William Hoofe’s Answers
626 total
Do I need to patent to secure an idea? example MAGA as a retail phrase
William’s Answer
Short answer: "MAGA as a retail phrase" is not patentable subject matter.
You should be aware that an idea alone cannot be protected by a patent. —Patents protect inventions.
Not everything is patent eligible. The subject matter of the invention must come within the boundaries set forth by 35 U.S.C. § 101, which permits a patent to be granted only for "any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof."
Note: Even if a claimed invention qualifies as eligible subject matter, it must also satisfy the other conditions and requirements of the patent law, including the requirements for novelty (35 U.S.C. § 102), non-obviousness (35 U.S.C. § 103), and adequate description and definite claiming (35 U.S.C. § 112).
USPTO: when can an Examiner do additional prior art search?
William’s Answer
- Selected as best answer
Short answer: See MPEP § 904, quoted, in pertinent part, below.
Following the first Office action, the examiner need not ordinarily make a second search of the prior art, unless necessitated by amendments to the claims by the applicant in a reply to the first Office action, except to check to determine whether any reference which would appear to be substantially more pertinent than the prior art cited in the first Office action has become available subsequent to the initial prior art search.FYI: If applicant's arguments are persuasive, the examiner may determine that the previous rejection should be withdrawn but that, upon further consideration, a new ground of rejection should be made. However, MPEP § 706.07(a) recites, in part, "a second or any subsequent action on the merits in any application will not be made final if it includes a rejection on newly cited art other [than information submitted in an IDS submitted after the first action] of any claim not amended by applicant."
An inventor is free to prosecute his or her own patent application. However, you are well-advised to seek the help of a patent practitioner.
It may be advantageous to have the applicant's patent practitioner conduct an Examiner Interview prior to filing the response.
What does my mother need to do to re-activate an abandoned U.S. Patent that she is the originator of?
William’s Answer
Patent term is measured from the filing date of the application and not the publication date. The patent may be in the public domain due to non-payment of a maintenance fee (within six months of one of the statutorily required timeframes), or because its term has expired.
FYI: A U.S. utility patent expires 20 years from the filing date of the earliest U.S. or international application to which priority is claimed (excluding provisional applications), subject to any term extensions, and subject to the payment of the appropriate maintenance fees (due at 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 years after issuance).
An option you may consider is filing a patent application for an improvement or modification over the product or process disclosed in the expired patent. To be entitled to a patent, a claimed invention must be: comprised of patent-eligible subject matter; useful; novel; non-obvious; adequately described (to enable a person of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention); and claimed in clear and sufficiently definite terms.
You should consider conducting a prior art search of previous public disclosures including, but not limited to, previously patented inventions in the U.S., to determine if the contemplated improvement or modification of the existing product or process has been publicly disclosed and, thus, is not patentable.
—You should be aware that even if the subject matter sought to be patented is not exactly shown by the prior art, and involves one or more differences, a patent may still be refused if a person having ordinary skill in the area of technology related to the invention would find it obvious to make the change.Before you decide to file a patent application, you should discuss the invention with a registered patent attorney or agent.
For your interest:
—The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) provides a downloadable patent term calculator as a resource to help the public estimate the expiration date of a patent. See https://www.uspto.gov/patents/laws/patent-term-calculatorHow do I patent my own hot sauce?
William’s Answer
Short answer: To be patentable, your food item or recipe must be new—and not the subject of a public disclosure more than a year prior to your patent application filing date—and "non-obvious" (to a person having ordinary skill in the culinary arts).
Recipes can also be protected as trade secrets.
Consult an IP attorney | patent attorney to discuss the options available for protecting your hot sauce.
For your interest:
—"How much to patent my own bbq sauce?" at: https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/authorized/how-much-to-patent-my-own-bbq-sauce--5822091.html
—"How to patent my bbq sauce?" at: https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/how-to-patent-my-bbq-sauce--5553023.html
—"How do I paten[t] my barbecue sauce?" at: https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/authorized/how-do-i-paten-my-barbecue-sauce--5462897.htmlCan I patent an idea to cure cancer before I actually invent the cure and not have all the exact details?
William’s Answer
Strictly speaking, an idea alone cannot be protected by a patent. —Patents protect inventions.
Written Description | Enablement
—To obtain a patent, the "specification" section of a patent application must contain an adequate disclosure of the invention for which patent rights are sought. This patent law requirement is known as the written description requirement.
