed in some way to at least one claim in the patent application.
Getting A Refund From The Patent Office If You Are Now A Small Entity
By: Mark R. Malek This concludes the series of articles that I have been writing on entity status in the United States Patent Office. The first article introduced the new micro-entity status. The next article gave some background information on what would happen if you claimed the wrong entity status before the USPTO, and the latest […]
Continued Obligation to Monitor Small Entity Status in the Patent Office
By: Mark R. Malek As you may recall, my last couple of articles have been about the different statuses that an inventor can claim when paying fees to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The first of these series of articles was an introduction to the micro-entity status, which allows inventors that qualify as […]
I’ve posted an App to the App Store without filing a patent application…Can I still Protect it?
The short answer is Yes. An inventor is granted a one year grace period where their disclosure is not considered prior art for their invention. However, posting an App without first obtaining any patent protection is a risky proposition. Previously, the law followed a first to invent system. This means that if an inventor could […]
What Happens If You Claim The Wrong Entity Status In The Patent Office?
By: Mark R. Malek In my last article, I outlined the new filing status in the Patent Office that can save inventors even more money in the patent process – that of the micro-entity. As you may recall from that article, when filing a patent application (and throughout the patent prosecution process), you must pay […]
Can I obtain patent protection for my mobile application?
By: K. Olinga Mitchell Yes. It is certainly possible to obtain patent protection for applications written for mobile devices. Patent protection extends to software in the United States of America. Whether or not you should attempt to acquire patent protection is a business decision. A patent will protect your idea from potential competitors however this […]
Trademark Law: first to use v. first to file
In the United States, it is not registration, but actual use of a designation as a mark that creates rights and priority over others. Thus, the rule is that ownership of a mark goes to the first-to-use, not the first-to-file. That being said, trademark ownership is not acquired by federal or state registration, although registration […]
March Madness and Other NCAA Trademarks
By: Mark R. Malek So the big tournament starts tonight – that’s right, we are starting with 64 teams and the team that goes through the tournament undefeated brings home the big trophy. Half the fun is looking for that Cinderella team that upsets a few teams on the way, maybe even makes it to […]
Reviving A Patent That Was Abandoned For Failure To Pay Maintenance Fees
By: Mark R. Malek You may recall that my last article was directed to the requirement to pay maintenance fees in order to keep your patent alive. As was discussed in that article, maintenance fees must be paid at 3.5 years, 7.5 years and 11.5 years after the patent has issued. When someone has not paid […]
