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Tagged Questions

For questions relating to the USPTO rules related to prior art or what constitute prior art. For REQUESTS FOR PRIOR ART please use the [prior-art-request] tag.

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1answer
34 views

Patent for detect relation between html elements

I'm a programmer, and got a warning letter for patent infringement from a competitor's product company. My product is an Internet filter, and the relevant part - probably - is censoring negative ...
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1answer
15 views

Design Around Existing

I have been designing a device and acompanying software and recently found an extremely broad utility patent that has a claim that is very similar and covers the some of the general functionality of ...
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1answer
53 views

to patent world wide or is one country good enough?

If my patent is published in U.K. how much time do I have to file the same patent in other countries? Why would it be a race to file in other countries anyway?
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2answers
59 views

Patent search results - Prior art - Obviousness

Good afternoon all, I have had my search results back from the my patent application. The initial results show four pieces of prior art cited by the examiner. I had not included any citations ...
3
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1answer
56 views

To which degree can an earlier but inoperable invention still be seen as prior art?

This question branched off an earlier question. The earlier question was about the strength of a patent/patent application if the inventors later publicly doubt operability because data that was meant ...
3
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0answers
47 views

Requirement to submit newly found prior art after Notice of Allowance or Issue Fee Payment?

In the US, a duty of disclosure to submit information material to patentability extends until the patent is granted. This means that the duty still applies after notice of allowance (NoA) and after ...
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1answer
13 views

animal footstool storage

I wish to patent an animal footstool featuring a secret storage compartment it would look identical on the outside to an existing one already on the market without any storage within. The existing one ...
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0answers
26 views

Is Time-based One Time Password patented?

This question explains how authenticators like Google Authenticator and Authy are able to generate one-time passwords without connecting to a server. Are there any patents preventing someone from ...
3
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1answer
35 views

Is searching by CPC adequate while performing a patent search?

I am searching for patents similar to my product. Is performing a search on google patents using CPC adequate to find prioir art? If i do not find patents similar to my product in the search result, ...
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1answer
32 views

Well known over 50 years ago; How could it issue?

In reference to the patent: US8227460 US 2836615 is for a method for removing methylene blue from monomers Col.1 line 35 "Methylene blue is known to be a ueeful polymerization inhibitor for acrylic ...
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1answer
35 views

Basic Premise Of A Utility Patent

Isn't the basic premise of a utility patent to be unique and at the very least show innovative improvements over prior arts and usefulness in the current arts? To explain from my point of view and ...
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0answers
52 views

Claims of Patent Application WO2017168412A1 are cited from previous research papers

In reference to the patent: WO2017168412A1 The claims of patent application are all void, it is a group of replicated and cited idea from multiple published research papers The idea of using Metal ...
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2answers
55 views

At what point do conversations become prior art?

Is a conversation between two colleagues or a group in a lab meeting considered prior art? Neither are in a public forum. Is there an assumption of confidentiality?
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2answers
42 views

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 ...
2
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1answer
46 views

Why would a patent application discuss the prior art?

As I understand it, one needs to understand the prior art because any prior art may NOT be patented. My research indicates that one should not discuss the prior art in a USPTO patent application. ...
4
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1answer
129 views

Will publishing parts of a provisional application jeopardize regular application based on it?

This old Science paper, among others, explains well how any public disclosure precludes patentability. How does this equation change if I file a provisional first, then publish the invention in a peer ...
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1answer
34 views

Can a company apply for a patent after they release the product?

I know that prior art deems that a patent application should be denied. However, what is the specific chain of events for a company that wants to release a product asap. Can they release product at ...
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1answer
43 views

Should provisional application anticipate regular application(s)?

I am a founder of an enterprise software startup and about to file provisional patent(s) on which the software is based. I realize the advantages of bypassing the provisional application, but the cost ...
1
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1answer
31 views

Can a company who has released a product before another be asked to remove it because of a posterior patent?

Let's say: Company A releases a software with a specific algorithm in January 2016. There are many proofs that the design of the software has been made before January 2016: customers have bought it ...
2
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1answer
62 views

Risks of splitting invention into multiple patents?

There is a similarly-titled question that asks whether it is possible to split an invention into multiple patents. The question here is what are potential risks of doing so. Patents may potentially ...
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1answer
74 views

Forgotten Prior Art - IDS

If I forget and/or cannot relocate a reference that would otherwise be required in an information disclosure statement (IDS) under duty of disclosure, are there potential inequitable conduct issues ...
5
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1answer
92 views

Burying prior art/achieving broad presumption of validity via IDS

Are there any consequences for disclosing "too many" references in an information disclosure statement (IDS)? For example, one may do this to bury a damning reference, overwhelm the examiner so that ...
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1answer
36 views

Effect of remaining term length

Is going against prior art that conflicts with my patent or product with 10 years remaining or 10 days remaining the same? edit: If in my invention or product uses an invention that was previously ...
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2answers
59 views

Can different combinations of preexisting arts be patented

I have an invention in the field of software My invention is the unique combination of A,B,C,and D And each single component is already patented (A by itself is patented) A sub combination might ...
4
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3answers
189 views

Best places to record ideas as prior art to avoid later patents (UK/US)

any advice on the best places/web sites of record to list ideas which you want to be on record as prior art so others can't patent them (UK/US/Europe) ? I have some ideas, which I don't want to ...
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0answers
18 views

Prior art for WO2017083705 A1

With reference to patent application: WO2017083705 A1, aren't these two documents (not cited) giving prior art for the main claims? 1) Mechanical mixing device for cell culture multiwells. Italian ...
2
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1answer
71 views

A company claims they provisional patent on my idea 17 months ago, but haven't published anything that uses it

17 months ago I filed for a provisional patent and approached a company the very next day to licence it. They claimed they have a provisional on my idea and that they are working on it already, yet ...
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1answer
38 views

Examiner Cited Disclosed Art 3 Years After the fact in a 102 Rejection

I have an outstanding patent application that has gone through 5 Office Actions, 9 prior art citations, and one improper final office action withdrawn by the TC Director over the past 3 years. On the ...
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1answer
44 views

Does my invention infringe on this hardware/software system?

So say there exists a patent for a hammer simulator, it consists of a piece of hardware: a specific hammer's (modified) handle connected to sensor base that detects any movement and translates that ...
3
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1answer
93 views

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
142 views

How was this patent even granted?

In reference to the patent: US20160332236 Several published articles of previous work into AM of cutting tools existed long before the application of this patent was even thought of. The "inventor" ...
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1answer
44 views

Can I patent in spite of this existing patent with very broad description?

I want to patent my product which does something based on your proximity to it, using your smartphone's GPS. I'm searching for existing patents, and I found this one which is about an LED light, ...
5
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1answer
94 views

Are private discussions valid prior art?

Based on case law, there seem to be two contradictory tests for valid prior art when considering novelty of an invention. I would paraphrase them as: (i) If information was made accessible and ...
2
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1answer
276 views

With prior art prove, can this electroluminescent paint patent be invalidated?

In reference to the patent: US8470388 In reference to the patent: US9642212 Normally this patent should be subject to patentable subject matter, utility, novelty, non-obviousness, and prior ...
3
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1answer
60 views

Schrödingers Prior art 54(3) EPC

My current understanding: If a PCT application was filed before, but published after, the filing of a different European patent application, then the PCT application may be considered a 54(3) EPC ...
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1answer
43 views

Does this PCT application lack novelty over an earlier filed US application?

In reference to the patent: WO2012138548A1 The current application is invalid because the application US 61/412879 was made Nov 12 2010 and is therefore in the public domain
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0answers
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How should existing software products be described in an IDS, if at all?

In an IDS for a software/computer-implemented method application, how should existing software products be documented, if at all, when the software products in question have a subset of functions of ...
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0answers
11 views

priority dates and disclosure [duplicate]

(Apologies if my terminology is inexact, I hope people can get the drift of my question regardless of the detail). Assume there are 2 parties, say A and B, unknown to each other. A files a provisional ...
0
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1answer
33 views

Including existing patents and non-patent prior art in a nonprovisional application

I have read and heard that known similar patents and other prior art should be disclosed in the patent application, yet I find no examples of such disclosures in the "Background" sections (or any ...
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1answer
54 views

Prior art and very broad description

In reference to the patent: US20160288972 the following links we believe show proof of prior art: http://survco.com/credit-card-ax/ http://www.sparrowslockpicks.com/product_p/ccard.htm https://...
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1answer
30 views

Lapsed Patent outside of US

If there is a company in the US wanting to patent a design, but there is a "Lapsed" Australian patent on a similar design, can the US company pursue a patent? A similar US patent does not exist.
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1answer
165 views

Can I use “Unlisted” Youtube video rather than “Public” as a prior art prove

I don't want to make my video publicly visible on YouTube for everyone, especially if you haven’t applied for Provisional Patent. But I know that I have two more options there. Besides “Public” there ...
1
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1answer
86 views

Why do people patent well-known ideas?

Some patents seem to be filed for fairly well-known ideas, like for example, "out-of-office email". Even large, industry-leading companies, rather than patent trolls, appear to apply for such patents. ...
0
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1answer
56 views

Does claiming priority change the effective date for prior art concerning EPC §56?

Article 89 of the EPC provided that The right of priority shall have the effect that the date of priority shall count as the date of filing of the European patent application for the purposes of ...
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2answers
57 views

application conflict

I have proof of development and marketing of concept, in advance of conflicting application that has been filed in advance of mine. Can I use this as prior art to insure that I can still produce my ...
2
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1answer
524 views

Can Patent A be considered as a prior art over Patent B with a priority date before the filing date of Patent B?

We have: Patent A, filed Nov. 29, 2006 in the US, claimed the benefit of a DE application, filed Feb. 02, 2006，(there is a PCT application filed Nov. 29, 2006 with the publication date Aug. 30, 2007, ...
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1answer
51 views

is the indirectly claimed priority valid?

There are: application A filed Mar.1 2017, claims the priority of application B; application B filed Feb.1 2017, claims the priority of application C; application C, filed Jan.1 2017. However, app A ...
0
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1answer
24 views

Need help locating the patent on the hula hoop Chanel bag (circa 2013)

I've searched the uspto.gov/patents website as well as google.com/patents and to no avail. I am new to this and I know it must exist. I would like to start a patent application on a similar item but ...
0
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1answer
155 views

Different consideration for prior art based on jurisdiction(US and EP)

I'm confused what should be the prior art based on jurisdiction. Some have a grace period, but which are still prior art for others. I am basically confused about the following points. Grace periods ...
2
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2answers
126 views

Sue patent lawyer obvious prior art

I have been working with a patent lawyer who drafted my Idea into a patent and filed the patent. The patent went through a normal process of patenting such as search, reviewing by the examiner and ...

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