Highest scored 'patent-infringement' questions

29 votes

7 answers

7k views

Is it worth patenting an algorithm if I don't have the money to defend against infringements?

I have some algorithms that I am considering patenting, but I wonder whether I should just trust that rivals won't simply read the patent papers and copy my ideas. While I hope that my inventions ...

DonkeyBoy

413

asked May 24, 2017 at 8:15

27 votes

5 answers

2k views

What can I do about an infringer if I'm a small independent inventor?

I'm a small-scale independent inventor with few resources and have a patent that I believe is being infringed by a large company. I fear that if I approach the company on my own, I will have little ...

orome

1,106

asked Sep 5, 2012 at 20:49

23 votes

2 answers

2k views

Which patents were involved in Apple v. Samsung?

Can someone list which patents Apple sued Samsung over? I believe one of them was rounded corners on a mobile device. I could be wrong though, but if I am correct about that one, then any mobile ...

Antony

239

asked Sep 21, 2012 at 6:16

16 votes

4 answers

18k views

Can game mechanics be patented?

There's a board game that I really like called Mystery Mansion. I want to make a similar digital version of the game for various mobile platforms, but I don't want to get sued by Milton Bradley (Now ...

OghmaOsiris

263

asked Sep 20, 2012 at 16:58

15 votes

2 answers

824 views

What are the possible consequences of using software developed outside of the US that infringes a software patent?

Suppose I'm developing a software and I operate in the country that doesn't recognize Software Patents. I make my software available for users in several countries including the United States. What if ...

Andrei Андрей Листочкин

293

asked Sep 11, 2012 at 8:01

12 votes

4 answers

1k views

How to build software if you're unaware of which parts can contain potential patent infringements

As of lately, I've noticed quite an increase in software algorithm patents, that is: patents that explain certain data structures and/or software algorithms. The problem I personally have with ...

atlaste

131

asked Aug 19, 2015 at 14:12

12 votes

1 answer

7k views

What is the role of dependent claims?

I am very new to filing patents, What is the role of dependent claims? Couldn't I just have one claim with any details required? What is the difference in haveing one, two, or ten claims? When I ...

Ahmad

297

asked Jul 29, 2015 at 9:10

12 votes

2 answers

705 views

Consequences of unwilful US patent infringment by a foreign legal entity when establishing US presence

Suppose the following situation: A company is incorporated in a country other than U.S.A., which does not allow software patents (e.g. EU member countries). This company produces an invention as a ...

Ondrej Tucny

675

asked Sep 6, 2012 at 10:31

11 votes

2 answers

27k views

Can someone patent someone else's invention?

In the history, invention conflicts were on who has patented an invention sooner. This is the subject of stealing an invention. Consider one has published an invention in any kind of media, can this ...

Googlebot

263

asked Dec 15, 2012 at 16:33

11 votes

1 answer

2k views

What should I know before using "Patent Pending" in my products/ website?

Some years ago I read that you should not use the phrase "Patent Pending" in connection to products or marketing materials that do not actually feature or describe technology that is actually claimed ...

John Assymptoth

309

asked Sep 22, 2012 at 8:58

11 votes

1 answer

447 views

Can willful patent infringement exist without prior notification?

In order for a company to accuse an organization of willful infringement, or allege that they are actively and knowingly infringing on a patent, must the patent holder first send the allegedly ...

Tim Post

702

asked Sep 6, 2012 at 12:47

10 votes

2 answers

759 views

How are damages calculated if found guilty of infringement?

If I am found guilty of a software patent infringement how does the court determine how much damage is done and how much I should pay?

ahenderson

285

asked Sep 21, 2012 at 13:54

9 votes

4 answers

2k views

How can I be sure that I'm not infringing on anyone's patents?

My friends and I wanted to create an online advertising service that would allow someone to create an advert, pay a one time fee, pay per click of the ad and have the ad displayed on our site and the ...

Coder404

201

asked Oct 8, 2012 at 2:47

8 votes

2 answers

4k views

General knowledge on how software patent-infringement lawsuits are evaluated

Technically someone has to check the suspected software code, to see if it infringes a specific patent. But What if the suspect claims, that it is his companys own trade secret? are trade secrets in ...

Jani Kovacs

203

asked Apr 21, 2013 at 2:17

8 votes

1 answer

3k views

Why did my patent on game rules not prevent these subsequent design patents?

I invented a game whereby I took the game called 4-Square and raised it 7 feet in the air and so you play it like a 4-way volleyball game ... 4-Square in the air. I obtained Patent US 7,608,000, ...

Brad Butler

81

asked Nov 28, 2012 at 0:11

8 votes

1 answer

311 views

How rigorous are examiners

A business competitor is claiming "patent pending" on a product I know they did not originally create. The product is manufactured by us, the competitor in question, as well as at least 15 other ...

ludlow

81

asked Jan 11, 2013 at 22:08

7 votes

2 answers

4k views

How does one know if a patent was reexamined?

