James L. Arrasmith Lawyers, want to be a Justia Connect Pro too? Learn more ›
answered on May 2, 2023

To find out if your idea is already patented, you can conduct a patent search. You can start by using the United States Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) patent search tool, which is free to use. This tool will allow you to search for existing patents by keyword, inventor name, patent... View More

You can pay an patent attorney or patent agent to perform a patentability search. Often they will tee up the search scope and outsource the search to professional searchers with lower hourly rates.

NOTE -- even after a search, your idea may not be patentable as someone may have filed a... View More

If there's a new improvement to it that is patentable, there may be an opportunity for a new patent application. However resubmitting an old application as-is that's already published, with nothing more, generally won't work.

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I am a registered U.S. patent... View More

Stephen E. Zweig Lawyers, want to be a Justia Connect Pro too? Learn more ›
answered on Feb 1, 2022

I am not sure if this applies to your situation or not. However many products from the 80's and 90's, unless covered by trademarks (such as the product's name or logo) or copyrights (for example, graphics), are now "public domain." In such cases, anyone might be able to... View More

If you are appointed Personal Representative of his estate you can and should obtain information from the Registry of Motor Vehicles about the title and transfer information. If assets or monies were stolen from the estate then you may be advised to pursue the parents depending upon whether the sum... View More

Nothing HAS to be patented. But any "new, useful, and nonobvious" machine, article of manufacture, process, composition of matter, or improvement on those things may be eligible for a "utility patent." While a utility patent protects the way an article is used and works (35... View More

Sorry, I wish I had better news, but you very likely are not entitled to any money from the patent.

Generally, when you are a Graduate Research Assistant, you are getting paid, either as a salary or in lieu of tuition, to do research. You were getting paid. As with any university in the... View More

Well, if you are working on a classified material, such as a mass driver, then you need to talk to your group leader, manager or director. They will be able to provide the proper channels to determine if it is in the best interest of your sponsor to apply for such a patent, and what you need to do... View More

Depends

There are a lot of factors in play

Has that compound being used before for something?

Has it been in existence before?

Did it have other elements that can be considered generic? so that a previous compound may be used if minor changes are made

Is it... View More

The costs vary greatly, but generally to a patent costs about as much as a car: anywhere from about $10,000 to over $30,000.

The procedure is easy: go see a lawyer who specializes in computer software patents. He'll walk you through the process.

Very likely you are not. It is very possible the people in the video have some rights over the video.

You may have to reach out to the people live or their estate and get permission from them.

You should consult with an attorney, and also talk with an insurance company that... View More

A patent that is issued is a legally a personal property, so that it can be inherited just like money, a car, or an art collection. If your great-grandfather owned patents, then it would have passed onto the appropriate heir (either by will or intestate).

The problem with inheriting... View More

Rajesh,

This is surprisingly difficult to fix as you signed the original oath on July 7, 2003 as Rajesh Vaidheswarra. Most likely this was the spelling used throughout the process.

Ideally, you would have corrected this problem in July of 2003. Now the USPTO believes there is an... View More

That is a very common question. Many times inventors get side-tracked, or funding dries up, or they simply forget.

The good news is that provisional patent applications are not published, so once the provisional patent application expires and is not used as a priority document, it is as if... View More

This is a very question frequent question in R&D. It rare that a company has a project, comes up with a product that is optimized. Normally, researchers come up with a viable product, which is then refined to make the product better, and which can be sold.

The answer is, yes, an... View More

I responded to your e-mail address.

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

D816941 is a design patent for the ornamental appearance of an Animal Bathing and Grooming Glove. Design patents are not published as applications so this is an issued patent.

You can find the patent at https://patents.google.com/patent/USD816941S1/en?oq=D816941. Design patents are... View More

This situation merits working with patent attorney to sort out the current status and possibly to intervene to help the Patent Office reject or at least narrow the claims.

As a preliminary step, you may want to check on the status of the pending application using USPTO Public PAIR.... View More

Yes, he has several dozen patents related to lithium, including extraction process from brine.

Some (but not necessarily all) of the patent applications that he is listed as an inventor are found in the following list:... View More