21
votes
Accepted
Is it worth patenting an algorithm if I don't have the money to defend against infringements?
This is a great question, with no one right answer.
The strength of a patent comes from the ability to enforce it. If the patent owner cannot enforce it for whatever reason (such as a lack of funding)...
- 6,178
11
votes
Is it worth patenting an algorithm if I don't have the money to defend against infringements?
My answer is yes, and I agree with Maca. I'll add that your ability to enforce it might change in the future.
I'm not implying that your situation is the same as mine, but consider this:
In my ...
- 119
4
votes
I would like to have contact information for the inventor
If I understand your question, you had an invention and showed it to two different patent attorneys who each offered to patent it and take it to market and give you 15% percent or more of the profits....
- 28.6k
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 ...
- 10.9k
4
votes
Accepted
What will happen when a patented prior art is found after the patent is granted?
No the USPTO will have no responsibility for missing a particular prior art document.
In a comment the OP clarified that PA resulted in a patent. That was not stated in the original question. In that ...
- 28.6k
3
votes
Can game mechanics be patented?
This article is worth looking at.
"The PTAB found that (i) the claimed method is directed to a set of rules for conducting a wagering game, which is a patent-ineligible abstract idea, and (ii) the ...
- 761
3
votes
If you improve on a design do you still need to ask permission/pay royalties?
A patent grants you a negative right. That is, it gives you the ability to stop other people from doing something, not to do it yourself.
There are a few times when that's relevant, like if you ...
- 1,149
3
votes
Accepted
Why to reveal (software) methods through a patent?
If you have the money to enforce it, a patent allows you to block other people from making, using, or selling your invention without getting a license from you. Revealing your invention is a ...
- 491
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 ...
- 6,178
3
votes
What is the effect of a US patent in Brazil?
You have referred to a US patent (and application). This is only effective in the US, and therefore could not apply in other countries.
In addition, by searching for the inventor's name at INPI, it ...
- 6,178
3
votes
Is it worth patenting an algorithm if I don't have the money to defend against infringements?
To my knowledge, depending where you are located, patenting something as abstract as an Algorithm is not even possible (EU). How to tie your laces is an Algorithm. Can you patent it? Hopefully not!
- 147
3
votes
Accepted
Does non-enabled use constitute infringement?
You are conflating two different questions.
A person infringes a claim if they perform all the steps of it. It generally doesn't matter whether the original inventors foresaw the particular details ...
- 6,178
3
votes
How can I tell if my product would infringe on a previous design patent?
USD483982 is a design patent. Design patents cover the ornamental design of functional objects. Basically the shape of the object. For design patents granted before May 13, 2015, the term of the ...
- 10.9k
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 ...
- 402
3
votes
Can I sell a product that uses patented components?
Unless there is some agreement with the supplier to the contrary (say a shrink-wrap license), you bought the device it and can whatever you like with it and not worry about patents the supplier has on ...
- 28.6k
3
votes
Accepted
Where is the line between hardware and software?
Lets say that someone creates an mobile app (Android/IOS) that is identical in function to a TI-85 calculator... in fact it is a perfect representation of it and identical in function and appearance ...
- 1,191
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 ...
- 521
3
votes
Can the same patent be extended to a new country without one of the original co-author
Especially in the U.S., correct inventorship is important. Co-inventors are not strictly analogous with co-authors. In the U.S., all true inventors must be listed. An inventor is someone who makes a ...
- 28.6k
3
votes
Adding onto an existing Patent
You getting a patent and you avoiding infringement are two completely different things.
People get a patent by having something that is conceptually different from what has already been done (or ...
- 28.6k
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 ...
- 28.6k
3
votes
Accepted
Will there be any downside if I show my patent claims to my infringer before publication?
The letter from the lawyer is very logical and doesn't at all hint that they believe they are infringing anything. It just says that they can't evaluate your assertion that they are infringing since ...
- 28.6k
3
votes
Accepted
Do I have to disclose the infringement in the Information Disclosure Statement form?
If you file the non-provisional within the 1 year time after the provisional, then anything well described in the provisonal gets the date of the provisional. If the "infringing" product is based ...
- 28.6k
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 ...
- 10.9k
3
votes
Partial infringement of patent
It all depends on the allowed claims. You won't know that until the patent gets granted (or not) as claims are often amended to achieve patentability. To infringe on a claim, you need to implement all ...
- 10.9k
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