Florida Patents (Intellectual Property) Questions & Answers
Q: I manufacture a simple/basic toilet seat cover. Is it safe to manufacture without violating any patents.
If you are making something that has been around 20+ years, then you very likely will not infringe any patents. After all, that is the idea behind patents: after a patent expires (currently 20 years from the filing date of the patent application), then anyone can use whatever is disclosed in the... Read more »
Q: If a person doesn't have a will but has sole rights to a patent, does Florida probate assign the nearest kin the IP?
corporation with zero value but with license to use and shares owned by deceased also
The shares owned by the deceased, like any other property, go to the heirs as specified in the intestacy statutes.
Q: How often is a patent paid so it doesn't lapse
In the US, you need to pay for it 3 times after it issues: at 3.5 years, at 7.5 years, and 11.5 years.
For most patents outside of the US, the maintenance fees need to be paid on annual basis.
Q: Can a provisional patent that was not followed up with a non-provisional patent be used to claim prior art?
I processed a provisional patent in 2003 and did not follow up with a non-provisional patent due to cost. I made several operational prototypes from 2000-2007 of this device. I did discuss concept with an associate of a company. I just recently found out that In 2008, this company was granted a... Read more »
No. A provisional patent application that is not followed up with a non-provisional patent application is not published and does not result in a patent, and thus cannot serve as prior art against another patent case.
This is, unfortunately, a common problem. In your case, you cannot get a... Read more »
Q: My Grandfather is Warren Depperman, My name is Mario Depperman (Grandson). Does he own patients I could claim?
It sounds like you're asking for an intellectual property search for your grandfather. If you'd like to search this for yourself, you should search for his assignments in the databases at the USPTO (https://portal.uspto.gov/pair/PublicPair) and the Library of Congress... Read more »
Q: Hello!We are planning to start producing a waterproof fitted sheet in China, and we will sell the sheets in USA.
Should we ask China factory if they have a patent for the waterproof technology on the fabric, that they offer for our waterproof sheets? Or not?
Please, advise!
Thank you! Regards!
That depends. Patent rights are country-specific, and therefore your question involves whether that company has a Chinese patent as well as a US patent. (Patent rights generally protect making using or selling the patented technology.) If the Chinese entity has any patent protection domestically or... Read more »
Q: Is it possible to patent my robotics idea?
Well, you can't patent an idea, but you can patent your invention in the field of robotics.
Q: Hi, pl advise if these patents assigned to Sanuk USA D429555; D410137; D404894; 7234248 is applicable internationally?
These appear to be a set of three US design patents and one US utility patent. A United States patent is effective against people that make, use, sell, or offer to sell an infringing product in the US.
So a US patent can be used against a product made in China and imported into the US, or... Read more »
Q: Is it possible to patent something ..
for Example . Plant grow tent. If I took the basics of the tent , such as the building part of it and how it’s put together . However I changed the material used and actually used it for something totally different would I be able to patent that or stop other companies from selling the same thing ?
Your short question includes many key questions of patent law.
1) You do not infringe a patent. You infringe one or more specific independent claims (ones that start with no reference to another claim) and possibly some dependent claims (a claim that adds additional limitations to at least... Read more »
Q: Is a patent possible in this circumstance
If there is a product currently in the market place which has always been manufactured using either leather or traditional wood from trees and I start manufacturing this product but instead of using leather or lumber from trees, I use a different material, like bamboo, which gives the item a very... Read more »
Using your example with respect to a golf bag. If the sole difference was that you used off-the shelf sheets of flexible bamboo leather substitute and made a bag from that -- then you would have a hard time getting a utility patent. Substituting one product for another where the modifications to... Read more »
Q: Filed utility pAtent, June 20/3 (pub 20050033596) before Facebook. PTO refused to process it.
June 2003
I see that you filed a patent application and the PTO processed the application with an Office Action rejecting the claim as too vague to even examine. After a period of six months, the application was deemed abandoned. There is an indication in the file that the final notice was returned as... Read more »
Q: If I create something that would compliment or be used with a product that already has a patent, is that legal?
Yes, I think that your product could be patented.
Q: If an application was submitted but a patent was never granted, is there a way to use said application w/ modifications?
This happens all the time. If it is not granted, and there is no likelihood of it being granted, then whatever is disclosed in the patent application is dedicated to the public. Anyone can use whatever is in the published application with or without modifications.
Q: Is there any way to transfer ownership of an existing patent to someone else?
Yes. Ownership rights to a patent can be transferred by an assignment. Partial rights can be transferred by license.
Assignments should be recorded at the USPTO at https://epas.uspto.gov/. Prior recorded transfers can be seen at https://assignment.uspto.gov/patent/index.html for patent... Read more »
Q: Another company wants to buy my business, which has a patent associated with it for one of our products. If I move
forward on the acquisition, will I lose control over the patent?
It depends upon what you and the buyer agree to.
If the rights to the patent have been assigned into your company and you sell that company to buyer, then buyer owns the assets including your patent. You would not have the right to practice that patented invention without getting a... Read more »
Q: Am I able to assign patents in a will?
I do not see why not. A patent is a piece of property and moves with much of the same rules. The USPTO system for recording ownership has a selection for letters testamentary which is a document issued by a probate court to an executor. See https://epas.uspto.gov/
This is really a... Read more »
Q: If my ideas are connected, to I file one patent for them or separate ones?
If you have two inventions, then you will need to have two patents. If you have one invention, but it has several different flavors of the invention, then you can just file one patent application. Due to the costs, it is obviously beneficial to have everything in one patent application.... Read more »
Q: Is it possible to split a patent up, once it's been filed?
Yes, this happens all the time. This is often done because, under the US law, a patent has to claim only ONE invention, so if the claims are directed to several inventions, the Patent Office asks the inventor to select which of the claims the Patent Office should examine. The rest of the claims... Read more »
Q: How long does it normally take for the patent office to review a patent?
Congress has asked the USPTO examiners provide a first substantive review (Office Acton) within 14 months. If they do not do so, the patent owner can be awarded extra days at the end of the patent life to compensate for the slow response. This is called Patent Term Adjustment (PTA). Some patent... Read more »
Q: I am an Heir Apparent to Land Patents in Orange County Florida where Reedy Creek Improvement Districts is working.
I hold the Certified Copies of My Families Land that Disney World needed for Sewer Water and Utilities and Singh's Infrastructure.
Land Claimed and Settled and was intended for Inheritance. Favors to Politicians and Roy Disney. This Land was Patent and included all appurtenances (Minerals).... Read more »
No, in general you as "heir apparent" don't have choate rights to the land until the present owner has died.
A patent, in this context, would be equivalent to a deed, but from the federal government. As I understand your question, title is still held by the BLM (the US government). Is... Read more »
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