Utility patents
Utility patents are the best way to protect most inventions. But to get one, you have to convince a USPTO examiner that your … Read more
Stephen E. Zweig, PhD JD, Patent Attorney
Utility patents are the best way to protect most inventions. But to get one, you have to convince a USPTO examiner that your … Read more
Design patents must be non-obvious under 35 USC 103. But, because the examiner is visually comparing different drawings, this analysis can be … Read more
Don’t like having your own inventions used against you? Before your patent issues, consider filing a continuation application.
Do a prior art search before filing a patent. Anything that was sold or published more than a year ago, including your own work, can be used against you.
Want to see what an examiner might find? Try the USPTO Patent Public Search Tool. US patent examiners are a skeptical lot. … Read more
The USPTO can combine an absurdly large number of citations in obviousness rejections. The reasoning for this is based on a now obsolete court decision.