—In the United States, a patent application must include a complete disclosure of the invention such that a person of ordinary skill in the area of technology related to the invention can, after reading the disclosure, make and use the claimed invention without an unreasonable amount of experimentation. This patent law requirement is referred to as the enablement requirement.
—Recognize that the level of detail needed in a patent application may vary depending on the simplicity or complexity of the invention and the level of ordinary skill of persons familiar with the area of technology related to the invention.Best Practice
A patent application is best filed before any public disclosure of the invention. In the United States, there is a one-year grace period from the inventor's own public disclosures of the invention to file a patent application. Certain international jurisdictions do not afford a grace period and any prior enabling disclosure of the invention in the United States may foreclose the grant of patent protection in those countries having an "absolute novelty" requirement.Many patent attorneys throughout the United States offer free consultations.
For your interest:
—"Can I Patent My Idea?" available at: https://hoofeiplaw.com/can-i-patent-my-idea.htmlCan I patent the ingredients included in a cleaning product/absorbent I invented?
William’s Answer
In general, a cleaning product that is a combination of ingredients can be protected by patent provided that the composite product is new, useful, and not an obvious variation to a person having ordinary skill in the art of developing cleaning products. Whether you'd be free to use the patented combination is an entirely different question. —You need a "freedom to operate" analysis to determine if there are existing patents on the combination and if so, whether your product infringes the claims of such patents.
In the United States, a patent grants its owner the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout the U.S. or importing the invention into the U.S., during the term of the patent. So long as the patent has not expired, a patent owner may initiate a lawsuit for patent infringement if the patent owner believes that an alleged infringer's product or process practices the patent owner's patented invention without authorization.
Generally, utility patents expire after 20 years from the filing date of the earliest U.S. or international application to which priority is claimed (excluding provisional applications) subject to the payment of appropriate maintenance fees. In the U.S., maintenance fees are due 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 years after issuance.
You should consider conducting a prior art search, before applying for a patent.
—A prior art search of previous public disclosures including, but not limited to, previously patented inventions in the U.S. may be conducted to determine if your invention has been publicly disclosed and, thus, is not patentable.
—You should be aware that even if the subject matter sought to be patented is not exactly shown by the prior art, and involves one or more differences, a patent may still be refused if a person having ordinary skill in the area of technology related to the invention would find it obvious to make the change.Before you decide to file a patent application, you should discuss your cleaning product/absorbent with a registered patent attorney or agent.
How much to patent my own bbq sauce?
William’s Answer
A food product or recipe that can be considered obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the culinary arts is not patentable. To be patentable, your bbq sauce must be "novel" and "nonobvious," and adequately described in a patent application.
Fees involved in applying for and maintaining patents are established by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
— Fees vary depending on the type of patent application submitted to the USPTO.
— Establishment of "small entity status" or "micro entity status" can reduce certain fees. If you qualify as a small entity or micro entity, the filing, issue, and maintenance fees are reduced by 60 percent or 80 percent, respectively.In terms of patent attorney fees, you might pay approximately $5,000 to $10,000 for a simple invention.
Patent attorney cost can vary depending on the attorney's professional experience and geographic location, the amount of work that the patent attorney must perform to prepare the patent application, and the hourly rates charged by the attorney or law firm.
Another option is protecting your bbq sauce recipe through a trade secret.
Consult an IP attorney | patent attorney to discuss the options available for protecting your barbecue sauce.
For your interest:
—"How to patent my bbq sauce?" at: https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/how-to-patent-my-bbq-sauce--5553023.html
—"How do I paten[t] my barbecue sauce?" at: https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/authorized/how-do-i-paten-my-barbecue-sauce--5462897.html
—"Hello I have new sause combination which i am very sure it will make great success in the markets ..." at: https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/hello--i-have-new-sause-combination-which-i-am-ver-5063477.htmlHow do i file a patent?
William’s Answer
To obtain patent protection in the United States, patent applicants must submit a patent application to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Before you decide to file a patent application, you should discuss your invention with a registered patent attorney.
A patent application is best filed before any public disclosure of the invention. In the United States, there is a one-year grace period from the inventor's own public disclosures of the invention to file a patent application. Certain international jurisdictions do not afford a grace period and any prior enabling disclosure of the invention in the United States may foreclose the grant of patent protection in those countries having an "absolute novelty" requirement.
