Your USPTO

Gathering strongest prior art is key in an AIA trial proceeding  Your issued patent may mean more to you than […]

Through the centuries, the umbrella morphed into a fashion statement that was also associated with decorum. Rankine wrote that during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), there was a system of umbrella etiquette at court, much like fan etiquette, with different meanings for different colors and positions.

If a USPTO patent examiner issues a second or final rejection of your invention, you might consider filing an ex parte appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to overturn it. When preparing an appeal brief outlining how you feel the examiner erred, keep in mind some important requirements and best practices. 

Ruth Rogan Benerito was a pioneer in much more than driving safety – her groundbreaking work in textiles included her team’s discovery of wrinkle-resistant cotton.

Born in Lowndes County, Mississippi, in 1857, Baker became a Patent Office employee around 1877. He soon sought to dispel racist claims that his fellow African-Americans could not be inventors. He began a list of such inventors throughout U.S. history.

The PTAB website provides useful information about the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and the types of proceedings it conducts. Becoming acquainted with the website also helps you learn where to find additional information.

Although superlatives are commonplace in the marketing of an invention or service, there are few loftier accolades than “the real McCoy.”

It’s a haunting, agonizing refrain in violent crimes that went unsolved for decades or were never solved at all: There were no fingerprints. Then, Sir Alec John Jeffreys changed crime-solving forever.

As mentioned in previous articles, these legal proceedings include ex parte appeals (in which an appellant seeks review of a prior rejection of claims in a patent application by a USPTO examiner), and America Invents Act (AIA) trials (in which a petitioner asserts that a patent controlled by a patent owner should not have issued in the first place). In both of these proceedings, parties may request a hearing at the PTAB.

“Inclusive” is the key word in the newly branded Council for Inclusive Innovation (CI2). The council—consisting of a who’s who from sectors including the federal government, academia, industry, intellectual property associations and nonprofits—will be chaired by United States Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. The USPTO is an agency of the Department of Commerce.

The two soft drink behemoths exemplify the early years of what historians call the “mass consumer culture,” displayed via a beautiful collection of commercial labels and advertisements at the Library of Congress that came from the then-United States Patent Office.

As the world celebrates Computer Science Education Week December 6-12, it can also celebrate von Ahn’s prominent role in improving the security of internet sites, digitizing books through crowdsourcing, and more.