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Tagged Questions

For posts questioning whether any skilled practitioner would find the idea obvious in light of the prior art.

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Claimed Invention “As a Whole”

QUESTIONS What is the nuanced meaning of "CLAIMED INVENTION AS A WHOLE"? Put another way: Why not just write CLAIMED INVENTION? What is the alternative, "claimed as a ???"? USPTO PASSAGE A ...
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Unpublished foreign applications considered prior art for EPO inventive step?

Is it true that third-party applications which are filed earlier but unpublished at the time of filing are not considered prior art for inventive step purposes in the EPO? If so, this is a huge ...
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Full Scope Non-Obviousness?

"Full scope" enablement -- i.e. that the entire scope of the claim is enabled under 35 USC 112 -- has been identified as a requirement in case law. See here. Also from MPEP 2164.08: The Federal ...
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1answer
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What questions does an examiner ask when determining if an application is non obvious?

As I understand it: there is no 'bright line' to demarcate the boundary. USPTO instructs examiners: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed ...
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Does a patent on an invention which does not work (but granted as if it does) count as invalidating prior art?

Suppose Alice (a fictional name for this example) comes up with an novel invention idea for a machine to do very useful work, but which requires as part of the larger machine a component perpetual ...
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1answer
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Patents need to be non-obvious, but this patent is clearly obvious

Patented items are supposed to be non-obvious inventions. However, this patent would seem to be frivolous, consisting of hot glue and a brass casing used to produce a type of bracelet. In reference ...
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1answer
28 views

How does this particular patent satisfy the tests of obviousness and novelty?

In reference to the patent: US8060994 Please look at the following existing patent for a self-locking carabiner: https://www.google.co.in/patents/US5005266 In lieu of the same, is not the patent in ...
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1answer
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Is claiming priority with a different inventor essentially madness?

I apologize for the click bait title, but that's really my question. 35 USC § 102(a)(2) provides: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless— (2) the claimed invention was described in a ...
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1answer
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Can the examiner's use of more than 3 prior art refs in combination be successfully argued as “nonobviousness”?

In attorney-authors Pressman & Tuytschaevers' book Patent It Yourself, in the section on responding to rejections based on combinations of multiple prior art refs to achieve the same result (18th ...
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Is US8433843 invalid?

In reference to the patent: US8433843 I'm convinced this patent is invalid. This patent, in summary, is: The idea of combining wear leveling with a secure erase in the write step. Various claims ...
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1answer
27 views

Basic eCommerce system re-patented?

I came across a patent that was issued a few days ago: US 9,799,066: System and method for providing commercial functionality from a product data sheet. The patent describes a process where ...
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1answer
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Question about the Non-obviousness Requirement of 35 U.S.C

The non-obviousness requirement of 35 U.S.C. 103 states that a patent may not be obtained if it contains only obvious differences from prior art. Consider the following: A is known prior art. B ...
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1answer
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Does same owner's prior application count as of filing or publication date?

For 103/obviousness (but not obvious-type double patenting) reasons, does an application published by the same inventor/owner count as prior art against future applications of the inventor/owner based ...
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1answer
76 views

Is it possible to write software that doesn't infringe on patents?

I'm working on app not similar to Uber, but one that also facilitates peer-to-peer economic activity. However, I recently came across a patent filed by Uber, entitled "Providing a summary or ...
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1answer
94 views

Examiner ignores inventor's arguments against his owns

Here is the situation: my patent has gone through several Office Actions (OA). In the first 2 Office Actions, the examiner found some legitimate arguments against my application and I have amended ...
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2answers
120 views

If I produce a open source algorithm, can a company register a patent with my idea and sued me?

If I produce an open source product with an idea, lets say; an algorithm or protocol that nobody did before, can a company register a patent with my idea and sue me?
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1answer
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What is the difference between 'Dillon 892 F.2d 1554, (Fed. Cir. 1989)' & 'Dillon, 919 F.2d 688 (Fed. Cir 1990)'

In the book "Invention Analysis and Claiming, a patent lawyer's guide" (second edition) by Ronald Slusky he makes the point that "A claim reading on prior art is unpatentable whether or not the prior ...
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0answers
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Can this patent be rejected?

I have an Indian (utility) patent pending (filed in November 2014) for a process related to improved aircraft engine type/class. I am thinking of filing a PCT International application for the same (...
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1answer
225 views

Can it be a patent?

I have an Indian (utility) patent pending (filed in November 2014) for a process related to improved aircraft engine type/class. I am thinking of filing a PCT International application for the same (...
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3answers
1k views

Urgent - My Patent Application received a Non-Final Rejection, Advice?

I have written a computer program which combines two patented ideas, but provides a new and much needed function, and service for that matter. Hence the big money corps stand to make from the use of ...
6
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1answer
506 views

Method for exercising a cat?

http://www.google.co.uk/patents/US5443036 Does anyone know the reason why this patent was filed and granted? In what way might this game have qualified as non-obvious and novel to the examiner? ...
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2answers
210 views

US 2013/0272429, a patent application on calculating three checksums instead of one

I stumbled upon patent US 2013/0272429 that appears to patent calculating three checksums instead of one. Even if the obviousness of the basic idea is not enough to throw this out there should be ...
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0answers
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US8618969: Missing a key reference

S. Balasubramanian et al., "Systematic analysis of interleaved digital-to-analog converters", Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs, IEEE, 2011. Much of the claims overlap with the content of this ...
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Locating data specific for application - Patent Application - PRIOR ART REQUEST

AN OVERBROAD PATENT ON LOCATING DATA ON A COMPUTER - This application seeks to patent the idea of... locating data for applications on a computer! 10 minutes of your time can help narrow US patent ...
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2answers
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Is Patent US5930362 weak or obvious?

Is Patent us5930362 weak because it has only 2 independent claims that specifically reference DH. Could this patent be circumvented by computing something that is not specifically DH but could be ...
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1answer
223 views

Can 3-D Printing Materials be Patented After an Algorithm for Making Them is Published?

There is a growing concern in the open-source 3-D printing community that broad patent claims on materials for 3-D printing may hamper the open-source 3-D printing community's ability to innovate. ...
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1answer
185 views

How is US5693489 patent different from US4952496?

From what I can tell, the language in these patents are exactly same with the exception of the degree of detail outlined in the claims. Claim 1, 1a, and 1b of US5693489 appear to re-phrasing claims 12,...
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1answer
117 views

Why was CDARS patentable?

Since spreading large deposits among different banks has always been the only way to keep everything FDIC insured, and since that's been a common money management practice long before CDARS existed, ...
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1answer
109 views

Non-obviousness of user interfaces based on a new input device

The new Leap Motion device lets your devices "see" ten-finger motions in real-time 3-D. I see no published patent application yet, but the device is described on the website. Microsoft has applied ...
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1answer
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us7795768 - Patenting something already used elsewhere

This patent is for putting a gear on a spindle shaft. This has been done in automobiles, airplanes and machines for years. Putting a gear with spindle spacing on the inside and actual gears on the ...
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1answer
344 views

Is assembly of existing products a 'Manufacture'?

I have an 8x5 binder and have adhered one additional item to it. I've also modified the paper that fits this binder, which fixes an existing issue. The binder provides use for a specific audience. ...
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2answers
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Can the non-obviousness of an invention be challenged if the difference to prior art is only the mathematical-statistical approach?

TL;DR Given a patent application describing a calculation using a maximum likelihood approach, and a piece of prior art that has the same goal but uses Monte Carlo simulation, is this sufficient to ...