A prior art search of previous public disclosures including, but not limited to, previously patented inventions in the U.S. may be conducted to determine if your invention has been publicly disclosed and, thus, is not patentable. —You should be aware that even if the subject matter sought to be patented is not exactly shown by the prior art, and involves one or more differences, a patent may still be refused if a person having ordinary skill in the area of technology related to the invention would find it obvious to make the change.
FYI: Patenting your invention does not grant you "freedom to operate" (the ability to commercialize your invention in a marketplace without infringing on a third party's existing patent). —You should be aware that, in examining applications for patent, the USPTO makes no determination as to whether the invention sought to be patented infringes any prior patent.
If you use a patented product, without the permission of the patent owner, to produce your new product you risk being sued for patent infringement.
You are well-advised to perform a thorough freedom to operate analysis prior to commercializing your product. —With any luck, you can still perform a freedom to operate search during the product development phase, to design around existing patents.
Many patent attorneys throughout the United States offer free consultations.
Seeking Patent Protection for my Software: What's Patentable and How Much Can I Share with Others without Losing Novelty?
William’s Answer
RE: "What's Patentable"
In the United States, software-related inventions can be protected by utility patents provided that patentability requirements are fulfilled. To be entitled to a patent, a claimed invention must be: comprised of patent-eligible subject matter (35 U.S.C. § 101); useful; novel; non-obvious; adequately described (to enable a person of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention); and claimed in clear and sufficiently definite terms.Note that under the current patentability regime, some claims for inventions involving software may be deemed to be directed to an abstract idea during examination and, therefore, patent ineligible. —Even if a claimed invention qualifies as eligible subject matter, it must also satisfy the other conditions and requirements of the patent law, including the requirements for novelty (35 U.S.C. § 102), non-obviousness (35 U.S.C. § 103), and adequate description and definite claiming (35 U.S.C. § 112).
RE: "I have … shown individuals a video of it at my office and … at charity golf event"
A patent application is best filed before any public disclosure of the invention. In the United States, there is a one-year grace period from the inventor's own public disclosures of the invention to file a patent application. —Certain international jurisdictions do not afford a grace period and any prior enabling disclosure of the invention in the United States may foreclose the grant of patent protection in those countries having an "absolute novelty" requirement.RE: "what parts of the app I can protect?"
Without specific details, which you should not disclose in a public forum, such as Avvo.com, it is difficult to evaluate patentability of your invention.FYI: A copyright registration for a computer program can extend to all of the copyrightable expression embodied in the program code and any copyrightable screen displays it generates. —You should be aware that copyright law does not protect the functional aspects of a computer program, such as the program's algorithms, formatting, functions, logic, or system design.
Before you decide to file a patent application, you should discuss your invention with a registered patent attorney or agent. Many patent attorneys throughout the United States offer free consultations.
Can I patent my idea to manufacture food for astronauts? Can I patent my sustainable system for astronaut food production?
William’s Answer
You can certainly seek a patent for a food production apparatus, food production method, or food production system.
Strictly speaking, an idea alone cannot be protected by a patent. —Patents protect inventions. To be entitled to a patent, a claimed invention must be: comprised of patent-eligible subject matter; useful; novel; non-obvious; adequately described (to enable a person of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention); and claimed in clear and sufficiently definite terms.
Before you decide to file a patent application, you should discuss your invention with a registered patent attorney.
A patent application is best filed before any public disclosure of the invention. In the United States, there is a one-year grace period from the inventor's own public disclosures of the invention to file a patent application. Certain international jurisdictions do not afford a grace period and any prior enabling disclosure of the invention in the United States may foreclose the grant of patent protection in those countries having an "absolute novelty" requirement.
A prior art search of previous public disclosures including, but not limited to, previously patented inventions in the U.S. may be conducted to determine if your invention has been publicly disclosed and, thus, is not patentable.
—You should be aware that even if the subject matter sought to be patented is not exactly shown by the prior art, and involves one or more differences, a patent may still be refused if a person having ordinary skill in the area of technology related to the invention would find it obvious to make the change.Many patent attorneys throughout the United States offer free consultations.
For your interest:
—"Can I Patent My Idea?" available at: https://hoofeiplaw.com/can-i-patent-my-idea.html