Calculating When A Patent Expires…

Hat tip Doug, Michael Neustel has a new site…PatentCalculator.com that allows you to input a patent’s filing date/issue date and determine the expiration date and maintenance fee dates.

See also “How to determine when a patent expires.”

Related Posts:

• Tool for determining patent terms
• How to determine when a patent expires.
• Did they pay the maintenance fees? Expired?

Case Law Copies (Free), Responding to Improper Final Office Actions, Compacting Outlook Data Files

• Free the cases! http://bulk.rsource.org is a project where they are creating a free database of federal case law decisions. Bob Ambrogi notes it already has 1,800,000 pages of case law.  Cases you can download for free:
  • F2d (The Federal Reporter, 2nd Edition)
  • F3d (The Federal Reporter, 3rd Edition)
  • US (US Reports)
• Patentably Defined Blog on “Improper Final Rejections and Suggestions for Avoiding Them (and Hopefully the Expense Of Having to Request Their Withdrawal)“
• Living with Outlook Blog on how to Compact Outlook Data Files for Better Performance

Related Posts:

• New Magazine Covers Federal Circuit Patent Decisions
• Software recommendation
• My latest project: FedCirc.us

How to set up Adobe Acrobat to make EFS and the USPTO happy

Excellent information from the Acrobat for Legal Professionals blog (”PDF Creation and Font Embedding for USPTO Submissions“) regarding how to configure Acrobat (settings, etc.) to be EFS friendly.

A previous post from that blog was on my “to blog about” list, namely how to use Acrobat to shrink your PDF drawing margins to be EFS friendly.  See:  How do I shrink the page size of a PDF?  Remembering that:

(g) Margins. The sheets must not contain frames around the sight (i.e., the usable surface), but should have scan target points, i.e., crosshairs, printed on two catercorner margin corners. Each sheet must include a top margin of at least 2.5 cm. (1inch), a left side margin of at least 2.5 cm. (1 inch), a right side margin of at least 1.5 cm. (5/8 inch), and a bottom margin of at least 1.0 cm. (3/8 inch), thereby leaving a sight no greater than 17.0 cm. by 26.2 cm. on 21.0 cm. by 29.7 cm. (DIN size A4) drawing sheets, and a sight no greater than 17.6 cm. by 24.4 cm. (6 15/16 by 9 5/8 inches) on 21.6 cm. by 27.9 cm. (8 1/2 by 11 inch) drawing sheets.

See: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/drawing.htm

Related Posts:

• Acrobat Tips/Tweaks
• Guide to the Preparation of Patent Drawings
• USPTO Notice re: application data sheets and changes to inventor information

IP Docketing Software

I’m working on a new page for this blog listing popular IP docketing programs. Here’s my initial list. Any others you all can think of?

• PatentTerm.com — online patent term extension calculator (yes it isn’t “docketing” software per se)
• O P Solutions’ PATTSY
• Computer Packages Inc.’s Patent and Trademark Systems
• LegalStar’s IP LegalDock
• MAG Systems’ Docket Wizard
• FlexTrac’s IP/CTS
• IPPO’s WebTMS trademark management, docketing and record keeping software
• Anaqua’s Anaqua 5
• Edital’s WorldMark Plus/Worldsuite
• GSI’s WinPat (German)
• IPSS’ IPSSdotnet
• Patrix’s Patricia
• Thomson’s IP Manager (legacy MDC IP Master successor)
• Unycom’s IPMS
• Pro Delta Systems’ Progressor
• CompuLaw Vision - patent litigation docketing
• CPA Memotech - “allows corporate IP departments to automate, monitor and achieve total control over the complicated IP management process.”
• CPA FoundationIP - “a web-based intellectual property management system for attorney firms and corporations”
• CPA Inprotech Software - “full IP and practice management” (includes time/billing, etc.)
• IPDAS - automated document preparation tool for IP firms.

[Update: IP Menu beat me to the punch. See IP Menu - Intellectual Property Software.

Related Posts:

• Patent term extension/adjustment rule changes
• Additional information on the new claims/continuation rules
• Official Gazette Notices for 13 July 2004

TechLaunch 4.0 next week in Boise

TechLaunch 4.0 takes place next week here in Boise.  It is an excellent program, giving seven local companies the opportunity to “practice and hone their pitch in front of potential investors.”  TechBoise blog is reporting that this years seven are:

