New IP Kid on the Blawgk — Mayover’s IP Counsel Blog

I just received a nice email from Todd Mayover at the IP Counsel Blog…a blog I hadn’t seen before.  I’m sure he’ll be a regular in my aggregator with great posts like this:

• Register U.S. Trademarks with the U.S. Customs Service
• Use Trademarks Correctly To Avoid Generocide
• Practice Tips For Selecting Outside Counsel
• Monitoring Intellectual Property Infringers
• Backlog At The USPTO Is Another Factor To Consider Before Filing A Provisional Patent Application
• Practice Tips For Non-Disclosure Agreements

Check him out…

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How to perform a patent search

Via WIPO SMEs NEWSLETTER (July 2005), a link to an article called “Six easy steps to highly effective patent searching.”  The article discussing do it yourself (DIY) patent searching at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.  Once you find the patents you are looking for, you can use my “Guide to Downloading Patent Copies (PDF)” to download a pdf of the patents.

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The USPTO reads IP blogs?

I was talking to another IP blogger yesterday…someone who would have no reason to receive correspondence from the USPTO.  He received an email from the USPTO at the exact same time I did regarding their Stop Fakes project (which I previously blogged about here:  USPTO on Small Business).   Interesting…the USPTO apparently sent the email to at least two of the IP bloggers…wonder if others received it too.  Attached is a copy of the email for your reading pleasure…Download stopfakes.gov.pdf

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Tech Tip - fix your own car’s A/C

My car’s A/C has been going downhill gradually for years.  I mentioned needing to take it to the shop (but being too busy to do so) to my Dad.  In typical Dad fashion, he said “what’s a matter with you, go to the parts store and get a can of the refill stuff.”  “You can do it yourself?” I replied.

[Note:  my car is newer (1997)…having R-134a refrigerant.  If your car doesn’t have R-134a (there is usually a sticker inside your hood), then you’ll likely need professional help.]

So…I went to my local auto parts store.  I told the clerk what I was looking for and she took me to the appropriate aisle.  There were various ways of doing it, some of which entailed buying valve kits, etc.  I settled on a ~$25 can with a built in gauge (and covered with detailed instructions on how to do it).  Talk with the parts monger…they’ll make sure you buy the right kit/materials.  [of course, if you don’t know what you are doing…don’t do it yourself, I’m not responsible, yada yada yada].

Following the instructions on the can it took about 5 minutes to bring by A/C back from blowing warm air to blowing really cold air (as cold as I ever remember it).

Additional resources:  http://wiki.ehow.com/Fix-Cars-Air-Conditioning

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How long does it take for the USPTO to review a patent application for the first time?

A frequent question I hear from inventors is “How long will it be until the Patent Office will look at my patent application?”

The answer?  “It depends.”  It depends on a number of factors, including but not limited to the number of applications in line in front of you AND how complex applications like yours are.

Following up on a recent discussion on the PatentLawPractice Yahoo! Group, Dennis Crouch has compiled a table showing what a typical (current) wait is for a patent application to receive a First Office Action.  Typical wait periods range from fourteen (14) months for applications assigned to Tech Center (Art Unit) 3640 (Aeronautics, agriculture, fishing, trapping, vermin destroying, plant and animal husbandry, weaponry, nuclear systems and licensing & review) to forty (40) months for applications assigned to Tech Center (Art Unit) 2660 (multiplex communications).

So.  How do you tell how long until your application will be examined? 

Pull out your “Filing Receipt” and look for “Art Unit.”  (see example below)

Then, take that number (3635 in the example above) and look it up in Dennis’ table.  Then, take that number (months) and add it to your “Filing or 371(c) date.”  In our example above, Art Unit 3630 (Static structures, supports and furniture) usually takes sixteen (16) months to get a First Office Action out the door.

So, how did the numbers stack up??  Not bad.  The Office Action in that example was actually sent 15 months, 6 days after filing.

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USPTO on Small Businesses

For years the USPTO has had resources targeted at independent inventors, but it wasn’t until recently that they decided to custom tailor resources for small businesses as well.  Kudos to the USPTO!

From http://www.uspto.gov/smallbusiness/pdfs/USPTOSmallBusinessCampaignFactsheet.pdf:

The USPTO Small Business Education Campaign:

A Campaign Against Piracy, Counterfeiting and IP Theft

Piracy, counterfeiting and the theft of intellectual property pose a serious threat to all U.S. businesses. Industry estimates of the cost of such theft range from $250 billion to 750,000 jobs per year. Small businesses often find themselves at a particular disadvantage because they often lack the resources and expertise available to larger corporations.

Small businesses also often lack the familiarity with the process of protecting their intellectual property: research conducted in Spring 2005 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) indicates that only 15 percent of small businesses that do business overseas are aware that their IP protection in the U.S. does not travel – that is, that a U.S. patent or trademark provides protection only in the United States.

To help address this problem, USPTO has launched a nationwide program to encourage small businesses to recognize and consider the benefits of strong IP protection—both domestically and abroad. Specifically, USPTO wants businesses to know:

1. • When to apply;
2. • What type of protection to apply for;
3. • Where to apply; and
4. • How to apply.

