7 votes

What is the difference between Application number, Publication number and Patent number?

I assume you are talking about the US for the formats. The application number is assigned when the application is filed at the USPTO. It is of the format "16/123456". The publication number is ...
Maca's user avatar
  • 6,178
5 votes
Accepted

Good patent books for startups and inventors?

The standard patent book for startups and entrepreneurs is Patents Demystified. I used this book while getting my own patents and it’s become required reading for any start-ups that I coach or invest ...
B. Johnson's user avatar
4 votes
Accepted

Two aspects of the same invention and one aspect is not unique

So here we have a tidy distinction between description and claims. Description You must provide a description sufficiently detailed that the skilled person, reading your description, would understand ...
Maca's user avatar
  • 6,178
4 votes
Accepted

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

The typical approach is to perform a "freedom-to-operate" analysis. You can take a crack at this yourself using patent searching tools like Google Patents or my preference The Lens. Patent searching ...
Eric S's user avatar
  • 10.9k
4 votes

Is coding knowledge required to file a patent for an app?

"Do not know how to make it" is a fatal statement in a patent application. You need to explain how to make and use the invention. However, patents involving software or other methods generally have ...
George White's user avatar
  • 28.7k
4 votes
Accepted

What is a Formal Patent Search of Classification in Canadian patent law?

What is this Formal Patent Search of Classification? I haven't been able to find any information on it online. Does it differ from a preliminary patent search (as explained on the CIPO website) in ...
RishiM's user avatar
  • 1,191
4 votes

How to get an estimate for a application without revealing the idea?

The standard approach is to execute a non-disclosure agreement with the potential consultant(s). I have many times requested quotations from consultants on projects containing proprietary technology ...
Eric S's user avatar
  • 10.9k
3 votes
Accepted

Private Patent Office

To be meaningful, such an office would have to be established by congress. As it stands now, congress has established the existing Patent and Trademark Office as a part of the US Department of ...
Jerry Coffin's user avatar
3 votes

To patent a technology on a smart device and a yet to be made apparatus

Perhaps it would be clearer by going back to first principles for patents. The purpose of a claim is to set out certain things that others cannot do. Once a patent is granted, nobody else can do ...
Maca's user avatar
  • 6,178
3 votes

Where can I find a patent with the number ZL 2014 2 0446264.5?

This is likely Chinese utility model CN203999849. The number you refer to is the application number. ZL (zhuānlì) refers to the granted version of an application number. So ZL 201420446264 is the ...
Maca's user avatar
  • 6,178
3 votes
Accepted

What are the bracket numbers in a patent?

These are INID numbers, which most countries use to identify the nature of each field in a patent publication. These are defined in WIPO standard ST.9. For example, 19 refers to the identifier of the ...
Maca's user avatar
  • 6,178
3 votes

Everything I need to file my design patent - application examples?

There are special requirements for the design drawings. You should definitely discuss the drawings with some draftsman who has previous experiences regarding design drawings. It is not good idea to ...
Mikk Putk's user avatar
  • 402
3 votes

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

At first it depends in which countries is your market, i.e. in which countries you are planning to start your business. You may start patent search in random patent databases to get some preliminary ...
Mikk Putk's user avatar
  • 402
3 votes
Accepted

IP Patent Biotech

As someone who has obtained patent while working for a company I think I can answer your questions. The standard work arrangement is that your work product is owned by the company. Thus any inventions ...
Eric S's user avatar
  • 10.9k
3 votes
Accepted

Once the non provisional patent is submitted to USPTO how long it takes to get the receipt number or patent pending status?

If it submitted electronically, the filing receipt is immediate. Patent pending starts when it is filed.
George White's user avatar
  • 28.7k
3 votes
Accepted

When would an entity decide to convert a provisional application to a non-provisional application

The answer was subtle but I found it at smart up legal. The main reason an entity would elect to convert a provisional application to a non-provisional application is in the case where a public ...
A. K.'s user avatar
  • 250
3 votes

Invention Protection for a Device With Two Different Mechanisms

The first thing to understand about patents, especially in "greenfield" areas - no previously existing products, devices, methods, etc. - is you want to make the patent as broad as possible, without ...
Julie in Austin's user avatar
3 votes
Accepted

What do the numbers next to each section in a patent mean?

INID code Internationally agreed Numbers for the Identification of bibliographic data in patent. 12 stand for kind of document, 10 stands for Identification of the patent, SPC or patent document. ...
RishiM's user avatar
  • 1,191
3 votes

Prior art time relevance when filling continuing application

Continuous application receive the priority date from first filed application but not the allowance date. To receive the priority from first application you need to file continuous application before ...
RishiM's user avatar
  • 1,191
3 votes
Accepted

Is software developed in UK is patentable in US?

Where an invention is created has no impact at all on the ability to be patented in the US. Nor does the nationality of the inventor or company. Under the Paris Convention, all (177) member countries ...
Eric S's user avatar
  • 10.9k
3 votes

Do you have to make your discovery public for a patent?

For patent do you have to make your discovery public? The answer to your headline question is yes. The central societal trade off in the patent system is you teach us all about your invention and we (...
George White's user avatar
  • 28.7k
3 votes
Accepted

MPEP and Case Laws

Besides copying and pasting, they work in modest sized art units and often further specialize within an art unit. If you see laser printer power supplies all day every day you probably get pretty good ...
George White's user avatar
  • 28.7k
3 votes

Applying for a patent that is similar to a granted patent

There are two different aspects of dealing with the existing patent. First is infringement. You infringe on a claim if you implement each and every aspect of the claim. Thus if a claim has steps 1 ...
Eric S's user avatar
  • 10.9k

Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible