Patents and IP

Question 1

What to do if there are previous patents for components of your product?

Answer 1

• Licensing previous patents
• Cross licensing previous patents
  
  • Pay less since you negotiate the rights of your patent for the rights of the previous patent that is getting in your way, exchange rights
• Buy each item and use it in patent (right to use bought patented items any way)

Question 2

What is patentable?

Algorithms

Answer 2

• Initially, patent office did not consider algorithms patentable
  
  • Algorithms are abstract and not useful
• 1982: rubber company used algorithm that took mass, temp, time duration, etc. involved in rubber concentrstion and predicted when curing was complete - part of their process
  
  • Couldn’t have been done without algorithm
  • Got the patent
• For next 10 years, if you want a patent around algorithm make sure that it is tied to a physical process
  
  • Tied to something useful, good!
• Then, when useful criteria diminished it became less restrictive and now they’re allowed
• IS any algorithm patentable?
  
  • No, must have usefulness, be tied to physical world but not as explicitly as used to be.

Question 3

Authors vs Inventors

Answer 3

• When you write an article, author is anyone who has provided money to make project go through
  
  • Even if they didn’t write anything, will still be put as author
• Inventor: anyone who contributed strongly on at least one claim.
  
  • If you are a technician who did tons of experiemnts, not inventor unless it changeed or shaped the claim
  • Must have had conception/idea that changed course of invention
• Graduate student: had inventions at BMC and researcher lady was paying wages, should they be on patent?
  
  • Would be an author, yes.
  • Not an inventor though. Did not contribute strongly to one claim.

Question 4

Doctrine of equivalence

Answer 4

• Ex: Patent explains way of hanging a picture frame to automatically lay flat
  
  • In claim, fasteners described with “screws”
  • Someone else does same thing but with “nails”
  • Judge will spend a long time on discussion to distinguish
  • How equivalent are these two things? If they are, infringement.

Question 5

Tech field

Answer 5

• New innovatoins at high rate of speed
• Hard to keep up with it at beginning of the rise - an exponential curve with plateau
• Cross-licensing very important in exponential increase because you can’t follow all the patents that are coming out - way too many

Question 6

Infringement

Answer 6

• Each and every element of one claim must be practiced by infringer for it to be considered infringement.
  
  • TRUE
• Frame example
  
  • Idea involving wire, weights and magnet to level the frame
  • Someone else has a way of making balance with wire and weights but no magnet
    
    • Does not use all the elements
  • Not infringement!
  • Must utilize all elements of one claim for it to be infringement.
  • If patent specifies iron should be used, but you use steel - not infringement
• For patent writers, avoid specifying too much because you’ve allowed others to get around it
• Keep original claim broad

Question 7

Exclusion and permission

Answer 7

• Patents exclude others from infringing on your idea, trhey DO NOT permit you to sell/make it
• Pen/pencil
  
  • Can get a patent for the pen
  • But, can’t make it until you cross-license the pencil since it’s included in the concept of your patent

Question 8

Ideas discussed

Answer 8

• Cactus and cup with plastic bag to get fresh water from salt water
  
  • Someone created an invention that replicated process without hole
  • Navy wanted it on all ships - huge market
• Hard to see people lost at sea on rafts
  
  • Ball that expands in water to make huge target for visibility
  • Target is Navy, huge market

Question 9

Money expected from inventions

Answer 9

• Needs to make 100,000 at least
• Venture capital looks at > 1 billion over time

Question 10

Midterm Reflection Notes

Answer 10

• MFG patents can make a lot of money because they control the process, no-one else can make it the way you make it
• Can get patents on computer programs and methods of business - they are considered processes
• Publishing?
  
  • Depends on how widespread information was
  • Can be preventative of a patent if even online for a few minutes if showed to enough people

Question 11

Making money from inventions

Answer 11

• Don’t have to get a patent to sell your product
  
  • But, left susceptible to people copying idea and cutting into market with no way to stop them
  • Particularly, those that can mass produce their version and wipe you out (Amazon)

Main ways to make money

1. Advertise, make and sell it.
   
   • Kitchen, home, garage device or toy - easy.
   • Use a website and get feedback
   • Use this as a basis to cross-license with big companies whose sales can launch it.
2. License to a company that can make it.
   
   • Brings you 3-8% of profits of sales - you want them to succeed.
   • Automotive
   • How to get other companies to pay for the license?
     
     • Prototype - show benefits and how it can boost the licenser’s position
     • Get customers to use it and get feedback.
     • Put it on a website
     • Talk to lead engineers in the industry.
     • Write an article on it
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