Appeals, Bar Associations, Federal Circuit, General Counsel, Infringement, Litigation, Patents, Supreme Court, Validity

Why patent defendants hate East Texas (Part 1)

Why do patent defendants say such bad things about the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas?
I asked this question of Michael C. Smith, the noted lawyer and blogger from Marshall, Texas.

Published on January 31, 2017

Appeals, Business law, Federal Circuit, History, Infringement, invention, Litigation, Patents, Technology, Validity

Triumph of Genius

If you’re an inventor, engineer, or programmer—if you’re an entrepreneur, owner, or prime mover in a business—if you use technology to make better products for your customers—

Published on December 23, 2016

Appeals, Bar Associations, Claim Construction, Copyright, Federal Circuit, History, Information technology (IT), International, invention, Licensing, Patent Prosecution, Patents, Supreme Court, Technology, Validity

The Crisis in Software Patents

There is an international crisis in software patents. The critical, unanswered question is this: When are software inventions eligible for patent?Billions in corporate assets are

Published on November 16, 2016

Appeals, Claim Construction, Federal Circuit, General Counsel, Information technology (IT), Infringement, invention, Litigation, Patent Prosecution, Patents, Technology, Validity

How long should a patent claim be?

House counsel for a large software company has written an open letter to me titled Pursuit of Extremely Short Patent Claims. He has thrown down the gauntlet in a public forum.

Published on May 19, 2016

Bar Associations, Claim Construction, Constitutional Law, Counterfeiting, History, Infringement, International, Litigation, Patent Prosecution, Patents, Technology, Trademarks, Validity

How Young Turks Can Help Build Your IP Portfolio

Are you protecting your company’s patents, trademarks, and other intellectual property (IP) internationally? If not, you’re missing out!

Published on April 15, 2016

Appeals, Claim Construction, Federal Circuit, General Counsel, History, Information technology (IT), Infringement, International, invention, Litigation, Patents, Supreme Court, Technology, Validity

What everyone should know about Apple slide-to-unlock patent vs. Samsung

In the last inning of the Apple-Samsung game of smartphone hardball, Samsung slid into home. Apple failed to make the tag. “Samsung is safe!” cried the umpires.

Published on April 5, 2016

Infringement, International, invention, Licensing, Litigation, Patent Prosecution, Patents, Presidents, Technology, Trademarks, Validity

Billion Dollar Lego Patent

Fifty-eight years ago today, Kirk Godtfred of Lego filed his patent application on the basic building block, literally, of Lego’s billion dollar private fortune. Now, here’s the thing: A patent filed 58 years ago is long expired. The then-standard-17-year term ended in 1978. So how is it that Lego is still the only game in town?

Published on January 28, 2016

General Counsel, Information technology (IT), Infringement, Inter Partes Review (IPR), International, invention, Litigation, Patent Prosecution, Patents, Technology, Validity

What should you patent?

In this part 2 of a series on 4 W’s of patent, we will consider the what of patent, specifically, the reasons to focus on patenting inventions that are “in your wheelhouse.”

Published on January 13, 2016

Appeals, Claim Construction, Federal Circuit, General Counsel, History, Infringement, Inter Partes Review (IPR), invention, Licensing, Litigation, Patent Prosecution, Patent Reform, Patents, Supreme Court, Technology, Validity

Flash of Genius Revisited

Let’s consider three inventors who asserted patents against big companies and won. What does it take for a patent owner to succeed?

Published on December 16, 2015

Appeals, Claim Construction, Federal Circuit, Information technology (IT), Infringement, Inter Partes Review (IPR), invention, Litigation, Patent Prosecution, Patent Reform, Patents, Technology, Validity

More Words, Less Patent Clarity

The Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has announced that in her zeal to prevent substandard patents from issuing, she will insist on clarity of the record.

Published on November 7, 2015

Category: Validity