86
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Accepted
If I don't want to patent something, what can I do to ensure the patent office doesn't unintentionally grant the patent to someone else?
There is a history of "giving away patents", which allows the original grantor to foster innovation instead of stifle it. Here are some examples:
Sealand Industries - ISO Shipping Container
Patented ...
- 9,215
60
votes
Can I forbid the government from using my patented invention?
Can you prevent the government from using your patent? The opposite is actually true.
If you patent something, and it is felt to be potentially of national security interest, then they can take your ...
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52
votes
Accepted
Can I forbid the government from using my patented invention?
You cannot deny the federal government the right to use your patent, but you can sue them for "recovery of [your] reasonable and entire compensation for such use and manufacture", see 28 USC 1498. ...
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43
votes
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Can I continue using technology after it is patented
There is a prior commercial use defence to patent infringement.
Further, if the invention was previously disclosed publicly ("prior art"), then one could even object to the issuance of the ...
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40
votes
If I don't want to patent something, what can I do to ensure the patent office doesn't unintentionally grant the patent to someone else?
Producing or selling the invention are not the only ways to establish prior art. A simple publication detailing the invention would also suffice, from a strictly legal perspective (the publication ...
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38
votes
Accepted
Is it patent infringement to produce patented goods but take no compensation?
You can’t do this
A patent provides the owner with the exclusive right to make (among other things) the patented thing.
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37
votes
Accepted
Is it illegal to implement a patented algorithm or method and take advantage from it?
You cannot use a patented invention without permission
A patent gives the owner exclusive rights to use it: not just profit from it. The only way you can use their patent is by licensing it.
You ...
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36
votes
Accepted
Can two unique inventions that do the same thing be patented?
Yes - patents are not for results but for devices and processes that can achieve the result.
An airplane and a helicopter can have similar results; more than one medication helps to reduce blood sugar ...
- 13.2k
33
votes
What rights do I have to improve upon patented inventions?
There is no fair use doctrine for patents: Is there a fair use for patents? Should a patent be licensed at a reasonable rate based on use?
Many patents encompass and add on to the claims of a previous ...
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32
votes
Can two unique inventions that do the same thing be patented?
Yes, certainly.
For example, according to the Smithsonian Institution, over four thousand patents have been granted for mousetraps, and another 40 or so are successfully patented every year.
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31
votes
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If mathematical equations are not patentable, why are algorithms patentable?
Aren't computer programs mathematical equations? Any program can be
represented mathematically. . . . But how are programs different from
mathematical equations? . . . Don't encryption algorithms ...
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29
votes
Could a charity manufacture patented medications for free?
No, they could not. The conditions of violating a patent don't revolve around monetary gain, so regardless of compensation they would be in violation of the patent.
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29
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Accepted
Is Nanoblock not in violation of LEGO's patents because their product is incompatible with and not the same size as LEGO's product?
There are two very different laws in play here. Patent rights and trademarks.
One cannot violate a patent on Lego bricks, because they have all run out a long time ago.
The Wikipedia article has a ...
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26
votes
Accepted
At what point does combining integrated circuits yield something patentable?
Electronic designs can be patented provided they meet the criteria for a patentable idea. But patenting a design using specific ICs is probably not a good idea as all someone has to do is redesign ...
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24
votes
Accepted
What is the status of this patent?
That is not at all what USPTO is telling you. Courts do not simply "dismiss" patents - that isn't a terminology you'd ever see used for a patent that was found to be invalid.
Timeline of events:
...
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23
votes
Is it patent infringement to produce patented goods but take no compensation?
"Would there be any ways of doing this that are explicitly legally safe?"
Yes. Buy all the patents, out of your own money.
Another option, if you can't afford that, is to buy a smaller ...
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23
votes
At what point does combining integrated circuits yield something patentable?
I did a short course once from our in-house patent attorney, and he said that, under Australian law, patent was for solving a problem. So:
I combine two circuits for the hell of it. Not patentable.
...
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22
votes
Accepted
How to prevent others from getting a patent on my idea?
If I make a working prototype and upload it on youtube will it prevent others from getting a patent on the idea?
Generally yes. If the core information is accessible to the public, it becomes "...
- 1,323
20
votes
Accepted
Why do the manufacturers using an operating system have to pay patent royalties based on the operating system?
First, just to be clear, this is an old story from 2014.
Second, Microsoft wasn't seeking payments for patents on the OS per se, but on the drivers for the chips that connect the cell phone to the ...
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20
votes
Accepted
Can I avoid infringing a patent if I change one component of existing patent?
Reading and interpreting claims is a very technical task and it differs by jurisdiction.
I would point out some issues - first, yes, especially in jurisdictions with “peripheral claiming” like the US,...
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20
votes
Does a WIPO patent supersede a US patent?
Does a WIPO patent supersede a US patent?
No.
This question is based upon a false premise. The distinction between a WIPO patent and a U.S. patent is a category error. There are WIPO patent ...
- 229k
19
votes
Accepted
Can one enforce a patent while it is only "pending approval"?
Patents become enforceable when granted, not before.
However there is something called provisional rights (absolutely nothing to do with provisional applications). In the US, under 35 USC 154(d), if a ...
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18
votes
If I don't want to patent something, what can I do to ensure the patent office doesn't unintentionally grant the patent to someone else?
Publish Your Invention
In theory, any reasonably-findable publication should work just as well as actually getting a patent in terms of establishing prior art to prevent the issuance of another patent ...
- 3,158
18
votes
How to prevent others from getting a patent on my idea?
I would like to prevent other companies or individuals from getting a patent on the idea, so that someday I can continue the idea without a patent problem.
Publication.
One of the best forms of ...
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17
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What is the effect of lost and recovered prior art on patent validity?
The patent is invalid
From 35 U.S.C. 102
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless —
(a) the invention was known or used by others in this country, or patented or described in a printed ...
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16
votes
Can I continue using technology after it is patented
"Can I continue using this invention"
Yes you can, if you do indeed have proof of prior art/prior use.
"Can I continue ... without risk of being sued?"
No. There is a significant ...
- 261
15
votes
Do patent holders have an obligation to make their patents available? To what extent?
In the US, a patent holder has no obligation at all to use their patent. They can charge as much for their patented product as they want, and if there are no alternatives then they're in a pretty good ...
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14
votes
One person patenting a biology researcher's published idea
Once thwe molecule and its use have been published, that becomes prior art, and no other person can patent this. Whether the original researcher can seek a patent, or is precluded by his or her own ...
- 114k
14
votes
Accepted
Can patents be featured/explained in a youtube video i.e. are patent descriptions/images in public domain?
The government's position is that material in the patent documents is generally in the public domain
See Public Domain Copyright Trademark & Patent Information Schedule:
As part of the terms of ...
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13
votes
Are designs explained in academic publications considered to be in public domain if there isn't yet a patent application about it?
Designs in publications are prior art
If a party publishes a design in any way to the public, no other party can patent it and the publishing party only has a narrow window to file for a patent if the ...
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