Qualifying for a Patent
A patent is a document issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) that grants a monopoly for a limited period of time on the manufacture, use an... Read more
Patents
Obtaining Your Own Patent Should Be Easy
Oct 21, 1999
Many of us muse about the million-dollar idea: the invention that will make life easier for others and more lucrative for us. Most of these ideas never ge... Read more
Doing Away With a Bumbling Barrister
Oct 22, 1999
Q: Can I fire the lawyer who filed my patent application for me and have the patent office recognize me or some other lawyer as the perso... Read more
Patent Protection Too Costly, Some Firms Find
Sep 1, 1981
Faced with higher patent fees and the prospect of having to defend their patents in court, small innovative firms are finding other ways to protect their ... Read more
Protecting Your Intellectual Property the Affordable Way
By David E. Gumpert | Nov 9, 1999
The matter of legally protecting your intellectual property can get quite complex -- and expensive. You likely don't want to spend endless hours sorting t... Read more
Big Business Cries Foul
By Tom Richman | Nov 1, 1981
Small companies can patent government-funded inventions -- and the big guys don't like it. Read more
How Trademarks Differ from Patents and Copyrights
May 12, 2000
Trademarks are often mentioned in the same breath as copyrights and patents. While they do sometimes apply to the same thing, they're more often defined b... Read more
Five Ways To Protect Your Ideas
By Marvin Petry | Jan 1, 1982
These legal tools can keep you safe from marketplace predators. Read more
Hoyle Schweitzer's Decade Of Discontent
By Robert A. Mamis | Feb 1, 1982
When Windsurfing's president discovered that his product had already been invented, he applied for a new patent. But 20 competitors are betting it can't be e... Read more
The Easy Way to " Patent Pending" Status
Nov 1, 2000
Inventors know that inventions are often new solutions to old problems. An invention by Congress -- the Provisional Patent Application -- is a good exampl... Read more
Making Your Own Patent Drawings
Nov 1, 2000
You've invented something wonderful. You've prepared rough sketches and the written part of thepatent application yourself, saving thousands of dollars by... Read more
Internet Business Method Patents
By Rich Stim | Nov 1, 2000
A company that develops a new way of conducting e-commerce may be able to prevent others fromusing it for almost two decades. Since 1998, an increasing nu... Read more
The End of Stealth Mode for Patents
By Susan Greco | Dec 1, 2000
It will become harder for companies with new inventions to remain in "stealth mode," thanks to a major change in patent law that was scheduled to take eff... Read more
Higher Patent Fees Irk Small Inventors
Aug 1, 1982
The Reagan Administration's continuing effort to trim the federal budget has struck a raw nerve with American inventors. To pay for its overhead costs, t... Read more
How Arbitration Can Cool Patent Disputes
Sep 1, 1982
A patent sometimes isn't worth the paper it's printed on. Instead of protecting against competitors, it may result in costly court fights as a company su... Read more
Strategic Patenting
By Jennifer A. Redmond | Jul 24, 2002
What to consider when you're filing a patent and strategic decisions you'll need to make. Read more
Copycat And Mouse
By Lisa R. Sheeran | Apr 1, 1986
When you file a patent-infringement suit, about the only sure result is the size of the legal bill. Read more
Patently Wrong;
By Nell Margolis | Apr 1, 1986
ALLIED CORP. SPENT 13 YEARS and more than $75 million developing a metals-manufacturing process. But when 11 German and Japanese companies copied Allied'... Read more
How To Follow The Leader
There's nothing wrong with copying your competitors' good ideas -- provided you play by the rules Read more
Patent Pending
By Erik Larson | Mar 1, 1989
Story of an inventor's 30-year battle to gain control of patent rights to the laser technology he helped develop. Read more
Blind Ambition
By Edward O. Welles | Nov 1, 1989
Two companies fight over the patent rights to fiber optic HDTV (high-definition television). Read more
How to Write a Patent Application
By Alessandra Bianchi | Jul 1, 1993
Ordering information for How to Write a Patent Application by Jeffrey G. Sheldon. Read more
Patent Harmonization: Bad News for Inventors?
By Martha E. Mangelsdorf | Nov 1, 1993
Proposed changes in patent system could harm small inventors. Read more
Patently Unsafe: Inventors Beware
By Phaedra Hise | Nov 1, 1994
A look at what is being done to stop unscrupulous "invention-marketing firms" from preying on victims. Read more
National Research Council Suggests U.S. PTO Reform
April 2004 --With the growing prominence of technology in every industry, patents are playing an important role in our economy. A recent p... Read more
Patent Law Reform Proposed
By Priya Ganapati | May 10, 2005
May 10, 2005 --A bill that proposes amendments to the U.S. Patents Act is likely to be introduced in the House of Representatives before J... Read more
Owners Urged To Seek Patents
By Angus Loten | Sep 6, 2005
September 6, 2005 --Already swamped by applications, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has launched an outreach program to encourage mo... Read more
Small Businesses Largest Holders of Patents
By Daniel Del'Re | Oct 7, 2005
Oct. 7, 2005 --The small businesses that employ almost half of the country's workers may also be responsible for the nation's technical cr... Read more
Supreme Court Case Could Make it Harder to File for Patents in the Future
By Angus Loten | Mar 20, 2006
A seemingly provincial dispute between a clinical testing firm and a group of university researchers is said to have implications on the definition of intell... Read more
Study: Patents Failing Small Business
By Alexandra Zendrian | Feb 21, 2008
Under the current system, many patents fail to meet set standards, a small-business group says. Read more
U.S. Leading Global Patents
By Alexandra Zendrian | Mar 10, 2008
Patent applications hit a record high last year, an international IP group reports. Read more
Is Your Patent Safe?
By Kelly Faircloth | Feb 18, 2009
Supreme Court asked to hear a case that would determine whether business methods in any industry are patentable. Read more
Supreme Court Reexamines Patent Laws
By Alexandra Cheney | Jun 17, 2009
A reversal of the earlier decision that business methods are not patentable could likely change the face of business. Read more
Tips for Inventors
Nov 15, 2006
Nov. 15, 2006 -- Senior officials of the United States Patent and Trademark Office will be available online tomorrow at 2 p.m. (EST) to a... Read more
U.S. Leads in International Patent Applications
Mar 12, 2007
March 12, 2007 -- The United States accounted for more than a third of total patent applications filed with the World International Paten... Read more
Businesses Rally for Patent Law Reform
Mar 21, 2007
March 21, 2007 -- As many as 40 U.S. businesses have joined forces to rally for stronger patent laws that better protect American-made in... Read more
A Business Model of One's Own
By Leigh Buchanan | Nov 1, 1998
A recent decision by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has allowed an Internet-based company to patent its own business model. Will this be a barrier to n... Read more
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