What a mess. Ideally you would have been working with an attorney and things would have been explained and put into writing.

Inventorship and ownership are not the same thing. If you work for IBM and invent something while at work, you are the inventor but IBM is the owner (often after... View More

Yes. There is no requirement to be a United States citizen or a United States entity.

The old rules were that you were not liable for infringing a patent until the patent issued. So you did not infringe a pending application.

That is still true but there is another form of damages called provisional rights (totally unrelated to provisional patent applications). The patent... View More

And what's your question?

In the United States, you need to file a patent application (and keep it alive) from before your first public sale, first public use, or before the one year anniversary of a public disclosure -- like posting it on your web site or YouTube. If your patent application was published, that counts as a... View More

Certainly.

The time for a utility patent application to receive a First Action On Merits (FOAM in PTO lingo) varies greatly. The FOAM is the first substantive comparison of the pending claims against the prior art and the various rules for how patent claims should be written. This is known as a Office... View More

You cannot update an issued patent to expand coverage. You can file a new patent application. The Bell patent on the telephone was filed more than 100 years ago and there are still lots of new patent applications on the telephone.

Keep in mind, that your new application will need to be... View More

This is a very common question.

Generally, if you just combine two known products, and they work together as one would expect them to, then no, it would not be patentable. So, to use your example, if you put a small radio in the handle of an umbrella so that you can listen to the radio... View More

Filing a patent application does not infringe on an earlier patent. You are free to file a patent application for an improved product that would infringe the earlier product. For example, you can patent a mountain bike that would infringe a more basic bicycle patent. The more basic bicycle... View More

There are patent claims, particularly in the medical space for kits. The kits may include a set of specialized tools to perform a particular minimally invasive surgical procedure. Usually, one or more elements in the kit are patentable and the purpose of the kit claims is to expand the reach of... View More

Yes, these types of formulations are patented all the time; I’ve prepared and prosecuted many patent applications a big client develops and manufactures petroleum additives, for drivetrain, engine oil, fuel additives and like. A couple of points.

(1) I like the fact that you have an... View More

A patent is a business tool. It is a way of helping you make more money than you would without it. And getting a patent is expensive.

But to answer your question, there are some rough guidelines to keep in mind:

(1) Your cashflow from the patented product should be significant.... View More

The short answer is yes you may obtain a patent for figuring out how to make something that was in a sci-fi movie.

Lots of things are suggested in sci-fi movies or in Jules Verne books that people later make a reality. If one of skill in the art could not make a submarine or a warp drive... View More

If what you sell can be readily reverse engineered, then you should get a patent. As time has gone on, more and more things can be discerned by using sophisticated tools to dissect a product and figure out how it works. If there is some chance that you could keep your good idea a secret while you... View More

$190

But if you earned over $169K last year then the fee will be $380. And if you are a big company then $760.

A U.S. utility patent is good for 20 years after filing.

On the other hand, a U.S. Design patent is valid for 14 years after issuance.

Your daughter needs to sue the "baby daddy" for custody.

I have seen a patent case that was awarded less than a dollar in damages as they wanted to make a point in a bigger set of battles.

As a practical matter, if you can show that you shipped them back to your supplier for a refund, then it is unlikely that they will chase you. We do not know... View More

Congratulations on your business venture. I hope that it is successful. Several of my clients are in the cosmetic industry as well.

You brought up a lot of points. Let me try to answer them in turn.

(1) If products from various brands have the same number, then it likely means... View More