Patent Drafting Theory
Terminal Disclaimers – One for the Price of Two
Terminal disclaimers are costly for the client – but an easy money maker for patent attorneys. Terminal disclaimers are where you pay twice to get the same thing. They are a money maker for the USPTO – and your patent attorney. They should be avoided at all costs. In most cases, a terminal disclaimer is…
Read MoreHow to Review a Patent Application
How can you mess up reviewing a patent application? It’s a lot easier than you think. Some comments made by an inventor, even the most innocuous comments, can be misconstrued if a patent ever was litigated. Rather than create a messy trail of documented comments remember the most important rule: Good news by mail, bad…
Read MorePatents that “Hide the Ball”
I had a telephone interview with a patent examiner the other week and in the course of the interview, the examiner said that he really liked my patent application because I did not try to hide the ball with the invention. I was originally taught to write patent applications by obfuscating the invention. Specifications are…
Read MoreA good patent is easy to read
A good patent is easy to read. If you can’t understand your patent application, neither can the patent examiner. Many people tell me that they did not understand their patent application because their attorney used “legalese”. Some even joke that it was so dense that they did not even know if their invention was in…
Read MoreDrafting Patents for Licensing
Patents that are intended for licensing have a distinctively different feel to them and a different method of drafting than patents that protect a specific product line. Here, our intent is to protect an idea that may potentially be more valuable at the end of the patent life and may be used in ways that…
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