Patents
Patent Cost
Ask a patent attorney or a patent agent how much it costs to obtain a patent and you may be surprised to hear a wide-open cost range of between $2,000 and $20,000. To understand why patent costs vary so widely, we need to look at each step in the patent application and approval process and examine the costs involved. Read more …
The iRobot Trade Secret Theft Case
While it’s easy to imagine that any trade secret theft case would be dripping with intrigue, the iRobot case sounds like novelist Tom Clancy could have written it.
The case involves one Jameel Ahed, a young engineer once employed by iRobot Corporation – widely known for its Roomba robotic vacuum, and to a lesser extent for its PackBot military tactical robot. After abruptly quitting his job at iRobot where he worked as Read more …
Choosing Between Patent and Trade Secret Protection
When you become familiar with the laws surrounding patents and trade secrets, the question soon arises, “Which is better – patent protection or trade secret protection?” The answer depends not just on what you’re trying to safeguard, but can also hinge on its economic value and longevity, your financial objectives and the marketplace you’re in. Here’s how to take these issues into account as you evaluate your situation. Read more …
How to License Your Invention
The adage that if you “build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door” has long been discredited. The reality is that it takes money and proactive effort to manufacture, market and distribute a new product, even if it is the proverbial better mousetrap.
Given the effort required, many inventors either Read more …
What You Should Know About Software Patents
Let’s assume you’ve created the “killer app” – a new software application that will transform computing. Now let’s imagine you’re paranoid (or justifiably concerned, as some businesspeople would say) that a big company will create a knock-off of your new application and run away with all the money and fame. How do you Read more …
The Flap Over Software Patents
Before we go any further, we should be clear. There is no such thing as a software patent in U.S. patent law. In fact, computer software - the computer code written in a particular computer language - is not patentable. You can copyright it, but you can’t patent it. Read more …
Is My Idea Patentable?
Many of us have experienced that exhilarating feeling when an idea for a new invention comes to us in a momentary flash of brilliance. That initial excitement usually fades, though, as we eventually realize it won’t really work, or no one would actually want it, or it’s already been done.
But once in a while, the idea persists; we can’t shake it. And we start asking, “Should I patent it?” Read more …
How to Patent Your Invention
Congratulations on your new invention! We know you’re eager to get it patented before someone else steals your idea, or worse yet, thinks of it on his or her own and patents it before you! So let’s get started.
Step one is to be sure your invention qualifies for a patent. If you’re not certain, read “Is My Idea Patentable?” Read more …
Patents - Fast FAQs
What is a patent?
A patent is a government issued license granted to an inventor giving the inventor the legal right to prevent others from using, producing, practicing, manufacturing or selling that invention for a fixed period of time - usually 20 years. Read more …