This is not an isolated case. Many people of limited means are encouraged to file patent applications that are on a path to nowhere by invention promotion firms. The federal government is aware of these firms. You can file a complaint, and find other useful information via the links at this... View More

People file patent applications with improvements on previously patented inventions every day. The Bell patent on the telephone was issued more than 100 years ago. People are still patenting improvements to the telephone.

Now you may have to worry about whether the earlier patent is... View More

This question came to me a patent (invention) question. It is not.

You may want to list this as a criminal law question as the police are there to enforce criminal laws such as trespass or violation of an order to not be someplace.

I hope that this helps.

Kevin E Flynn

Mr. Mlynek is correct.

However, that does not close the door on patenting an improvement to the old device. But the improvement needs to be enough to merit a patent. In other words, the change needs to be sufficiently inventive that it would not be an obvious change to a person of... View More

I do not think it is a good idea for you to draft and file a patent application without the help of a patent attorney. Some people do so and the USPTO can be somewhat generous in helping DIY applicants but there is a great risk that you do not know what you do not know and you will lose important... View More

I give talks to entrepreneurs all the time. One of my slide sets emphasizes that there is no harm from getting in contact with a patent attorney early. But there can be serious consequences to waiting until it is too late to preserve both US and non-US rights.

So reach out to a patent... View More

This question was posted to Patent Attorneys that deal with inventions. I assume that you meant to post to attorneys that deal with parents. You should post again but seek input from attorneys that do "Estate Planning" as these folks handle wills and challenges to wills.

Good... View More

This is not a copyright question. Technically, this is not a patent question. To get a license from an owner of a patent, you are getting a form of a contract. Contracts are an issue of state law so you should find a business attorney that writes licenses and contracts.

The owner of the... View More

Justia did not pass along the patent. But in general, you can use USPTO Public PAIR to check on what has happened to a patent. https://portal.uspto.gov/pair/PublicPair

Note that the USPTO is fairly liberal in allowing a patent owner to say that failure to pay a maintenance fee was... View More

I am so sorry that you are having this problem but you posted your question to PaTent attorneys that deal with inventors and inventions.

You need to post this question to people in your state that know the relevant material. I suggest that you start with Family Law. There may be other... View More

While a few patent applications are allowed the first time that the Examiner reviews the claims, it is very common for a patent attorney to review the rejections from the Examiner and do one of three things.

1) Explain to the examiner in the next written response, why the arguments made by... View More

I love for all my clients to read some patents in their space. That way they know what level of detail goes into a patent. Here is a link to my slide set that teaches entrepreneurs how to use free tools to look for relevant patents and applications. https://bit.ly/Patent__Searching

The... View More

An inventor is someone that contributed an inventive suggestion that ended up in the issued claims for a patent. So it is not necessarily a list of the people that worked the hardest on the project.

Just as there are different skills between an architect and a bricklayer, a project to... View More

Unless you are seeking to obtain a patent on a similar system or invalidate the patent for the existing system, this is not a patent issue for a patent attorney.

I hope that you find what you need.

Kevin E Flynn

Your question in a general sense is does it matter whether or not you have seen a patent for an idea before you start selling a product covered by that patent.

The answer is that you are liable for patent infringement to the owner of the earlier, unexpired patent whether or not you had... View More

An expired patent cannot be used to obtain royalties or to block the actions of others. But the patent is not worthless. It has been added to the body of knowledge of people. This was part of the deal for obtaining a limited period of exclusivity. The patent may be used to help teach others how... View More

Kudos to you for wanting to do the right thing. The answer is that you need to work with a patent attorney to do a freedom-to-operate (sometimes called clearance) search. The attorney or a contractor working for the attorney will look for patents that that have not expired or published... View More

I would start by finding out who owns the patent. Most patents are assigned from the inventors to a company. Sometimes a patent is then assigned several times after that. The issued patent lists the assignee (owner) as of the date that the patent issues but does not get updated.

I would... View More

First, I want to congratulate you for being a teacher (the world needs great teachers) and congratulate you for wanting to do the right thing with respect to patent rights.

The process on JUSTIA did not convey the number for the patent of interest to the patent attorneys. But here are... View More

This is not really a patent question. This is a question under state law of whether your grandfather assigned the invention to another party. If he assigned his rights, you have nothing to license to anyone. If there was a contract, then maybe there is room to regain the rights.... View More