• Check a Biz - “Everyday, thousands of people in your area have shopping experiences. 
  Some of these experiences are great, others are awful.  Some of them
  are funny, others are just plain weird.  Check a Biz exists to give
  people a place to share all of these experiences with other people in
  their area.  We give our members access to everything that people have
  said about businesses in your area,whether it is eloquent or
  incomprehensible, sparkling or scathing.” 
• GoSleepGo - “GoSleepGo is building a network of urban explorers, adventurers, and anyone else who loves to travel. Once you have an account you’ll be able to share your favorite places and hangouts, write about your adventures, and upload unlimited pictures!”
• Ivus Industries, Inc. - Products include “a professional rechargeable flashlight…and an emerging energy storage system.  Product Highlights:  fully charges in under 2 minutes, run time of 90 minutes, super-bright LEDs, no batteries or bulbs to replace, 10 year life.”
• Meth Lab Cleanup, LLC - a certified clandestine drug lab decontamination contractor providing safe and effective teasing and clean up of illegal drug lab contamination.
• OKOS Solutions - “a leader in cutting edge signal processing and next generation data
  acquisition technologies & solutions for Digital Imaging, Software
  Radio, LIDAR, RADAR and the Signal Intelligence Community. Specializing
  in real time data acquisition, OKOS offers end to end solutions for
  communications processing applications, real time digitization and
  processing.”
• Pronetos - think MySpace for academic types, a place where “scholars can collaborate, network, and publish their ideas.”
• U2ML - software and consulting services regarding meeting the requirements of
  the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

More details on the Idaho TechConnect site.

Update: Winner = Ivus.

Related Posts:

• The crazy ways people find this blog…
• Google SketchUp
• My switch (partial) to Mac…update

Last Call…Boise Idea Market

Updating my earlier post, Matt Homann will be in Boise putting on a CLE “Think REAL Big: Ten Innovative Strategies for Building a Better Firm” and running a “Boise Idea Market” TOMORROW.

There is still room to attend the Idea Market…invite yourself here if you want to come.

Related Posts:

• Boise Idea Market!
• Law Firm Innovation, by Mr. Law Firm Innovation
• CLE — Trademarks and Growing your legal practice on-line

Boise Idea Market!

I’m thrilled to announce the Boise Idea Market. It is something I’m putting together with Tac Anderson (TechBoise) and Matt Homann (http://www.realBIGthinking.com). I’m really looking forward to it.

What is an Idea Marketâ„¢? Think brainstorming + collaboration + networking + happy hour. The brain child of innovation consultant, retreat facilitator and conference planner Matt Homann, an Idea Market is part think tank, part focus group and part social club. At the Idea Market, attendees bring their business challenges, questions and (of course) ideas, and share them with some of the most creative and generous people in the community as they participate in fun exercises designed to cram the most innovation into a two-hour collaborative experience.

Who Should Come: If you are a blogger, entrepreneur, speaker, consultant, designer, webmaster, writer, artist, salesperson, or technologist, you’ll enjoy the Boise Idea Market. We only ask that you be passionate about sharing ideas and helping others. Everything else will take care of itself.

When: Friday, June 8, 2007 at 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Where: Louie’s Pizza & Italian Restaurant, 620 W Idaho St, Boise, ID 83702-5930

Cost: $10.00 (to cover pizza & soda & tip)

How To Attend: We’ll have room for around 35 people for the Idea Market. We’ll use Renkoo to handle the invite process. Email me (snipper@gmail.com) and I’ll send you an invite.

[update:  I like Renkoo…but I really need less of a “closed meetup of friends” and more of a “here’s a public URL…invite yourself” model.  To wit, we’ve moved the “invite” aspect to Planyp.us.  Click here to view more information:  http://planyp.us/activity/10035574-boise-idea-market]

Related Posts:

• Last Call…Boise Idea Market
• The Best Interest of the Client
• This Week’s Inventor News Roundup

Green Lawyers

No, not greenhorns, but green as in eco-friendly. Know of any? Matt Homann was wondering if any exist, probably prompted by Dennis “green legal technology” Kennedy.

One program I bought earlier this year, on Tom Mighell’s recommendation was GreenPrint. A slick program that, when you print a document, gives you a pop-up window with thumbnails showing the pages you’re about to print. It then allows you to easily delete blank (or nearly blank) pages from your print job. I bet that little program will save me a toner cartridge and 4 reams of paper a year.

Apparently they have a “green” font you can use that lets you print 15-20% more words on a sheet of paper. With the number of trees lawyers kill a year in draft memos, letters, patent applications, etc…perhaps that isn’t a bad idea.

Related Posts:

• Homann via NFTLU on “Five Indispensable Tips for Law Students and New Lawyers”
• Patent lawyers are slammed by insurance rates - 2004-05-17 - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle)
• How to set up Adobe Acrobat to make EFS and the USPTO happy

E-mail Bankruptcy and other Productivity Tips

Speaking of “e-mail bankruptcy” (mentioned in my last post), that term (attributed to Lawrence Lessig) surfaced in Wired blog piece full of tips on “How To: Be More Productive.” Sound like something you need? Read the article.

Related Posts:

• Post Deluge Coming…
• Free Law Practice Tips!
• Acrobat Tips/Tweaks

Tech’s Next Boomtown…is Boise?

According to this MSNBC Video, it is. [via]

Of course, they’re not the first ones to say it. Someone else called it the “hotbed of entrepreneurship.” Plus we can also brag about (if memory serves me rightbeing #2 (patents per capita (city)) and #1 patents per capita (state)). Gotta love being a Boise, Idaho patent attorney.

Related Posts:

• Last Call…Boise Idea Market
• Patent Video: an introduction to patent law for judges and juries
• Boise Idea Market!