Recent Posts

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Patent Questions and Advice / Re: How much Time Can USPTO Answer with the Confirmation for Provisional Application

« Last post by Brad on December 05, 2019, 09:59:59 AM »

Wait for 6 weeks and if you do not get a USPTO receipt call the application assistance phone number and give them your application number which starts with a 62....  and they will tell you the status.   Phone number = 888-786-0101

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Patent Questions and Advice / Re: How much Time Can USPTO Answer with the Confirmation for Provisional Application

« Last post by megantss on December 04, 2019, 04:39:01 PM »

Hey. I also was waiting for a confirmation letter but I did not receive it... I thought, by the way, maybe this is because I made a mistake in writing the postcode, I don

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Patent Questions and Advice / Re: New product use patent?

« Last post by Brad on December 04, 2019, 09:33:33 AM »

I think you mean a provisional application (not a non-provisional).  For reference we charge $3,500+ for a non-provisional so that would be about the same as filing 3 design applications.

If the provisional was your only option because of cost I would just make sure you have very good drawings clearly showing all 6 sides of each mold (top, bottom, left, right, front, and back). 

Whatever you decide to do remember that you have to file all your patents (either design or provisional) within 12 months of any public display or sale of your molds to have a shot of getting a patent in the US.

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Patent Questions and Advice / Re: Is it a method or a device patent?

« Last post by Brad on December 04, 2019, 09:26:53 AM »

You can claim both.   I would have some figures and descriptions of the device itself and any connectors needed plus some description and claims on the method.

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Patent Questions and Advice / Is it a method or a device patent?

« Last post by Joseph Mingrone on November 29, 2019, 02:44:24 PM »

Hi Brad,

   First, great site.  I've learned a lot reading through your responses.

My invention is something I discovered a few months ago after experimenting on my own vehicle.  The invention fixes a well known, undesireable behavior for which the only current workaround is invasive, expensive and beyond DIY.  My goal from the start was to develop a device that fixes the behavior without hardware hacks, firmware hacks or wiring changes ad could be iinstalled in minutes as a DIY.  The invention achieves this goal.

The circuit that does the job is dirt simple (and easy to reverse engineer).  The novelty of the invention is WHAT the signal is and HOW and WHERE it connects to the vehicle, not how to generate the signal, which is easy. 

My question is...do I write this up as a method, a circuit, or some combination of the two? Does it even matter what I call it in the PPA?   Thanks.

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Patent Questions and Advice / Re: New product use patent?

« Last post by MzMel2310 on November 27, 2019, 10:30:08 AM »

Can I file a non- provisional patent in the meantime, while I'm getting the $1200? There are 3 molds that I use, none of which are currently being used in the way I am, so that's $3600. I need to be able to safely sell current inventory to get the rest of the money.

Thank you again for your help.

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Patent Questions and Advice / Re: New product use patent?

« Last post by Brad on November 27, 2019, 09:26:40 AM »

If this is the first product with that design you may be able to file a "design" patent which would stop other people from making or selling the same product that looks the same as yours.    In general we charge $1200 to file a design patent (includes government fees, draftsman fees, and our fees).    If this of interest your can contact me  here:
https://patentfile.org/contact-us/


Thanks

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Patent Questions and Advice / Re: New product use patent?

« Last post by MzMel2310 on November 27, 2019, 05:33:18 AM »

Ok, so how do I protect my product? I'm making my products in a design that no one has thought of and no one else is using. How do I protect my products and keep someone else from profiting off my hard work?

I have a trademark on the name given to my product, but is there anything else I can do to protect my products?

Thank you for your help :-)

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Patent Questions and Advice / Re: New product use

« Last post by Brad on November 26, 2019, 10:13:28 AM »

Nothing is 100% black and white in the patent world but I would say probably not.

To the patent examiner a mold is a mold and even if you are using the mold for a different purpose, its generally working in the same way as expected and you are not really doing anything very different with the mold as far as I can tell.  This would be a clear "obviousness" type of rejection which they are allowed to make.

DISCLAIMER:  I have been wrong before and anything is possible (but this is just very unlikely)

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Patent Questions and Advice / New product use patent?

« Last post by MzMel2310 on November 25, 2019, 05:00:00 PM »

Hello,

I am a wondering if I can get a patent on an existing silicone mold for my business...I make wax melts and found 3 molds that no other business is using for their wax melts. All 3 were originally intended for bakers making chocolate. Is my use different enough to be granted a patent?

Thank you for your time and help