Is there a public database that show whether a US patent was reexamined or challenged in any other way? If so where is it?

Ruth Bail

93

asked Aug 27, 2013 at 16:10

7 votes

5 answers

825 views

Prior Art for Onsite backup for internet-based data processing

Our startup is trying to provide a backup solution for Google Apps for your domain. In principle it's a software running on the client computer. Our software then connects to Google via APIs (GData) + ...

Ra_

223

asked Oct 25, 2012 at 9:24

7 votes

2 answers

553 views

Found patent that describes my iPhone app/Website idea, any options?

I've been working on an app/website that I planned to sell for iPhone and Android, but recently found a patent that describes the idea almost exactly. There are currently no apps that implement this ...

sbonkosky

173

asked Oct 16, 2012 at 20:11

7 votes

6 answers

1k views

Do Patents cover the idea or the specific technology?

I have a friend who has as idea for a product based on technology he invented. The problem is that we have seen another company that basically does the same thing, although it works differently. The ...

ephraim

71

asked Jun 26, 2014 at 10:59

6 votes

1 answer

3k views

Is my system an infrigement of the Active Time Battle patent from Final Fantasy?

Just have a simple question, the ATB system (Active Time Battle) from Final Fantasy has been patent in the past (i think 1992 on july). I am interested in making a turn based game based on the Charge ...

Rushino

163

asked Sep 26, 2012 at 13:33

6 votes

2 answers

885 views

If you improve on a design do you still need to ask permission/pay royalties?

Say there is a patent out there for something, say a fork and I improve on the design in some fundamental way even though the core of the object is still fork like, do I still have to get permission/...

sebastianspiegel

191

asked Sep 11, 2015 at 21:14

6 votes

1 answer

94 views

Does my product infringe on claim 1 of EP 2342386 A1?

I am producing a rainwater collection system and am not sure if the current system infringes on Nigel O'driscoll's Rainwater harvesting system (EP 2342386 A1), which is listed as follows: A ...

Harry Smith

185

asked Jul 8, 2015 at 15:00

6 votes

3 answers

128 views

Patent enforcement

Can a US company which does not hold a patent for a product or method sell a US patented product or use a US patented method overseas without a licensing agreement? Is a US patent enforceable against ...

Stephen Robins

61

asked Sep 3, 2015 at 16:27

5 votes

2 answers

153 views

How do entrepreneurs determine if their idea is not infringing any patents

There's the idea to build a business out of, but how would I know I'm not infringing any of those thousands of applications and grants? It seems to be impossible to read the claims in all of those in ...

user

53

asked Feb 19, 2018 at 17:12

5 votes

1 answer

177 views

Can the developer of a free software be sued for damages because of an accidental patent infringement?

Assume that I created a free software that accidentally infringes on one or more software patents. Can the holders of these patents sue me for damages, even though I did not make any money from the ...

user21220

87

asked Jul 8, 2018 at 14:06

5 votes

3 answers

7k views

A patent with both apparatus (i.e. system) and method?

I read a while back that one's goal should be a patent that is a method, a system and a means (I don't quite know what a means is). Is this actually a good goal? I also read that all the steps of a ...

Friendly

201

asked Nov 17, 2013 at 4:32

5 votes

1 answer

944 views

Can I build a patented item (US 7,877,268) for personal use?

In reference to the patent: US 7,877,268 I would like to make this item for my grandmother. I would not be offering it to others or selling it for commercial use. Is this legal? What issues should I ...

Palash

51

asked Jul 6, 2015 at 15:21

5 votes

2 answers

291 views

Resuming interrupted file transfers (2011 patent troll / libcurl)

I'm posting this here in order to draw this incident to the attention of the AP community. http://daniel.haxx.se/blog/2011/05/11/us-patent-6098180/ Daniel Stenberg, the author of curl, a popular ...

tripleee

161

asked Dec 16, 2014 at 5:37

5 votes

1 answer

122 views

How do I collaborate with a company who may have a provisional on my idea?

I'm trying to get a company to licence my idea, however, they claim that they already have a similar idea but that they could potentially find improvements/best practises to their idea from ...

user3658991

63

asked Jun 9, 2016 at 1:59

5 votes

1 answer

2k views

Does Invalidation of Independent claim affect dependent claim?

Situation(pertains to US): Patent "P" has 10 claims of which Claims 1, 3, 6 were held to be invalid in Federal Court litigation. What happens to the rest of the claims in the Patent? Can the patentee ...

user13863

51

asked Apr 2, 2015 at 4:27

5 votes

1 answer

476 views

Jurisdiction of a US patent?

Just read Top 10 (US) Patents for 2014 and spotted one that essentially covers a business process that's only really applicable outside of the US: Bank of America’s the Foreign Currency Solution (U.S. ...

arober11

323

asked Mar 17, 2015 at 16:52

5 votes

2 answers

295 views

A license that prevents raising a software patent

Would it be possible, from a legal point of view, to create a software license that would prevent someone from patenting any part of software (source code) released under that license? I know there ...

