Richards Patent Law

Patent Reform 2010

Patrick Richards — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 04:21:00 +0000

Patent Reform is on its way. Maybe not this year, maybe not the next, but inevitably patent reform will happen. The patent reform legislation introduced in 2009 as S.515, has been amended and introduced in the Senate as Amendment to S. 515. Whether or not it finds its way to enactment is yet to be seen, but here is my brief summary of some of the more relevant sections of the proposed patent reform.

The various proposed reforms include, among other provisions:

adoption of a “first inventor to file” system rather than the current “first to invent” system
- our first to invent system tends to favor large institutions over independent inventors
- moving to a first inventor to file system beings the US more in line with international patent laws
additional and improved procedures for public participation in patent examination
- the amendment expands the public’s ability to submit prior art against pending patent applications
- the amendment provides a new post-grant review process whereby the validity of recently issued patents may be challenged
addition of a supplemental examination procedure to enable patent owners to request review of their patents in light of new issues of patentability
- may be used by a patent owner to strengthen a patent as it is entering litigation
- the process will not absolve those responsible for prior misconduct in front of the USPTO from disciplinary sanctions
elimination of the best mode requirement (thought to be duplicative of the written description requirement)

Additional provisions relate to: false patent marking issues; venue selection in patent cases; willfulness in the context of patent infringement; and the establishment of a pilot program to develop patent expertise at the district court level.

It will be interesting to see whether the time has come to implement patent reform or whether we will continue to wait as we did with respect to the proposed patent reform in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009…

United States Patent and Trademark Office is Hiring Patent Examiners

Patrick Richards — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 02:06:43 +0000

The United States Patent and Trademark Office is hiring patent examiners and is actively targeting registered patent attorneys and patent agents for the open positions. The positions are full-time and permanent. Follow this link to view the job posting. The current deadline for applications is March 2, 2010.

Richards Patent Law Hosts Free Patent and Intellectual Property Roundtable Discussion through the Illinois Technology Association

Patrick Richards — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:27:35 +0000

Patrick Richards of Richards Patent Law P.C. and Catherine McGivney of Connelly Roberts & McGivney LLC are hosting a Legal Advice Roundtable event through the Illinois Technology Association entitled “Protecting Intellectual Property: Understanding Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights” on Wednesday, February 10, 2010. Patrick will be leading the discussion regarding patent law and Catherine will lead the trademark and copyright portion. The event is free, open to the public and audience participation and questions are welcome and encouraged.

Date
Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Time
8:30-10:30 AM

Location
ITA TechNexus
Conference Room A/B
200 S. Wacker, 15th Floor
Chicago, IL 60606

To register to attend the event, please sign up on the ITA website: http://www.illinoistech.org/calendar.aspx/1876

The Illinois Technology Association (ITA) is a regional industry trade association headquartered in Chicago and serving all of Illinois. The ITA provides members with access to connections, information and promotional opportunities to improve business locally, regionally and nationally.

Design Patent Examination at the USPTO More Closely Resembles Registration Than Examination

Patrick Richards — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 07:30:03 +0000

According to a recent blog post at Patently-O, a leading patent law blog, based on the review of 1049 file histories of design patents that issued in the past 12 months, only 1.2% of design patent applications were rejected based on prior art during patent prosecution and over 80% were never rejected at all. In other words, over 80% of the design patent applications that issued as design patents made it through the United States Patent and Trademark Office without any significant obstacles. Further, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office annual report, in the last five years approximately 90% of all design patent applications issued as design patents. In other words, over that time period, only 10% of design patent applications failed to issue as design patents. These numbers don’t indicate that filing a design patent application automatically results in design patent protection, but it does indicate a very high level of success and a high rate of return on your design patent investment.

Having prosecuted a large number of design patent applications for a wide range of products, I can say these figures match my experience. Accordingly, while design patents are generally thought to afford a narrower scope of protection than utility patents, the ease in which the typical design patent application passes through the United States Patent and Trademark Office to issuance, creates a very favorable environment for protecting your invention’s aesthetic appearance. In industries in which a competitive advantage can be gained through product appearance, and not just product functionality, design patents can be good investments with a high rate of success.

Please contact me if you would like to discuss filing a design patent application for your invention with an experienced patent attorney.

For further information about design patents, please see these related pages:

Another Helpful Resource for Inventors: Inc.com’s Patent Related Articles

Patrick Richards — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:00:57 +0000

One of my Chicago based patent clients recently referred me to Inc.com as a good online resource for patent and intellectual property information for inventors. For example, they provide an article explaining a step-by-step process for turning a good idea for a new invention into a financial success. Similarly, they provide an article detailing a step-by-step guide describes the legal process of filing for a patent. In addition to patent specific articles, there are more generally based intellectual property articles, such as this article regarding advice for the small-business owner on protecting trademarks, writing nondisclosure agreements, and other tools for protecting intellectual property.

