Posts by Stephen B. Schott
Obama The Troll Slayer: The White House’s Patent-Related Executive Actions.
President Obama wants to vanquish patent trolls. His 2014 State of the Union address called for Congress to “pass a patent reform bill that allows our businesses to stay focused on innovation, not costly and needless litigation.” Not satisfied with leaving reform in Congress’s hands, the White House recently announced executive actions targeting patents and patent…
Read MoreWhat Is A Design Patent And How Is It Different Than A Utility Patent?
An Article in Schott, P.C.’s IP Law For Start-ups SeriesBy Stephen B. Schott The patent that you think of when you hear the word patent is a utility patent. But it’s not the only kind of patent that there is. 5% (over 30,000) of all patent applications filed per year are design patent applications. 0.1% of all patent…
Read MoreThe Layman’s Guide To Reading Patent Claims: Can A Hippopotamus Infringe A Patent?
An Article in Schott, P.C.’s IP Law For Start-ups SeriesBy Stephen B. Schott Patent claims are all-out assaults on the English language. It’s not bad enough that they are technical. It’s not challenging enough that passive use pervades technical writing. And it’s not brutal enough that the US Patent and Trademark Office has a pro-obfuscation rule about…
Read MoreThe Top Dog Of FAQs: “Can I Patent My Recipe?”
By Stephen B. Schott My mom challenged me to eat a hot dog with peanut butter on my 8th birthday and I did. It’s delicious and we call it a “nutty dog.” She found the recipe in a cookbook, so it is not a new idea. But the thinking that lead to this Frankenstein’s monster food…
Read MoreWhy You Should File A Provisional Patent Application, Especially If You’re A Start-Up.
An Article in Schott, P.C.’s IP Law For Start-ups SeriesBy Stephen B. Schott [email protected] Yesterday I heard this conversation between a venture capitalist and a start-up company with an excellent idea. VC: “It’s a crowded market with lots of competition. Do you have patent protection?”Start-up: “No, not yet.”VC: “But you have some pending patent applications?”Start-up: “No, we wanted to…
Read MorePatent Law Basics: What Is A Provisional Patent Application?
An Article in Schott, P.C.’s IP Law For Start-ups SeriesBy Stephen B. Schott Provisional patent applications are confusing. They don’t mature into patents. But they kind of do. The US Patent and Trademark Office doesn’t review them like they do a nonprovisional patent application. But they still must meet strict legal requirements or they are useless. And…
Read MoreDemystifying the Final Office Action: 7 Options for Responding to a USPTO Final Office Action
By Stephen B. Schott When the US Patent Office named the final office “final,” it made a mistake. In Japan, a final rejection is truly final. It’s the end of the line. But here in the US, our “final” office action is just an action that opens up several options for response. I put together…
Read MoreStart-Ups: Get A Patentability Opinion To Help Raise Money
An Article in Schott, P.C.’s IP Law For Start-ups SeriesBy Stephen B. Schott “I need money.” That’s a common complaint among technology start-ups. There are many ways to get money and one tool for convincing investors of any size to invest in your start-up is by securing a patentability opinion. What is a patentability opinion? A patentability…
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