Carson City Patent Attorneys & Lawyers

What Is the America Invents Act?

The America Invents Act (AIA) adopts a First to File approach to the United States patent statute for patents such as a utility patent. This patent reform legislation prioritizes patent filing date over invention date.

Also known as the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, it was signed into law on September 16, 2011. The AIA went into effect on March 16, 2013. It's considered the biggest change for the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) since 1952.

The AIA is officially known as

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What Is Non-Obvious?

Non-obvious is a requirement for patent protection that literally means your invention is not obvious to someone who is in the same industry. A new invention needs to be unexpected or surprising and cannot be anticipated by looking at the existing technology or prior art. If an invention is non-obvious, then it cannot be disqualified by obviousness from being patentable. 

What Is Patentable Subject Matter?

A lot of people think that they can patent anything. The truth is that only certain allowable subject matter can actually be patented, including:

1. Process - the method of d

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Wondering how long does it take to get a patent pending status? It occurs the moment you file a provisional patent application (PPA) or a regular patent application with the USPTO.

How Long Does Patent Pending Last: What Is the Process?

Patent pending starts from the time you submit a patent application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). It ends when they grant or deny you a patent. Most applications are pending for one to three years. However, it can take three to five years or longer for applications involving software or electronics.

The patent pending process begins the moment the USPTO receives your patent application. It can be a provisional or nonprovisional application that starts the patent pending process. The process continues until the USPTO issues a patent or denies your application. However, it can also end if you abandon your application. The length of patent pendi

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Want to Register a Patent?

You'll need a patent application for that.

If you're idea is patentable, you must create an application to apply for a patent via the United States government in order to protect your invention from others taking it. Because, in the U.S., it's not the first one who has the idea, but the first one to register a patent is the one protected in court.

1. Do you know what type of patent you need?

There are a wide variety of patents you can register for, but you need to know what type of patent would work best for you.

Here are some categories of common types of patents:

Utility Patents

Utility pa

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What is Kimble v. Marvel?

Kimble v. Marvel was a landmark case that went before the Supreme Court in 2015 and addressed whether a licensor can continue to receive royalties after the patent for his product has expired. On June 22, the Supreme Court declined to overturn the per se rule from Brulotte v. Thys Co. and ruled in favor of the defendant, Marvel.

The case covered almost two decades of negotiations, two different lawsuits, and an appeal. It also brought up important questions in terms of what patent law protects, what rights can be transferred, and how royalties work.

The Origins of Kimble v. Marvel

In 1990, a man named Stephen Kimble got a patent (U.S. Patent No. 5,072,856) based on a Spider-Man toy he'd created: a "web blaster" glove that enabled the wearer to shoot foam streams from their hand. This patent was set to expire in 2010. Kimble's claim is that the president of M

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