Patenting for Inventors

In this episode I go through a broad overview of patent litigation and briefly touch on the subjects of: the demand letter, the complaint, the answer, scheduling, discovery, claim construction/Markman hearings, summary judgment, trial, and appeals.

In this episode I go over a question found on the Internet about whether a U.S. patent can be enforced in China. More importantly, I go over some of the wrong and incompletely answers that people were giving online in response to the question.

The "Patenting for Inventors Podcast" is branching out. I've now created animated videos on YouTube for various patent topics.  Check out the Diament Patent Law YouTube channel and subscribe to be notified when new videos come out. Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5cTADZzJfPoyQMjnW-rtRw

The patent application process is expensive. You should know this upfront. In this episode I go over typical costs that you can expect for various stages of the patent application process and other typical costs for intellectual property matters such as copyrights and trademarks.

Signing a patent document should be easy, just print the document, take out a pen, sign on the line, print your name below, scan document, and submit to the patent office.  Not so fast! There are lots of ways to sign your document, and one way is with an s-signature. Learn how to sign by typing, and how to avoid all the pitfalls.

If you see a competitor's pending patent application and you're afraid that the examiner doesn't know that a reference exists that makes your competitor's so-call invention not new or obvious, then you can submit a third party preissuance submission. Learn how to submit documents to the USPTO for someone else's patent application file.

Learn how to speed up your patent application examination using the Patent Prosecution Highway. If you have allowable claims in a foreign patent or in a PCT application, you can get your application moved to the front of the line and save a lot of time.

Sometimes your attorney arguing to the patent examiner that your invention is patentable isn't enough, and the examiner might say that your attorneys arguments aren't supported by facts. When this happens you will need a Rule 132 Declaration, and oftentimes an expert to tell the patent examiner that your invention is truly inventive. Learn all about Rule 132 Declarations in this episode.

In this bonus episode of "Patenting for Inventors," I interview Eric Rose, founder and CEO of Pinnacle Product Innovation, Inc.  Eric is a product innovation and management consultant who provides entrepreneurs and established companies with the expertise to move new products from opportunity into marketplace reality. Eric has more than 35 years of experience in product innovation, product develop...

How do you know whether or not you're infringing someone else's trademark, or whether your trademark can be registered? It all comes down "likelihood of confusion." But how do you determine the likelihood of confusion? The United States Patent and Trademark Office uses what are called the DuPont Factors, a set of 13 factors to determine the likelihood of confusion between two marks.  Courts someti...

In this episode I go over a special way of claiming your invention by using "means plus function" claim language.  In this way of claiming your invention, you claim your invention not by physical structures, but by how the parts of your invention function.  Learn the pros and cons of using this approach and especially how to avoid the pitfalls of mean plus function claim language.

This is a crossover episode from the Products Business Show Podcast (Episode 78). Amy Wenslow is the founder of "Products to Profits," a business and product marketing company. I previously interviewed her on this podcast, and in this episode I am posting her interview of me.

A recent Federal Circuit case held that the figures in your design patent don't tell the whole story of what the scope of your protection is. The WORDS in a design application also matter.  This is important when you are deciding how to title your design patent application.  

If you file a patent application in a foreign country without permission from the government, you possibly could be fined $10,000 and go to prison for two years.  Learn how to avoid getting yourself in this situation by listening to this episode. 

The patent application process includes an enormous amount of deadlines that you have to keep in mind.  In this episode I go over the main deadlines and what you can do if you ever miss one.

Learn how to use statistical history at the Patent Office to your advantage so that your patent application will have a higher chance of allowance.  Learn how to write your application in a way so that it will end up in a high allowance art group, and then understand the statistical history of your particular patent examiner to see whether it's advantageous to conduct an interview, amend claims, f...

Do you find writing patent applications and interacting with the Patent Office fun and exciting! If you do, you might want to know what it takes to become a patent agent or patent attorney. In this episode I go over the process of how to become a patent agent or attorney.

In this bonus episode, I interview Amy Wenslow, founder and CEO of Products to Profits. Amy has decades of experience in international product development, sales, and management for consumer goods. She has helped her clients get their products into retail, QVC, and Shark Tank. She gives great advice on how to get your business to the next level.

In this podcast episode, learn the basics of what a patent license is, how it is different than an assignment, the different types of patent licenses, and what to keep in mind when entering a patent licensing agreement.

If you knew about someone else's patent but decided to make a product anyway that infringed that patent, you could be liable for triple the damages you caused under the doctrine of willful infringement.  Learn what willful infringement is and how to avoid it.

As an inventor, you will want to have trademarks for your business name and products. You might also want to make sure that you're protected throughout the world.  Learn one way to simplify getting world-wide trademark protection by using what is called the Madrid System.

Is there a simplified process to get near worldwide design patent protection? Learn about the closest thing we have to worldwide design patent registration by filing your design through the International Design Registration system under the Hague Agreement.

Who gets to be listed as an inventor on a patent? Do you have to physically make the product to be considered an inventor? Are engineers or manufacturers that just take your idea and figure out how to physically make it considered joint inventors with you? Answers to these questions and more are answered in this episode.

How words are defined in a patent can make the difference between patenting infringing and non-infringement. But how should words be defined if there's a fight about the meaning of a word in a patent? Should expert testimony be used? Dictionaries? Scholarly journals? The patent itself? Learn the hierarchy of sources for how words are defined in a patent to help you better draft your own patent app...

In this episode I go over a procedure in case someone steals your invention and then files a patent application before you do.  You can initiate a Derivation Proceeding so that the person that stole your invention is not rewarded with a patent.