Get free answers to your Patents (Intellectual Property) legal questions from lawyers in your area.
Can I petition the patent office, pay the fees, and recapture the abandoned patent (for lack of fee payment) ? Are there other remedies? I am the inventor of over 25 US patents. I filed the last patent application pro se. It was granted without questions from the examiners.
answered on May 11, 2024
Regaining patent rights after the assignee has failed to pay maintenance fees can be challenging, but there are a few potential avenues to explore:
1. Petition to Accept Delayed Payment: If the maintenance fee payment window has not been closed for too long (usually within 24 months of the... View More
Lot of people are selling different versions of a selfie stick, how are they able to even though there is a patent?
answered on Feb 25, 2024
When a product like a selfie stick has a patent, it means that the original inventor has exclusive rights to make, use, or sell the invention for a certain period. However, people can sell different versions of a patented product by ensuring their versions do not infringe on the specific claims of... View More
Lot of people are selling different versions of a selfie stick, how are they able to even though there is a patent?
answered on Feb 24, 2024
I do not know what patents cover selfie sticks, but generally when someone says that they have a patent for product, they typically have a patent on only certain kind of a product.
So, for hypothetically, a "selfie stick patent" may claim a selfie stick that attaches the camera... View More
answered on Nov 18, 2023
For accurate and up-to-date information, it's recommended to directly search the USPTO database or engage a professional who can provide detailed insights into the patent status of this particular product.
answered on Jan 24, 2023
One good way to research this is to use patents.google.com, type in various relevant keywords, and see what you find. For example, try: https://patents.google.com/?q=helmet+baseball+cap&oq=helmet+in+baseball+cap and various other variations.
I have good reason to believe my truck was modified for patents
answered on Jul 7, 2021
You could consult with an attorney.
To be clear you believe your truck had aftermarket parts installed in order to somehow get a patent on the truck?
answered on Jul 3, 2021
Check google patents.
If the patent has not published or granted it won't be found.
Consult with an attorney.
I understand there are many products that use saliva based delivery (pouch) methods. Are all of these required to gain permission or establish patents to market and sell these types of products?
Thank you
answered on Jun 2, 2021
depends
consult with an attorney
you would need to look and see if there are any patents associated with that in the jurisdiction where you plan to make, sell or import
I want to contact someone named Eric Johnson to ask if I can buy one of his patents
answered on Oct 4, 2020
You should consult a patent attorney to discuss potential sale/assignment/licensing of a patent. There may be publicly available pieces of information that can point to the correct contact information for an inventor, and a patent attorney will help craft a contract to protect your best interests... View More
I looked up his patent and it is for something different but one piece could be in his patent? Not sure where to go from here.
answered on Feb 20, 2020
Step one is you need to work with a patent attorney to dive deeply into the patent and make a detailed comparison of the independent claims to your product. This is often called a claim chart and this work is called clearance or freedom-to-operate analysis.
If you clearly do not have one... View More
I have been wanting to propogate succulents for the experiment and fun of it. I also hoped to sell any babies that might be successful for some extra money. However while I did some research I learned that their where certain patent laws that made it illegal for some succulents. What succulents am... View More
answered on Aug 13, 2019
This is a very nuanced area of law. I do not even dabble in this area. I thought I could provide some self-help resources though.
If you are wondering whether a type of plant has been patented, you will need to search the patent databases for whether the patent has been registered.... View More
Pantent #6093224 inventer Gary T Jones
answered on Nov 14, 2018
It is not clear what your question is (maybe you submitted the form before typing the full question?). The USPTO shows "Gary T. Jones" as the first named inventor on U.S. patent no. 6,093,224. The abstract for that patent does not include any names.
answered on Sep 21, 2018
I am posting the answer here in case others have the same question. I am not aware of a way to update the name of an inventor on an issued patent. It does not seem to be a good fit for a certificate of correction as there was not an error to correct.
To the extent that you are an... View More
in China for several years and has been sold throughout the world for several years before this patent was issued in the United States. Would I be able to sell this product even though there is a patent in the United States? If I could prove that the product already existed and was being sold... View More
answered on Jul 14, 2018
The question is not whether the product has been sold before the patent was ISSUED, but whether the product has been sold before the patent was APPLIED FOR. Remember, it takes several years from the application date to the issue date.
But, if you could prove that the product claimed has... View More
answered on Jul 2, 2018
It is possible to sell an idea without a patent or at least a pending application but it is very difficult. Without patent protection, other people will be able to make the same product without paying you so the company that pays you is at a disadvantage unless there was some big advantage to... View More
if a sound, like the one used for an ambulance is made from scratch, to be sold as a sound effect, but is not the exact same, would this infringe on copyrights if such a sound were copyrighted? and if it weren't copyrighted could this in anyway break the law?
answered on May 10, 2018
I do not see a problem with respect to patents for having an ambulance sound. While there are patents with respect to sirens, most deal with detecting a siren or other sophisticated interactions. https://patents.google.com/?q=siren&oq=siren
Chances are that your process to create a... View More
If so, which is which?
answered on Mar 24, 2018
The date of the patent is the date at which the patent starts to be enforceable. This is called the "issue date" or "grant date".
The day that you apply for a patent is the "filing date". It takes many months or years from the filing date to the issue date.... View More
answered on Feb 15, 2018
You either have to do a patent search yourself, or hire a patent attorney or a patent searcher to do it for you.
As with anything, obviously someone who does searches for his/her living will do a better job than you can, but many people do searches themselves to do a good enough job for... View More
I am asking about US 7185386 B2 (paint brush with interchangeable bristles). I can find this on the market, but I love the idea. I am an actual painter with a marketing background and I feel capable of selling this product. What can I do? Can a patent be transferred? SHould I contact the patent... View More
answered on Feb 7, 2018
Step 1 is to ensure that the patent is still in force.
Go to Public PAIR https://portal.uspto.gov/pair/PublicPair Put in the patent number (check the box to switch for patent number rather than patent application). https://portal.uspto.gov/pair/PublicPair
The record shows that... View More
answered on Jan 31, 2018
It is not easy. Many people make a living doing patent searches.
One way is to do a keyword search on the USPTO website
http://patft.uspto.gov/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html
Try various Boolean searches.
One big problem that you will run into is that there are so... View More
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