International Patents: Managing Patent Rights Outside of the United States

It is a common misnomer that you can apply for an international patent. Patents must be filed, examined and issued in each country where patent protection is sought. However, the right to file a foreign patent application is automatically preserved by treaty for 12 months. This time can be extended by a PCT request for up to 30 months. During this time, you can determine whether patent protection may be valuable to pursue in any of the participating foreign countries. [Read more]

Patent Rejections

After you file your patent application, it will wait for between 12 and 36 months before the US Patent Office assigns an Examiner to review your application. Typically, the Examiner will reject your entire patent application. This formal rejection is known as an “office action.” Office actions require a formal response within 3 months, but you may respond within 6 months if you are willing to pay substantial late fees. Failure to respond will result in losing all patent rights. [Read more]

Time is of the Essence: Speedy filing best preserves your patent rights.

Filing a patent application has a number of legal effects. [Read more]

What is Bank of America’s Patent Pending “Keep the Change” Invention?

In 2005, Bank of America began an advertising campaign. By enrolling in “Keep the Change,” every time you buy something with your debit card, the bank rounds up your purchase to the nearest dollar amount and transfers the difference from your checking to your savings account free of charge. Then, the ad explains that the bank will contribute the same amount to your Bank of America savings account, doubling the savings for a limited time. The last few words of the radio commercial and the web site are patent pending. What does Bank of America believe is new and patentable about this? [Read more]

Prior to Filing: the Secrecy Problem

To encourage inventors to quickly file patents, many foreign governments require that the inventor file a patent application prior to any of these events:

• the first public use of the invention;
• the date of publication of any description of the invention; or
• the date of any sale, or offer for sale, the invention.

In one case, a secret invention was “stolen” by competitor through corporate espionage. [Read more]