Patent Questions

What are some guidelines or tests I can use to figure out if I have a chance at getting patent for an idea when there are similar, but not identical, patents out there? I don't know how to best...

Patent

asked Nov 11 '11 at 06:19

Chris M
116 points

Let's imagine a patent has been issued by the USPTO in 2008. However, in 2010, someone discovers the invention has already been mentioned in a book in 2005. For the sake of the argument, let's...

Patent

asked Oct 8 '11 at 21:39

J Verstry
152 points

I have a unique idea about a web-service. How do I protect against duplicating my idea before launching? I'm afraid I'd end up rivaling against massive number of competitors like Groupon does...

Ideas Legal Patent Copyright

asked Oct 11 '11 at 11:34

Moe Sweet
141 points

I was shocked to see that www.spypig.com patents are not found in patent search and my friend patented that procedure as his idea and submitted and received the patent rights. Now can he send a...

Patent

asked Sep 23 '11 at 19:07

Gimp
427 points

Assume there is no one doing type as you search. And I am the first one to do it, can I patent this application? If not, please explain. Thank you.

Legal Patent

asked Sep 18 '11 at 16:14

Ted Wong
171 points

Patent 7,702,540 (2-19-1999) was finally awarded to eBay after 11 years. It reads: Computer-implement method and system for conducting auctions on the internet Abstract Methods and...

Patent

asked Sep 19 '11 at 10:39

Pete Alvin
126 points

I know there are other products out there similar to the one my partner and I are working on. We are a new start up and want to be sure that we don't get into any trouble in the future by stepping...

Legal Patent Business

asked Sep 6 '11 at 00:31

Mike Serpe
6 points

I had a brainstorming session with a friend a year and a half ago, and a lot of great ideas came out of it. I moved on the ideas, starting a company - our product has been on the market for about...

Patent Intellectual Property

asked Sep 9 '11 at 03:24

Riley
193 points

Intellectual property is a subject that has far reaching implications for your business. There are several different types of intellectual property that every business deals with. They include:...

Patent Copyright Intellectual Property Trademark Canon

asked Jul 27 '11 at 22:24

Jarie Bolander
11,421 points

Software patents are a hell hole in the US and we want to get out of it by operating (at least initially) in Europe. If a US company only operates in Europe (say this is a web app) would we still...

Legal Patent

asked Jul 31 '11 at 05:44

Ntkachov
116 points

I have a question regarding patents: Why is no one allowed to do the same, like for example the concept of groupon? (there are many competitors like gonabiit or tippr )There are many social dating...

Patent

asked Jun 25 '11 at 11:09

Tahnoon
11 points

I plan on working in the pattern recognition software industry. Some research into this industry led me to read about a company called “Nuance Communication.” According to this techcrunch article,...

Patent Ethics Intellectual Property

asked Jun 14 '11 at 04:28

Amichai
241 points

I want to create an app for the Ipad which uses "videoconferencing" technology, very similar to what skype does. How do I know if that is patented? What happens if it IS patent protected and I...

Application Legal Patent Apps Voip

asked Jun 15 '11 at 08:45

Jonestech
41 points

We're in the process of designing a web application and discovered a patent that lays claim to many basic web technologies that we are planning to use (like passing simulation data from a server to...

Patent

asked Jun 17 '11 at 05:55

Neo
24 points

Suppose your company has developed a lot of patents to defend itself from being sued. Company A is sued by company B for infringement of its patents. Company B's patents are invalidated by the...

Patent

asked Jun 19 '11 at 10:15

User48956
119 points

I have an idea for a social network site. I know Facebook has many patents and I'm afraid of violating one of some of them. I'm not located in the US, main questions: Do you think I should talk...

Patent Social Network Provisional Patent

asked Jun 5 '11 at 04:44

Daniel
24 points

I know you all aren't patent lawyers but maybe I am missing something obvious? How do these sites get away with breaking Elance's patent U.S. Patent 7,069,242 [guru, scriptlance, vworker,...

Patent

asked Jun 8 '11 at 08:47

James
29 points

Let me describe a situation I happened to be in by now several times. I work in the field of detector/electronics/imaging systems development. I often get some new technical ideas and solutions,...

Management Ideas Patent Employees

asked May 23 '11 at 02:26

Nick
6 points

I'm planning a new software company that will license software to businesses. A lot of R&D will be needed to create the software and indeed, our codebase will be our biggest asset....

Legal Patent Intellectual Property

asked May 14 '11 at 22:48

Paperjam
394 points

I've heard that only algorithms that are "non-obvious" can be patented. What does this mean? Can someone give me examples of software that is patentable and software that is not?

Software Patent

asked Apr 25 '11 at 06:29

Abe Miessler
264 points