Law Offices of David L. Hoffman
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"PREDICTABLE
PRICES FOR UNPREDICTABLE PATENT PROBLEMS"
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THE PATENT OFFICE FINALLY TAKES
SOME STEPS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
The patent office's attempts over the last few years to speed up
examination of patent applications actually slowed them down.
Many were not examined until two years or more after filing.
For small businesses and entrepeneurs, this
delay in examination often translates into a delay in product
introduction. They cannot afford to bring out the product
without knowing that they can stop competitors. To handle
pressure to speed up examination, patent examiners became adept at
pushing paper, causing even more delays and expense. Former IBM
Counsel David Kappos, the relatively new
Commissioner of Patents, is addressing this "paper pushing"
in part by enabling patent attorneys and inventors to talk to the
examiner before the examiner ever sends out a first examination of
the application. Previously, you could only have an
interview with the examiner after the first examination. This early
interview process is designed to help focus examination which should
speed up the time from filing through patent issuance. In
addition, this measure should improve the quality of
examination. I remain hopeful that Commissioner Kappos will continue to improve patent
examination and fuel the economy.
Sincerely,
David Hoffman
Law Offices of David L. Hoffman
28494 Westinghouse Place, Suite 204
Valenica, California 91355
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Tip
of the Month
I recently
read an article by Bonnie Chermak, Esq.,
LAentertainmentlawyer.com, which covered how to protect ideas and
works not protectable under copyright. Little known Civil Code
Section 980 provides exclusive ownership rights in certain inventions
and works, and should be carefully considered when an issue arises in
this area.
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