Get free answers to your Patents (Intellectual Property) legal questions from lawyers in your area.
Just to tell you: I am no longer employed due to brain and spinal damage from being run over by a truck in 2018. (60% blind, memory damage, constant pain in back and legs, using a walker wherever I go, lethargy from the pain, insomnia)
I am curious about doing this as a hobby activity. I... View More 
answered on Oct 8, 2024
Sure, you can file a patent application, and there are plenty of help out there for pro se inventors. One of the best books on how to do this is "Patent It Yourself" by David Pressman from NOLO Press.
However, it is not easy to write a patent application, and it is even harder... View More
just curious.
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answered on Aug 25, 2024
Yes, the U.S. government can legally take a company's patent under certain circumstances. This process is known as "eminent domain for patents," where the government can seize intellectual property if it's deemed necessary for public use. However, the government must provide... View More
Do patents expire?
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answered on Jul 2, 2024
Yes, patents do expire. To answer your questions:
1. Patents expire after a set period of time from their filing date:
- Utility patents (the most common type) expire 20 years from the earliest filing date of the application.
- Design patents filed on or after May 13, 2015... View More
I’ve received an email from what I believe is a legitimate law firm stating I have an infringement complaint against me. The email links to a site hosting documents that look like court documents. The complaint appears to be that a product I’ve been selling is infringing on a design patent that... View More
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answered on Mar 14, 2024
It depends. Email service is not typically valid in Arizona. However, a federal district court can serve anyone in the United States based on the rules of the state where the court sits. So if for example you were sued in a Florida federal district court (as might happen for patent infringement... View More
I am looking to create a startup company, but there is a product that is patented and there seems to be no way around it. I am looking into ways to improve what is already out there or even use the product with my own twist in a legal fashion. The product patent is for dissolvable edible pods which... View More
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answered on Sep 2, 2021
It probably is a good idea to talk to a patent attorney. The claims may not be as comprehensive as you think. Alternatively, the patent prosecution history may show specific gaps in coverage. Other information, such as expiration dates, ownership, and the like, may also be helpful.
Family patents include "Grass Cutter," (original lawnmower), Time-controlled release valve (for fire extinguishers and irrigation systems), and medical valve for oxygen tanks. It appears that our family has owned the patents for quite some time and a friend of ours mentioned that we may... View More
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answered on Aug 17, 2021
To start with, you could look these various patents up on Google patents and see which ones have expired, which are abandoned, and which may need maintenance fees. You can do this by looking at https://patents.google.com .
You can also get some idea of which patents have already been sold... View More
I made a crocheted design of the famous reversible octopus that I was hoping to sell but was told I couldn’t because the design is patented. But when I look on Etsy and Amazon, there are plenty of sellers selling products that are identical. How is that legal?
answered on Mar 9, 2021
Maybe the patent owner licensed the design to a number of sellers. Or maybe the sellers buy the product from the patent owner. Or maybe the sellers on Etsy ignore the Cease and Desist letters. Of maybe the person who told you about that you could not sell it is wrong.
In any case, if... View More
answered on Feb 11, 2021
Congratulations on starting a new business!
As you know, there are many legal hurdles that you need to deal with, including registering the business name, incorporation, zoning, health, hours of operations, employment, taxes, etc. You are to be commended that you are concerned about... View More
I have seen many of these types of ice cube bags sold on amazon, but I want to clarify if I can fill them with my liquid and sell them.
answered on Jan 7, 2021
To conduct a worthwhile patent analysis, please provide an experienced patent attorney with product photos or samples along with the patent(s) at issue.
Your question is unclear if you are making, using, selling, or offering for sale a patented invention.
It's a safety system for school buses
answered on Jul 6, 2020
You can learn more about filing a provisional patent application at uspto.gov - there are many resources for inventors there. If you wish to do this yourself, you can use efs-web as an unregistered e-filer. Your documents should be in pdf format. Look into the requirements for micro or small... View More
Is it bad form in a patent drawing to show the invention being used so there is an understanding of how it works? I have a very simple tool to draw and it is probably not clear from just a drawing of the tool how it is used on a workpiece. If the drawings demonstrate the method of using the tool... View More
answered on Aug 5, 2019
The reason why we have drawings in a patent is to communicate to the reader what the invention is all about. The drawings are there to support the claims. Whatever you claim, make sure that it is fully supported in the description and drawings.
I think that you are correct that many times... View More
answered on Aug 3, 2019
Or is a red flag to Examiners so try to avoid it. Sometimes you cannot.
Not sure where you are getting the verbiage "or combination thereof" . That is not a standard way to write a claim. A quick search of US patents found many thousands with the word "combination"... View More
i have a product design that another company has marketed first. I can prove that I came up with the idea first. The other company's product does the exact same thing in the same way, only I am unsure as to it's inner mechanics making it do so. can that be enough for the other company to... View More
answered on Apr 7, 2019
It does not matter whose idea it was. A person gets a patent on an invention, not on the idea. They could have come up with the idea subsequent to you, or they could have just copied your idea, it does not matter, you do not have any rights to protect.
The only way that you could sue them... View More
I forgot to pay the fee
answered on Dec 9, 2018
There are a lot of fees in the process. However, if the fee that you mean is the periodic maintenance fee to keep an issued patent from expiring, you may be in luck.
Many new patent owners forget to pay this fee. If the failure to pay this fee was unintentional as you forgot that you... View More
I contracted with him in San Diego in the early 2000s.
answered on Jul 25, 2018
I don't know, but he is no longer listed as a patent agent or a patent attorney on the USPTO's Office of Enrollment and DIscipline's website. https://oedci.uspto.gov/OEDCI/practitionerSearchEntry
This would indicate that he is no longer available for business.
My husband is applying for a patent and my in-laws are funding it. I do not get along with my in-laws and they want me to sign a disclaimer of rights or they won't help. They say it's just a formality for the patent application and llc. I think its a way to cut me off from any future... View More
answered on Apr 30, 2018
This really has to do with inheritance rights. I've never encountered it in my practice as a patent attorney. And yes, it sounds like they want to cut you off from any future profit.
I am not suggesting that they are somehow evil people that try to cut off their daughter in law.... View More
The original patent application is over 20 years old.
answered on Apr 22, 2018
No. If it was published, then anyone can use it. Nobody can get a patent because (a) it is not new, and (b) they did not invent it.
I have jars that are filled with dirt, vermiculite, and perlite. They are made "sterile" by pressurizing them. Before sterilization, there are holes nailed into the lids of eight ounce Ball Jars and foil placed. They are then ready for innoculation after pressure cooking.
answered on Mar 18, 2018
Yes, there are patents on mushroom growing substrates. I remember running across some of these many years ago.
But dirt, vermiculite, and perlite are substances that have been used in horticulture for generations. Sterilization of growing substrates has also been done for decades. Based... View More
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answered on Nov 6, 2017
So sorry, your question was posted to PATENTS / INVENTIONS by mistake, you may want to change the topics associated with this question. I hope you find the answers you need.
Kevin
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