Archive for March 2014
Obama The Troll Slayer: The White House’s Patent-Related Executive Actions.
President Obama wants to vanquish patent trolls. His 2014 State of the Union address called for Congress to “pass a patent reform bill that allows our businesses to stay focused on innovation, not costly and needless litigation.” Not satisfied with leaving reform in Congress’s hands, the White House recently announced executive actions targeting patents and patent…
Read MoreWhat Is A Design Patent And How Is It Different Than A Utility Patent?
An Article in Schott, P.C.’s IP Law For Start-ups SeriesBy Stephen B. SchottThe patent that you think of when you hear the word patent is a utility patent. But it’s not the only kind of patent that there is. 5% (over 30,000) of all patent applications filed per year are design patent applications. 0.1% of all patent applications…
Read MoreThe Layman’s Guide To Reading Patent Claims: Can A Hippopotamus Infringe A Patent?
An Article in Schott, P.C.’s IP Law For Start-ups SeriesBy Stephen B. Schott Patent claims are all-out assaults on the English language. It’s not bad enough that they are technical. It’s not challenging enough that passive use pervades technical writing. And it’s not brutal enough that the US Patent and Trademark Office has a pro-obfuscation rule about…
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