Greg

153

asked Jun 14, 2013 at 10:54

5 votes

1 answer

220 views

How to determine Canadian patent life-time?

Is patent CA 2561773 A1 still valid or pending? Event shows: dead in 2008 Please inform of risk of patent infringement.

omar m elmi

51

asked May 30, 2015 at 16:57

5 votes

1 answer

1k views

Dependent claim from invalid independent claim

I'm following an Inter Partes Review where the petitioner is trying to invalidate every independent claim of a patent based on prior art. If this is successful, some dependent claims will remain. ...

MikeH

96

asked Mar 26, 2015 at 0:48

5 votes

2 answers

1k views

Possible US patent infringement and German company

We are currently trying to set up a startup that sells a software product online. The software can be downloaded worldwide and paid for via Paypal. Our company is a limited liability company based in ...

Ra_

223

asked Nov 20, 2012 at 13:34

4 votes

6 answers

3k views

Who is allowed to sue for patent infringement?

In the creation of the patent, you have two entities that are tied to it: the inventor and the assignee. Many times the patent inventor hands off the patent to a company as the assignee. Pertaining ...

Anthony Miller

178

asked Sep 27, 2012 at 21:55

4 votes

2 answers

2k views

Would it be infringement if I re-use a PART of a patented product in my own design?

If I purchase an existent patented commercial product, extract one specific part out of it, and re-use that one part in my own design (as part of a device that I manufacture and then sell), is this ...

boardbite

141

asked Nov 7, 2012 at 12:34

4 votes

2 answers

640 views

Personally liable for patent infringement

Can the director of a one man UK limited company be held personally liable if his product infringes a US software patent? The UK company's software product is sold in the states over the internet.

hitch

41

asked Feb 16, 2013 at 22:58

4 votes

2 answers

860 views

How are algorithm patents enforced?

It surprised me to learn that algorithms can be patented. If that's the case, why aren't famous algorithms like Dijkstra's algorithm patented? More importantly, how would they be enforced - wouldn't ...

George Newton

143

asked Apr 10, 2014 at 21:49

4 votes

1 answer

111 views

How does this patent affect digital downloads of multimedia at sites like Dropcards.com?

How does patent application US20100325182 affect dropcards.com and similar websites that allow users to send in their media and artwork then furnish the users with unique cards? Users hand out the ...

Ben

141

asked Oct 20, 2012 at 0:12

4 votes

2 answers

237 views

Taking ideas from other apps

Is it legal to take a idea from some existing app and re-code it for my app? It may sound very vague, but here is the situation: I found an android app and I like to code it for windows desktop. I am ...

vishesh

165

asked Oct 18, 2012 at 9:08

4 votes

3 answers

225 views

When a patent infringment litigation is considered frivolous?

Where is the line telling that a litigation is basically a bullying tool for a patent holder? Accusing party is providing software patent infringement arguments that are laughable to one skilled in ...

john

410

asked Oct 30, 2014 at 11:11

4 votes

2 answers

345 views

D/285,860 and D/253,629 - These look like an ordinary skateboards

The two styles shown are standard skateboard shapes that have been around for decades (surfboard-shaped and "fishtail"). There's lots of varieties of both these shapes in production everywhere. The ...

Rachel B

41

asked Jan 23, 2013 at 23:48

4 votes

2 answers

319 views

How to prevent patent on a software feature which you have in your private project?

The company I am currently working on is patenting a software feature that I have used in my private project. My private project is very old and has been using this technique/feature for a long time. ...

obhi

43

asked Sep 25, 2015 at 17:23

4 votes

2 answers

204 views

How can I protect my invention after applying for a patent?

I have developed a new device used in automobiles and applied for a patent (as personal, not from a company). After producing commercially and releasing into the market, what may I do if someone ...

venkat

41

asked Aug 10, 2015 at 17:08

4 votes

2 answers

130 views

I could be sue for patent infringement just to have my website with a system or platform of a third company?

If I have my website created with a third party company and they are infringing any patent, could I be sue, just to be a user of that software or program?

Apolo

41

asked Jun 29, 2015 at 17:06

4 votes

1 answer

86 views

Any sort of fair use clause for software using methods years before they get patented?

This question probably was already asked thousands of times, yet I could not find any similar question. One creates a software. An innovative one with lots of fancy new things which were never ...

SOMN

143

asked Apr 25, 2015 at 1:39

4 votes

1 answer

586 views

If we have constructed a game and later found out it is patented, what do we do?

We were recently introduced to the game Nine Square in the Air by some friends. We decided to try it out at our non-profit camp, so we built our own version. Later on, someone brought it to our ...

Nathan

41

asked Feb 11, 2015 at 19:18

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