March 7, 2010
Patent Reform Act Moving Forward
Well, I’ve heard this one before – the Patent Reform Act is moving forward. This is something that has been, allegedly, moving forward for years. The article that I read noted that patent reform has been introduced in each of the last three Congresses. Does this one have a chance of passing? There’s really no telling.
Senators Leahy and Hatch have been big proponents of patent reform over the years. I appreciate that they realize the importance of intellectual property. Over the years, the various versions of the patent reform act have attempted to address issues such as moving to a “first to file” system, damages, and third party comments on pending patent applications. This proposed bill addresses those issues, as well as others allowing the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to set fees in an attempt to address the backlog problem.
February 22, 2010
Bill Gates Calls for Innovation
In a recent article posted by Bill Gates, he noted that in order to reach certain goals for reduction of CO2, insulation is not the answer, but rather through innovation. The goals referenced by Mr. Gates include a 30% reduction in CO2 by 2025 and an 80% reduction in CO2 by 2050. As Mr. Gates points out, the 2050 goal is likely not attainable – not without major innovation.
The issue, as I see it, is that this is a global goal. It is tough to have a global goal, however, if every country is not on board. If that is the case, then we must look to the law of averages. If only one of the major CO2 producing nations is not completely on board, then there is no way that the goal can really be attained. That is, not unless the remaining countries take their CO2 production down to nearly 0%. Unfortunately, there are some greenhouse gas emissions that we just cannot stop. As noted in the article, this may include, for example, the decaying process, making fertilizer, etc. So what does that mean for the USA? I believe it means a major shift in our transportation and energy production industry. It means that we will need a complete shift away from the archaic idea of burning fuel, i.e., petroleum, coal and even natural gas, in order to generate power.
January 27, 2010
The Problem with the PTO Pilot Program to Accelerate Examination of “Green Technologies”
Back in December, the USPTO announced a pilot program to accelerate examination of patent applications directed to “green technologies.” Oddly enough, this announcement came just before the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Denmark. I will refrain from ranting about the politics of this, but I only wonder if the USPTO will decide to accelerate examination of those technologies that may have an impact on any other upcoming international conferences. I think national defense and anti-terrorism are pretty big topics nowadays, but I still have not seen anything in the Federal Register about accelerated examinations of patent applications in those fields. Well, enough of that.
The pilot program aims to decrease the pendency time for patent applications in certain green technologies. The current pending time (i.e., number of months between filing an application and receiving a final decision), according to the article, is about 40 months – with an average of 30 months passing before a first Office Action is mailed to the applicant. By my count, that’s not bad compared to several other technological fields. I represent some clients that have patent applications which have been pending for going on four years. The pilot program is open to the first 3000 patent applications related to green technologies in which a proper petition is filed.
January 20, 2010
Space Coast Business Magazine prints one of our articles
We put together a quick overview (800-words-or-less) about patents and copyrights for Space Coast Business Magazine, and they ran with it in their January issue. You can read the full text here
January 12, 2010
What type of patent application is right for me?
Generally speaking, a patent is a grant, by the government, for a fixed period of time, of the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, or offering for sale an invention as defined in the claims of a patent. (For more information, check our our Overview of U.S. Patent Protection.) Of course, the first step in the patent process is filing a patent application. There are several different types of patent applications that can be filed by an inventor. What follows is a brief outline of the types of patent applications that can be applied for, as well as the differences between them all. The patent applications that will be discussed below are Provisional Patent Applications, Utility Patent Applications (sometimes called Nonprovisional Patent Applications), Design Patent Applications, and Plant Patent Applications.
January 5, 2010
Paris Hilton continues her IP education… from the defendant’s chair
After getting the go-ahead from the Ninth Circuit earlier this year on her “That’s Hot!” trademark infringement case against Hallmark, hotel heiress Paris Hilton has apparently signed up (although unwillingly) for another intellectual property lesson. This time, she’s going to be studying design patents. Her professor, a footwear designer called Gwyneth Shoes, claims that its design patent has been infringed by Ms. Hilton’s kicks. (Source.)
