Valuetech Consulting Inc.Intellectual Property : PatentsAut viam inveniam aut faciam Valuetech BlogComments are welcome and may be emailed to Valuetech. Search EnginesOn the following link you can find examples of free search engines which you can use for searching existing patents and patent agents. Performing a good search is not an easy task, and there are very few people who can do this well. As well as knowing your way around the search engines and their limitations, you need to be of a certain mind set to be able to wade through hundreds of patents which may be relevant to your invention. It's a very tedious task and you need a sharp eye. Bear in mind that no search can be perfect, because patent applications that have been filed in the last 18 months are usually kept secret, and these can sometimes be held against your own patent application. We have always been able to find additional prior art beyond what others have found, except in only one case. If we were to measure our accuracy in patent searching it would be 99.99%. Spanning a period over which we looked at about 30,000 titles we missed only three that we ought to have captured, and out of these only one was deemed highly relevant. Search engines Recent PatentsOn the following link you can find examples of simple patents, which have issued recently. They are relatively short patents and cover everyday inventions. They are examples of subject matter only, ranging from fishing rod holders to stirrups to gloves. It just shows that improvements can still be made to things that have been around for a long time. more First Canadian PatentWhile Canadian patent No. 1 was issued in 1869, earlier patents were granted in the days before Confederation, the earliest in 1791. more Other Patent BlogsThere are numerous other patent related blogs on the web, many of them extensive. For links to some of them click here. Patents for BC ResidentsWhere is the most inventive place in BC? The following table gives the approximate number of US patents per thousand people granted to BC inventors over the last 30 years.
Patents on Applying for a PatentThese are examples of how the functionality of a software program can be written up as an inventive device and patented. The first is a computer that leads a patent writer through the stages of writing a patent application, in a predetermined order. The second is a computer-readable medium, computer and related method for determining whether to file submitted intellectual property as a patent, trademark or copyright application. US 6,574,645: Machine for drafting a patent application and process for doing same
US 7,127,405: System and method for selecting and protecting intellectual property assets Chances of Getting a PatentComparing numbers of patents granted against patent applications filed can give you a rough idea of how easy it is to get a patent. Your best chances of getting a patent are the US and Australia, each at about 50%. In Europe the probablility falls to 35% and in Canada and Japan it is 30%. You can increase your chances by filing patent applications which stand the test of a thorough, worldwide prior art search. Patent HistoryThe word 'patent', short for 'letters patent' comes from the latin term 'litterae patentes' meaning 'open letter'. This referred to an unsealed letter from a monarch, for all to see, indicating that the recipient was entitled to a monopoly in a certain invention. In about a few hundred years BC, certain cooks in ancient Greece were granted one year monopolies to make special dishes they invented. In the 12th century in Venice, a 10 year monopoly was granted to the inventors of a silk weaving process. In 1449, Henry VI of England granted the first letters patent to the Flemish man John of Utynam, for a glass-making process previously unknown in England. The duration of the patent was 20 years and in return, John of Utynam was required to teach the process to English glass makers. In 1474 the Venetians passed a patent law whereby exclusive rights could be obtained for new inventions, provided details of the invention were communicated to the Republic. In 1623, the Statute of Monopolies was passed in England. America followed with a statute in 1790, and Canada enacted its first patent act in 1876. Can Genes Trespass ?In the late 1990's, the canola farmer Percy Schmeiser discovered that his crop was contaminated with plants containing a genetically modified gene which was patented by Monsanto. He did not want the intruding gene and neither did he make additional profits from it. However, because he was actually cultivating the entire crop, he was found to be infringing on the patent. Despite the infringement, and in recognition of lack of extra profits, no monetary damages were awarded against him. Numerous issues have arisin. Were the genes trespassing? Was infringement induced by the company allowing its genes to escape? If the genes are not contained, and become nature, does the validity of the patent expire? This would be comparable to a trademark becoming common language and losing its protection. For more information: Monsanto Canada Inc. v. Schmeiser, 29437 SCC 34 (2004).Use your own Lab Books !In the late 1980’s, Petr Taborsky, a lab assistant at the University of South Florida, claimed he was given permission by his professor to continue research on a company funded project after it had been closed down. Working on his own time, he made a valuable discovery but was unable to agree with the university to whom the invention should belong. He then removed the lab books, the ownership of which was in dispute, from the university premises. Later, he obtained three patents and in 1996 was sent to prison for grand theft, where he stayed for about 1½ years. At least one of the patents was subsequently assigned to the university by the judge. The terms of the contract between the university and the company, Florida Progress, had been that the university would own any resulting patents and preferential licensing terms would be granted to the company, but the lab assistant was not party to that agreement and had not been paid to be inventive. In this particular case, it may seem fairer that the unpaid assistant should have owned the patents, granted the company a preferential licence and shared the royalties with the university. Considering the legal outcome, the moral is to make sure that there is a clear contract in place to define ownership of any patent resulting from inventive work, before the work is started. This is an outsider’s view. As well as patent law, it brings into play contract law, employment law and criminal law. For more information: 648 So.2d 748 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994). © Valuetech
2002-7. Valuetech Intellectual Property: Patents in
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