Bellevue Patent Attorneys & Lawyers

What Is a Post Grant Review?

A post grant review is a way of questioning a patent's validity recently issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark office. The America Invents Act (AIA) created it as a counterpart to inter partes review. Together, they replace the inter partes re-examination. A post grant review is available immediately after the patent has been issued. An inter partes review becomes available after the post grant review period has passed.

Post Grant Proceedings

The post grant review process was designed to allow the proceeds to be quick. The Director needs to set the rules that explain how long the proceedings will last within one year from the start of the proceedings. If the Director can show sufficient cause, he or she can set the rules within 18 months.

The Patent Trial and Ap

...

What is Analogous Art?

Analogous art refers to a method of criteria that patent reviewers and courts use to determine whether an idea is too similar to another invention and therefore qualifies as prior art. When looking at a patent application, the reviewer will determine whether the idea is novel and non-obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the claimed field of endeavor.

Some ideas and inventions are so diverse or remote that a person of unordinary skill would be highly unlikely to understand them. If the idea or art is this unique and diverse, it is often referred to as non-analogous and doesn't qualify under the prior art requirement of patent review. However, analogous art that is too similar to another invention or idea will likely not qualify for <

...

What Is Patent Exhaustion?

Patent exhaustion happens when a patented item, typically under a utility patent, is legally made and sold in the United States and the person who holds the patent gives up all rights to it. 

If you patent your invention and sell it to someone, you give up your rights over the use of that item. This is especially true if the only value in your invention is in its use. This applies to any patented product, but think about your car. The make and model of your car have a patent. As an individual, after you buy the car, you can give it away, sell it, or make any changes you want to it without worrying about being sued by the automaker. However, you can make patented items for sale subject to some terms of sale or license agreements. 

When Patent Exhaustion Doesn't Apply

There are tim

...

Updated July 7, 2020:

How Much Do Inventors Make?

The question "how much do inventors make" does not have one answer. A great invention at the perfect time can earn the inventor millions, a few good inventions can keep the inventor going for years, or inventing can be a money sink that never amounts to anything. However, there are several ways to profit from an invention idea you should know about.

Invent Smarter, Not Harder

If you want to invent something because you always wanted to do so or because you're passionate about the product, that's perfectly fine. However, you shouldn't expect to get rich just from following your heart. Inventing as a hobby can be great fun, but you'll need to put in a lot more effort if you want to make a profit.

• Curb

...

Willful Infringement: What Is It?

Willful infringement is when someone copies a claimed invention and knew the entire time that the invention was patented, thus committing patent infringement. An infringement is considered willful when:

• A defendant engaged in acts that infringed the patent or copyright
• The defendant knew those acts were in violation of the patent or copyright. They still acted as if they were ignorant of the law or had reckless regard for the patent or copyright holder's rights

Simply put, anyone who copies an invention after it has been patented on purpose has committed a willful infringement. However, the infringement is not considered willful if:

• the person has copied the invention without knowing i

...