If you look closely, you can see the heart.
Design patent protection is similar to copyright protection, in that the alleged infringer is in trouble if they’ve produced something that is substantially similar to the protected design. However, while the government simply gives out copyright registrations, upon request, design patents are only awarded after an examination is done and it has been determined that the proposed design is novel (i.e., no one else has previously designed a product like this).
Gwyneth’s design
The prize for successfully prosecuting a design patent application? Complete national monopoly for 14 years. Since copyright protection lasts for a minimum of 70 years, some people would argue that a design patent is hardly worth the effort and cost. The problem with that logic is that copyrights come with a whole boatload of limitations, leaving room for potential defendants to get away free. As a key example, fair use and independent creation are no defense to a charge of design patent infringement. Just ask Paris Hilton, who undoubtedly has just learned about this little wrinkle from her attorney.
January 3, 2010
New Precedential Software Decision from the Board of Patent Appeals and Inteferences
As our readers know, we are anxiously awaiting the decision from the U.S. Supreme Court in the Bilski case (coverage here and here). This attorney, for one, is very much so wondering what will happen to software patents. I’ve made it no secret that I believe that patents should be granted to software based inventions. I think this would provide incentive for the industry to come out with more innovation. Look at what software has done for us just in the field of patents. It wasn’t more than 20 years ago that patent attorneys were dictating patents and secretaries were transcribing them on typewriters. It was about 10 years ago that the most common way for us to file our patent applications and our responses to office actions was to just mail them. I wonder when the patent office will catch up with the trademark office and send out Office Actions and other communications via email?
I am completely fine with the test set forth by the Federal Circuit in their decision in Bilski, but let’s not be too surprised if the Supreme Court tweaks it a little. To be fair, Bilski is technically not a software patent case. It does have ramifications on the software industry, but there are other industries that can be impacted by the Bilski decision. In my opinion, the § 101 argument will not be over until the courts finally come down with precedent in each of the affected technology areas. The areas that I think there will eventually be precedential decisions in are, of course, software, pharmaceutical and, very soon, pure business methods patents (which are all but dead anyway).
December 21, 2009
‘Tis the Season for Holiday Patents – Enjoy!
I was just a bit curious as to the types of patents that have been issued with some holiday themes, so I did a little search. The patents below are real patents that have been issued. Please enjoy and let us know what you think.
December 9, 2009
The Solution to the BCS Conundrum, Found at the Patent Office
If you follow college football at all, or alternatively, the circus act that we call Congress, you have probably heard the controversy about college football. It happened just this past weekend. Is it fair how the players of the championship game for the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) are selected? Since I live in Florida, and I am surrounded by Florida Gator fans, the answer is a resounding NO! Just take a look at this year – the University of Florida Gators have been the #1 team all year long, and University of Alabama has been #2 for most of the year. Both teams were undefeated, and both are in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). It’s hard not to say that the SEC was the toughest football conference this year – and this is coming from a guy who bleeds Wolfpack red (yes, it was a tough season) and generally roots for the ACC (except for Carolina).
UF was a victim, and Alabama was the victor, of the strength of the SEC. The two were undefeated this season and, as such, were forced to meet in the SEC championship game. Someone was coming out of that game with a loss and, unfortunately, it was Florida. When a team has been as dominant over the past several years as Florida has been, a loss like that was a tough pill to swallow.
December 4, 2009
New IP Bully Award Nominees
by Philip Zies
Major League Baseball – for opposing two applications filed with the PTO by Mattingly Hitting Products, Inc., Don Mattingly’s sporting equipment and apparel company, to register a logo (pictured below). MLB alleges a likelihood of confusion with its “Silhouetted Batter Logo” (source)
Are you likely to be confused?
Global Findability – for suing Summit Entertainment, the producers of the sci-fi flick, Knowing
Nic Cage, fretting over impending patent litigation
As always, feel free to sound off in the comments about your favorite IP Bully, or email us at tacticalip@gmail.com.