As part of the campaign, USPTO has developed a Web site – www.StopFakes.Gov/SmallBusiness – specifically designed to help small businesses better identify and address their IP protection needs. USPTO is also working with organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers to help spread the word about the benefits of filing for IP protection—both domestically and abroad. Free informational materials, which can be downloaded from the Web site, will help guide small businesses through the often-complicated world of intellectual property protection. Finally, USPTO is alerting small businesses to the resources being made available by placing announcements on Web sites they commonly turn to, such as entrepreneur.com and fast.com.

This program is part of a government-wide effort to curb IP crime and strengthen IP enforcement—both here at home and overseas. For example, USPTO and other agencies within the Department of Commerce have joined with other government departments, such as the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice, in a government-wide Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP!) initiative, which aims to smash the criminal networks that traffic in fakes, stop trade in pirated and counterfeit goods at America’s borders, block bogus goods around the world and help small businesses secure and enforce their rights in overseas markets.

For more information about the small business education campaign, please visit www.StopFakes.Gov/SmallBusiness. For more information about the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, please visit www.uspto.gov.

“StopFakes.Gov” is a silly domain name, but does prove one thing:  the USPTO does have the ability to create and manage domain names.  Now if they’d only set redirects at www.patent.gov and www.trademark.gov to the relevant pages of the USPTO site.  If the Copyright Office can own www.copyright.gov … why not?

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Trademark Office drops filing fee to $275, if…..

Via:  http://www.uspto.gov/teas/eTEASupcoming.html#TEASPlus

On July 18, 2005, the USPTO introduced a new version of the application for a Trademark/Servicemark, Principal Register. The TEAS Plus form has a lower filing fee of $275 per class of goods and/or services (the TEAS form fee is $325 per class of goods and/or services), but has stricter requirements than the TEAS form, below. You should use this new option ONLY if you agree to:

• file a “complete” application that satisfies all requirements set forth in Rule 2.22(a), not only the regular “minimum requirements” for obtaining a filing date. Almost all fields in this form are mandatory;
• select the listing of goods and/or services for this application directly from the USPTO’s Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual. While certain listings will allow for “customization,” total “free-text” entries for identifications CANNOT be made;
• attach all required image files, where applicable, in the .jpg format (for specimens, foreign registration certificates, consents, evidence) (except for sounds marks, for which a .wav or MP3 file can be submitted separately);
• pay the fees for ALL classes at the time of filing;
• file certain later communications regarding the application, such as a response to an Office action, through TEAS. See Rule 2.23(a)(1) for the listing of forms that must be filed through TEAS; and
• receive communications concerning the application by electronic mail (e-mail) during the pendency of the application.

NOTE: If you use the TEAS Plus version of the form, you must pay an additional fee of $50 per class if, at any time during the examination of the application, the Office determines that (1) the application did not meet the filing requirements for a TEAS Plus application as of the filing date, as set forth in Rule 2.22(a); (2) the applicant files a paper form after the initial application, but a TEAS form existed for that purpose, e.g., a response to an Office action; and/or (3) the applicant refuses to receive correspondence from the Office by electronic mail (e-mail) during the pendency of the application.

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First to File…Japanese observations

Been a while since I’ve seen Patent Reform news of note, but I did find an email solicitation I received earlier today from a provider of Japanese patent searching services interesting.  The email mentions that more patent applications are filed in Japan than in the US, and gives the following reasons (and I quote…):

1. Japan is a world leader in technology development and engineering.
2. Japanese first-to-file patent system creates a race of patent filing among Japanese companies.
3. Government engagement encourages companies to promote extensive filings, and strategic filings.
4. Japanese companies use the practice of patent flooding by filing many patent applications, claiming minor, incremental changes surrounding another patentee’s core technology.

[Emphasis added]. 

Hmm…considering how long it takes to get an issued patent in the US (27 months plus), any reform proposal that pushes first-to-file without a way to deal with patent pendency issues may have some nasty side effects…

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Tech Tip Thursday (belated)

I taught a CLE on "Blawgs 101" a couple of days ago at our Idaho State Bar’s Annual Meeting…sorry for the light posting lately.

One nifty tool that caught my eye is part of the new WindowsXP PowerToys.  It is called "ClearType Tuner" and it…"lets you use ClearType technology to make it easier to read text on your screen, and installs in the Control Panel for easy access."  I installed it and it really does smooth the fonts.  It is definitely worth the download.  What is great about it is that you just install the PowerToys and ClearType is automatically enabled (you don’t have to monkey with a bunch of setting changes to get it to work).  Dummy proof. 

The other WindowsXP PowerToys:  RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer, HTML Slide Show Wizard, Open Command Window Here, Alt-Tab Replacement, Tweak UI, Power Calculator, Image Resizer, CD Slide Show Generator, Virtual Desktop Manager, Taskbar Magnifier and Webcam Timershot.

You can download them HERE.   [Via]

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Back to reality

I don’t usually post on personal things…but today I’ll make an exception.  Bob Shaver, my brother Brandon and myself went hiking this last weekend in the White Cloud Mountains of central Idaho (Washington Lake, Fourth of July Lake and a secret lake you have to go off trail to find).

Here’s the link to the photos…WARNING:  Do not view if you find scenes of mountains, lakes and snow disturbing this time of the year.

UPDATE:  Shaver put up a post too (joking on the differences between Idaho and Iowa), including a link to more pictures.

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