The Scramble for Software Patents

It takes years to conceptualize and develop software products, but not much effort to replicate the software if it has not been patented. A significant part of the intellectual property of a software product is exposed on the release of the new product. There is a direct and transparent relation between the functional aspect or features of software and the software's internal processes, which requires less effort to reverse engineer the product.

A Prologue to Mechanical Patents

Mechanical engineering perhaps has the oldest known inventions and patents. In fact, the word engineering is derived from a mechanical component. Mechanical engineering is a field that was conceived from natural laws of physics, where one engineers or manipulates these laws to his/her advantage. Mechanical patents non exhaustively and generally encompass utility tools invented constituting force, motion, mass, etc. It specifically encompasses all mechanical devices, contraption and interactions resulting in utilitarian instruments and apparatus, and where such interactions produce a action-reaction component that depends on the mechanism and nature of interaction. Further, all manufacturing processes, for example, metal working and treatment, printing, textile manufacturing, etc, are regarded under mechanical patents. Automobiles fall under mechanical patenting category, although one cannot be sure where a time travel machine, if invented, will be categorized. Of course, most mechanical engineering fields involve extensive use of computational and mathematical tools, physical laws and equations, but these fall under a different patenting category altogether.

Patent Technology Landscapes

Patent Technology Landscapes are the high-level visualization of large set of patent dataset specific to a particular technology. A patent landscape contains various other 2-D and 3-D technology graph to represent the various emerging, high-growth, mid-growth and low-growth areas in a particular technology, or across technology. It is helpful in extrapolating the concentration and trends of invention with large technology segments.

Patent Citation Data for Competitive Intelligence

Patents are most comprehensive and well documented technological and competitive information source. The most important is that it freely accessible through internet. Studies of technological change constitute a field of growing importance and sophistication. The Citation analysis enables companies to establish the strategies by identifying desirable technology for faster time to market without potential risks.

Patent Process Outsourcing in India - Emerging trends

Legal research and patent search are the hottest in a thread of outsourcing stuff increasingly sent to India. India is set to accomplish significant growth from its current share of 3-4 per cent to 6-7 per cent in the 250 billion dollar international market of Legal Process Outsourcing, by 2010.

Basics Of US Patent Law

The US Patent Law is based on the utilitarian reasoning, which is to promote the progress of science and useful arts in general public interest. An inventor gives an invention to the public and gets exclusive rights over it for a limited period of time. By granting exclusive rights to inventors for a limited period of time, the patent law provides incentive to invent, invest, design around and disclose which in turn encourages progress of science and technology.

Intellectual Property Law – Patent Law – Invalidity for Obviousness

Patent Law case. The case of Conor Medsystems Inc v Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc and Another [2007], concerned a patent for a medical device used in operations. The defendants owned a European patent for a device called a ‘stent’ used in coronary angioplasty. The 'stent' is inserted into a diseased artery during the procedure to keep the artery open. The claims in the patent concerned a 'stent' coated with a polymer loaded with the drug taxol. This drug inhibited the development of tissue which might result in the artery closing.

Patent Mapping

Patent landscape mapping (PLM) is a tool to analyze existing IP to determine the risks and opportunities of participating in a given technology and/or product space. It describes the technologies and alternative solutions that have been applied to a particular product category. PLM identifies competitors based on their issued and filed IP, and outlines their strategies, strengths and problem-solving approaches. PLM enables a company's scientific and commercial management teams to identify the best opportunities for investment in a selected product area, to create a strategy to protect their IP, and to establish differentiation with respect to their competitors.

New Patent Bill; is It Worthy of Its PR?

Will the Senate be able to come up with a workable set of US Patent System rules to streamline the bottleneck in the United States Patent Office? Will these new rules help the technology industry move forward or will the laws simply be more of the same and further stifle innovation in this country. And even if we have new laws in our nation

To Successfully Enforce Your Patent Do Not Let Form Triumph Over Substance While Writing The Patent

You may have a fantastic invention and obtained a patent but you may fail to stop the infringer if the patent fails to meet any one of the many formality requirements of the patent laws

Maximizing Your Experience with Patent Attorneys

Are you afraid of what it will cost you to obtain a patent? If you are an independent inventor, you might be. Large corporations may be able to shell out thousands of dollars without flinching, but when the money comes from a single income it’s a different story.

Patent Search

Getting a patent is one of the most necessary things to be accomplished once you have conceptualized an innovative idea. A patent confirms that the idea is original, and also secures that the creator’s idea will not be infringed in any manner. However, before acquiring a patent, the creator has to find out whether the concept has been patented before.

How to Protect Your Business with a Patent

Patents are legal protection of your great ideas, and many times it is the only thing that will prevent someone from stealing the rights to a product or invention. This article covers some of the basic principles that govern the Patent process and what some of your rights are, and how you can win a civil suit if your Patent is violated.

Publish Your Patent Application? ... or Not

Discussion of the reasons for and against publication of your patent application. Also, how to possibly accelerate examination of your patent application at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office

The Impact Of Patents On Everyday Life

Certain patent issues, such as decisions against eBay and RIM, can impact the everyday lives of ordinary people. Much of the discussion about patent reform has ignored key realities, such as the diversion of fees from the Patent Office to general revenue. Proposed reforms of continuation practice neglect to demonstrate that the reform, if implemented, would solve the acknowledged problem, the increasing backlog of unexamined applications at the Patent Office. Unless some resolution is implemented, the number of patent cases having potentially dramatic impact on the general population is likely to increase.