I hope that you find these patent and intellectual property resources useful. If you run across patent related resources or other resources worth sharing with inventors, entrepreneurs and business owners, please bring them to my attention by contacting me.

Northwestern University’s Master of Product Development Program Offers Free Intellectual Property Related Seminar

Patrick Richards — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 02:52:15 +0000

Northwestern University’s Master of Product Development program provides free educational seminars through its Seminar Series. The next seminar offered, “Design at the Nexus of Semiotics and Intellectual Property” with presenter James G. Conley, will take place on Friday, January 22, from 4:00 – 5:30 pm on Northwestern University’s Evanston Campus. The seminar will also be available via webcast.

As provided in the graphic below, the seminar will focus on the marketing and design opportunities that exist at the nexus of intellectual property and semiotics (the science of signs). This is a complimentary series, open to the public and RSVPs are not necessary. A reception will be held at 3:30 pm and refreshments are provided.

I will be attending the seminar to supplement my patent law expertise with additional marketing and product development perspectives and concepts. I encourage all of my interested Chicago area patent law clients to join me in person and my national and international clients to attend via webcast. If you plan to join me, contact me so I can look for you at the event.

For driving directions to Northwestern University follow the link provided: http://www.mpd.northwestern.edu/contact/directions.php. To access the webcast, visit www.mpd.northwestern.edu and click on the MPD Seminar icon. Further information concerning the seminar is provided below:

Great Resource for Inventors and Entrepreneurs: Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner

Patrick Richards — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:10:23 +0000

I recently learned that the Stanford Technology Ventures Program Entrepreneurship Corner provides a free online archive of entrepreneurship resources. In addition to the numerous videos directed to entrepreneurship in general, there is also an impressive amount of patent related content. For example, I’ve embedded a video titled “How and When are Patents Important?” by Gordon Ringold, discussing the value of patents for a biotech company:

This short clip above is a portion of a much longer lecture directed to entrepreneurship in the biotech field. It’s just one example of the great reference material to be found on their archives.

I hope that you get an opportunity to explore the content provided and find something educational and/or inspirational!

When and How are Patents Important?

Happy New Year from Richards Patent Law

Patrick Richards — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 05:21:06 +0000

As the final minutes of 2009 tick away, I wanted to take a moment to post a short thank you to the numerous friends, clients and colleagues that have helped Richards Patent Law in its first year of business. I appreciate all of your support, I have enjoyed supporting you and I look forward to the coming year and the many to follow. Thank you all.

-Patrick

Headstand Media to Host an Educational and Networking Event to Benefit Chicago Non-Profit Organization

Patrick Richards — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 06:21:44 +0000

Learn and Network:

On Thursday, December 17, Headstand Media, a Chicago web design company, will host an educational and networking event as part of their ongoing Nightstand series. The event centers around providing Wheelwell, a Chicago non-profit, advice and recommendations regarding implementing a web site, brand and strategy.

The event starts at 6 pm with informal networking. Food and beverages will be provided. At 6:30 pm the hosts and attendees will break up into small task groups to discuss and strategize regarding Wheelwell’s:

Content, Site Architecture, Brand and SEO Strategy
Visual Brand, User Interface and Experience Design
Technology, Platform, Hosting and Site Implementation Strategy

At 7:15 each of the groups will make 15-minute presentations regarding their recommendations. At 8 pm there will be a general group discussion through which a formalized strategic recommendation will be made. Headstand Media will post their summary recommendation online after the event.

Give Back:

Headstand Media is planning to donate some leadership, time and expertise to implementing the recommended plan for Wheelwell and invites us to join them in any way we can. Headstand Media will provide and explain the options for contributing as the plan is developed.

Invite Others and RSVP!

The invitation has been extended and you are encouraged to pass along this invitation to others in the industry who would benefit from and could contribute to this kind of event. Please RSVP by leaving a comment on the Nightstand Gives Back site with your name and organization.

I hope to see you there!

New USPTO Pilot Program to Accelerate the Examination of Green Technology Patent Applications

Patrick Richards — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:55:01 +0000

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has announced a new pilot program to accelerate the examination of certain “green” technology patent applications. The Patent Office’s release is provided here.

Effective December 8, 2009, the first 3,000 pending patent applications related to specifically identified green technologies for which a petition is filed are eligible to be accorded special status and given expedited examination. The broad categories of eligible patent applications are: alternative energy production, energy conservation, environmentally friendly farming, environmental purification, protection or remediation. The accelerated examination of these patent applications is intended to reduce the pendency of eligible patent applications by an average of one year – from 40 to 28 months from date of filing to the final decision. Additional details regarding the program are provided in the Federal Register.

Richards Patent Law is proud to work with a number of clients who focus on innovative green technologies and other environmentally friendly and sustainable inventions. If you are interested in learning more about the pilot program or any of the patent services I offer, please contact me for a free consultation.