What is an Information Disclosure Statement or IDS?
What is an Information Disclosure Statement (IDS)? Every patent applicant has a duty to disclose to the USPTO all known prior art or other information…
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Patent Marking: How to Mark Patented Products With Your Patent Number
How do you mark products with patent numbers? The question is not if you should mark your patented products (of course you should!), but how.…
What is a Restriction Requirement?
Is my patent application being rejected? If a patent examiner thinks that the pending claims in a patent application are directed to more than one invention,…
Why file a continuing patent application?
Reasons for Filing a Continuing Application A continuing application is basically a child patent application that must be filed while the parent patent application is…
Intent-To-Use Trademark Application Problems: What can go wrong?
What are some Intent-To-Use trademark application problems? Intent-To-Use trademark applications are great. You get to file an application to register a trademark that you have…
Patent term: When does a utility patent expire?
How long does a utility patent last? Generally, a utility patent expires 20 years from the filing date [35 USC 154(a)]. This 20-year patent term…
How to register foreign trademark with non-English wording and non-Latin characters
Trademark with non-English wording or non-Latin characters Can you register a trademark with foreign characters? A US trademark application for foreign wording must contain an…
Late US National Stage Entry and Nonprovisional with Foreign Priority Claims: How to Recover from Missed Deadlines
Late US National Stage Entry So you missed the 30-month US national phase deadline. To file a late US national stage application, the entire delay…
How to File a US Trademark Application Based On a Foreign Registration – Section 44(e)
What is a foreign registration filing basis? It is possible to file a US trademark application based on a foreign registration for the same mark.…
Should foreign Office Actions or foreign prior art references be cited in an IDS?
Duty to Disclose Known Information Material to Patentability U.S. patent law places an obligation on applicants to notify the USPTO of known information that is…
When must foreign priority document be filed in a US utility patent application?
What is the deadline for filing a certified foreign priority document in a utility patent application? Under the new AIA rules for US utility applications…
Can a design patent application claim priority to a utility patent application?
Can you file a design patent application after filing a utility patent application? Suppose you started with filing a utility nonprovisional patent application. After a…
How to speed up patent application based on inventor age
Petition to Make Special Based on Inventor Age There’s a streamlined way to speed up utility patent applications based on the inventor’s age. An inventor…
What are USPTO requirements for design patent drawings?
Strict USPTO Rules for Design Patent Drawings The USPTO has strict standards for US design patent drawings. These strict rules govern which views are required…
Can a single trademark application cover multiple trademarks?
Only one mark per application It should come as no surprise that one trademark application can cover only one mark. In other words, you may…
Ready to Slay Goliath?
Not sure where to start? Email US patent attorney Vic Lin at vlin@icaplaw.com.