Claiming an Invention, not a Product
US patent attorneys sometimes suggest removing description of the related art or even the advantage from a patent application. I understand the idea, but I… Read More »Claiming an Invention, not a Product
Blog
USPTO under Biden?
As the last few states count their ballots, it appears Joe Biden will be elected President of the US. A little under four years ago,… Read More »USPTO under Biden?
Another Negative Limitation
Claims are sometimes drafted or amended to include negative limitations, such as “irrespective of a position at which a touch is detected.” The MPEP makes… Read More »Another Negative Limitation
Wikipedia
Elsewhere, I recently mentioned the USPTO does not permit reliance on Wikipedia, even for background information. I then learned the European Patent Office permits use… Read More »Wikipedia
Design Choice
I remember some treatise (Chisum?) making the point that an Examiner can find almost any combination of elements at a low-level of granularity. Thus, in… Read More »Design Choice
IRAC
American law schools generally teach students to organize their paragraphs according to IRAC: issue, rule, analysis, conclusion. (This structure is sometimes modified to CIRAC, in… Read More »IRAC
Checking 37 CFR 1.97(e)(1) Certifications
Now that we covered how to make the Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) certification under 37 CFR 1.97(e), we can discuss how to check a certification. … Read More »Checking 37 CFR 1.97(e)(1) Certifications
Foreign IDS Certification
Information Disclosure Statements (IDSes) filed under 37 CFR 1.97 (c) or (d) can include a certification statement. One of these statements is “that each item… Read More »Foreign IDS Certification
The “Pen Cup” Game
Earlier this week, I discussed a claim interpretation tactic of drawing a box around a group of devices to characterize the group as a single… Read More »The “Pen Cup” Game
Device in a Box
Some patent applications discuss networks including a single server and a single client. As a result, when claiming one device (for example, Client A), the… Read More »Device in a Box