Patenting of a living organism
In 1971 a microbiologist, Ananda Chakrabarty, working in a research laboratory of General Electric, created a bacterium capable of breaking down hydrocarbon components of crude oil. The genetically-engineered micro-organism held potential for use for the bioremediation of oil spills. The following year Chakrabarty filed a patent application in the United States Patent and Trademark Office […]
Inventions “get on the shelf” at Walmart
As a patent attorney in Erie County I often get asked, “how can I get my products on the shelf in Walmart?” Shelf space is like real estate and every inch inside the store has to be accounted for and the product on that shelf must earn a profit equivalent to the cost to keep […]
New USPTO Rules for “Track I” Fast-Track Patent Processing
United States patent and trademark office made changes to the rules to allow inventors to pay a fee to cut the line and get their patents examined sooner. Following passage of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act in September 2011, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) began accepting requests for prioritized examination of patent […]
Top ten list of companies to get US patents in 2011
According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the USPTO granted an all-time high 244,430 United States utility patents in 2011. Asian companies hold eight of the top 10 spots on the 2011 patent list and 25 or half of the top 50 U.S. patent-grant recipients with U.S. firms having 17 spots. Asian countries represented […]
Case Study: Serendipitous Inventions
“Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made” (emphasis added). The statement above is the final sentence of the federal statute dealing with conditions for patentability (35 USC 103). Aside from the use of a confusing and uncommon verb: “negatived”, the sentence paves the way for a particular type […]
Interview with song writer Alan Gembola
As a Buffalo copyright attorney I meet many new authors. A childhood friend of mine recently published a book of songs he wrote and I asked him to share some of his thoughts about the publishing process with my LoTempio law blog readers. Here is what Alan Gembola had to say: Can you give us […]
Facebook Infringed Leader Patent
Even though a jury ruled that the software that runs the famous Facebook site infringed on the patent of Leader Technologies, Facebook still won the case. The reply appeal brief was just filed last month. I think the issues in this case are relevant for all inventors. Inventors should be aware that disclosure of their […]
USPTO announces new homepage
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website will be getting a makeover starting with a new homepage that will debut on December 20, 2011. If you have been surfing through the United States patent webpage recently you will notice that they are asking for feedback in the form of a survey, and I […]
Inventors Hall of Fame: Robert N. Noyce
Inventor Robert N. Noyce Born Dec 12 1927 – Died Jun 3 1990 Invention: Semiconductor Device-and-Lead Structure Integrated CircuitPatent Number 2,981,877 Inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame™ in 1983 Often referred to as the Mayor of Silicone Valley, Robert Norton Noyce developed the integrated circuit chip, or the microchip, that makes personal computers and […]
How to file a patent application
In the latest episode of PatentHome’s “What do you know about patents?” series, we discuss the process of filing a patent application for your invention. PatentHome offers inventors an easy 3-step process for protecting your idea. The PatentHome 3-step process is: Document and Search your idea Analyze the Search results Draft and File a Patent […]