Regardless of the June 23, 2016 vote on Brexit, all owners of European patents, and all applicants seeking patents in Europe, will have both new options, and a new set of important decisions to make. Most commentators anticipate that the Unitary Patents (UPs) and the Unified Patent Court (UPC) will come into effect and patentees
Virtual Patent Marking
Patent Marking
Under the patent marking statute, 35 U.S.C. § 287(a), notice can be actual, or constructive notice. Actual notice occurs when the alleged infringer is directly informed that its product infringes the patent. Constructive notice can be achieved by affixing a product with the word “patent” or abbreviation “pat.” along with the patent number.
Still Alice: Not all software patents are being invalidated under Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int’l
On June 19, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int’l (Alice)[1]. In Alice, the Court held that several patents that pertained to a computerized platform for eliminating risk in conducting financial transactions between two parties were ineligible for patenting under 35 U.S.C. §101[2]
Alice in Wonderland: The Ongoing Impact of Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int’l on Computer-Implemented Inventions
On June 19, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int’l (Alice)[i]. In Alice, the Court held that several patents that pertained to a computerized platform for eliminating risk in conducting financial transactions between two parties were ineligible for patenting under 35 U.S.C. §101[ii]
Board Oversight of Cybersecurity
Cyber-attacks on U.S. companies have increased over recent years resulting in significant costs to companies. According to surveys, U.S. companies have experienced a 42% increase between 2011 and 2012 in the number of cyber-attacks they experienced per week[1] and the average annualized cost of cyber-attacks for various U.S. companies surveyed in 2013 was $11.56
Are Computer-implemented Inventions Patent Eligible? Go ask Alice
On June 19, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int’l (Alice)[i]. In Alice, the Court held that several computer-implemented patents were not eligible for patenting under 35 U.S.C. §101 because they were drawn to nothing more than an abstract idea[ii]. In response
Financing with IP Collateral
In a recent guest post on the Patently-O blog by Dennis Crouch, http://patentlyo.com/, William Mann, 
an assistant professor of finance at the Anderson School of Management, UCLA, notes the explosion in USPTO filings that record a creditor’s security interest in a patent. Secured debt can be a significant source of financing for many technology
Early Assignment of your Invention as a Method to Maintain Priority Rights in a European Patent Application
The European Patent Office (EPO) has been a desirable venue for seeking patent protection in Europe. For instance, a patent application granted by the EPO can provide patent protection in many European countries, such as the United Kingdom, France, and Germany[1].
Many of the patent applications that are filed in the EPO seek
Intellectual Capital Development for Technology Companies, Cost Effective Adjunct to IP
The term Intellectual Capital means different things to different people even in the technology space. For business planning purposes, intellectual capital should be recognized as more than patents, copyrights, and other forms of intellectual property, extending broadly to employee skills, knowledge, and problem solving abilities. This is sometimes referred to as a company’s or its
Rebutting a Prima Facie Case of Obviousness
Obtaining a patent for an invention requires the crossing of many statutory hurdles. One of the main statutory hurdles is to rebut any contentions by a patent examiner that an invention may be obvious (i.e., rebutting a prima facie case obviousness). Many strategies may be utilized to rebut a prima facie case of obviousness.
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