Free Patent Searches

One of the primary things to do when a commercially viable idea hits the brain is to search for a patent for the concept. A patent allows for the conversion of the concept into a business and prohibits others from infringing on the idea. Commonly, patent searches through patent search offices entail some footwork as well as money.

To Crush Your Competition A Strong Patent Is Important -- Learn How And Why

Your patent, to survive a challenge by a competitor, must contain broad as well as narrow definitions of your invention. This article will teach one way of obtaining a strong patent.

To Successfully Enforce Your Patent Do Not Let Form Triumph Over Substance While Writing The Patent

You may have a fantastic invention and obtained a patent but you may fail to stop the infringer if the patent fails to meet any one of the many formality requirements of the patent laws

New Patent Bill; is It Worthy of Its PR?

Will the Senate be able to come up with a workable set of US Patent System rules to streamline the bottleneck in the United States Patent Office? Will these new rules help the technology industry move forward or will the laws simply be more of the same and further stifle innovation in this country. And even if we have new laws in our nation

Why A Patent Lawyer Can Be An Inventor's Best Friend

Some may think that brilliant men like Thomas Edison and Nicolai Tesla are rare these days but I know better. As a matter of fact I have a friend who is a certifiable genius inventor, inventing things like an engine that runs on tap water and a device that increases gas mileage by nearly 40 percent.

Working With A Patent Attorney

This article provides useful tips to aspiring inventors about the things to look for while hiring a patent attorney or a patent lawyer.

Basics Of Patent Law In India

Patent law has been formulated with an objective to promote and protect the inventions and methods. The object of granting a patent is to encourage and develop science, technology and industry. A patent can be defined as a grant of exclusive rights to an inventor over his invention for a limited period of time. The exclusive rights conferred include the right to make, use, exercise, sell or distribute the invention in India. The term of a patent is twenty years, after the expiry of which, the invention would fall into the public domain.

Competitive Intelligence = Patent Analysis + Patent Mapping

During the recent few years, there have been lots of activity and interest had been evolved in the area of patents. Patents are now being considered as one of the major source of technological and competitive information. Computer and internet technologies made it very easy to access these big informational sources. In our highly competitive business environment Patent awareness is a critical skill for business managers, engineers, researchers, inventors, consultants, or anyone involved in Patent issues. Patents are an important source of technological intelligence that companies can use to gain strategic advantage.

After KSR - Stronger Patents or Just Harder to Get?

Summary of consequences of recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex, Inc. et al. with the effect on strength of future patents and the effect on the difficulty in obtaining patents. Discusses the requirements of an obviousness rejection of patent claims and overcoming such a rejection.

Patent Citation Data for Competitive Intelligence

Patents are most comprehensive and well documented technological and competitive information source. The most important is that it freely accessible through internet. Studies of technological change constitute a field of growing importance and sophistication. The Citation analysis enables companies to establish the strategies by identifying desirable technology for faster time to market without potential risks.

Patenting System - A Historic Perspective

News items flooding from our daily information sources on patents, company law suits, intellectual property rights, and the like would make one believe that the system of patenting is quite young. On the contrary, history of patenting dates back to more than five hundred years.

Business Method Patents, Part I

Business method patents protect some very important things in your business. Since the Supreme Court’s decision in 1998 to grant patents based on business methods, the Patent and Trademark Office has been inundated with applications of this type. There is currently a four-year wait for patent application approvals. Before 1998, it was normally the assumption that a method of doing business could not be patented, and only a few property protections were in place. But in 1998, a landmark case between Signature Financial Group and State Street Bank and Trust, handed down a decision that a patent could be obtained based on a method of doing business. The dispute between these two companies involved a way to calculate concerning mutual funds, and the Supreme Court agreed that a particular method for calculating them could be patented under a business method patent. As the name implies, business method patents refers to the method or the way in which the company does business. Business method ....

Why Patent? Part II

What You Can Patent The USPTO have established a broad area of things on which it will consider granting patents. It is possible to patent anything that you have invented or designed, a new plant you have found, a business method, or an improvement of a previous invention. Items that have historically been granted patents are usually: • Items which are new to the general public. • Items which are considerably different than any other item which has received a patent. • Items which are practical. These are the types of inventions that the USPTO will generally look favorably on. Think of all the items used on a daily ....

California Child Support Laws, Golden State

Both parents have a legal duty to provide financial support for their children. In California, as in most other states, the court may order either or both parents to make regular child support payments that cover a child's living and medical expenses.