Patent Industry Issues

Identifying and Pursuing Patent Infringers

May 9, 2019

Identifying and Pursuing Patent Infringers: Using technical evidence to build your assertion campaign Building evidence of use (EoU) for advanced technology products can be challenging, because advanced product testing or reverse engineering may be required. And, while indications of use may help get infringers to the negotiating table, these often implied indications of use are less lucrative than fact-based EoU. Join Gene Quinn, President and CEO of IPWatchdog, Inc, on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at 12:00 pm (noon) EDT, for a free webinar discussing…

LED lighting pioneers scoop Nobel Prize

October 17, 2014

Three scientists have been awarded $1.1 million in prize money after winning the 2014 Nobel Prize, led by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano (both Japanese) and U.S. scientist Shuji Nakamura shared the prize for the development of Blue LED technology. Up until the early-90’s engineers and scientists had discovered how to make red and green LED’s but had struggled with creating blue diodes which were the key to creating white lamps that would eventually make the…

EPO launches new online patent filing system

October 6, 2014

The European Patent Office (EPO) has launched a new online filing system for patent applications. There has reportedly been an increase in the demand for such systems to be introduced over the last few years by patent holders frustrated with having to submit paper applications. The EPO said that it is another step towards automating the application process, minimising the risk of human error and reducing the cost of patent filing. EPO President Benoît Battistelli said: “The new system supports…

Renewal Rules Update: New Zealand

September 15, 2014

On 13th September, the maintenance and renewal rules for New Zealand changed. In summary, you need to be aware of the following key points to ensure that your next renewals are completed successfully and your patents aren’t accidentally allowed to lapse: Renewal years [alert type=”success” title=””] Instead of paying just four lump sum renewal fees over the life of the patent, you now need to pay annually, starting from the fourth anniversary of the filing date. [/alert] New fee schedule [alert…

5 people who proved the true worth of a patent

September 1, 2014

Levi Strauss buys revolutionary denim patent In the early 70’s an American tailor called Jacob Davies realised that he could use metal rivets on jeans to make them more durable. It may have been a seemingly tiny alteration in the clothing market but would end up evolving into a huge worldwide success. Davies was unfortunately unable to afford the patent office fees in order to adequately protect the idea so approached an unknown store owner called Levi Strauss to pay…

Why you may be paying 4x more than the patent office fee to renew

July 28, 2014

We were really glad to see esteemed Intellectual Property blog IPKat discussing RenewalsDesk and the hidden costs that some renewals companies charge to patent holders. One of the most discussed issues from the article is how you can be charged up to four times the official patent office fee by many renewal agencies. “Over eight million patents are held worldwide by many thousands of businesses. All have to pay regular renewal fees, usually every year, to the Patent Office for each…

Hidden fees: Foreign exchange and the dark side of patent renewals

July 24, 2014

Well over eight million patents are held worldwide by many thousands of businesses, but only a small percentage of these businesses truly understand what they are paying to keep their patents in force. The vast majority – especially those without in-house IP expertise – are kept in the dark when it comes to the hugely inflated fees they end up paying every year to make patent renewals. As patents are granted and maintained on a country-by-country basis, most patent holder’s…

Google wages war on Patent trolls

July 22, 2014

Google has come under fire from so-called patent trolls on several occasions over the last ten years. At the start of 2014 the company was ordered to pay 1.36% of its Adwords revenue to a small business that purchased a group of patents originally filed by Lycos. Given that Adwords has been one of the most spectacular financial successes of Google this is a very important ruling. The concept of ‘patent trolling’ (i.e. purchasing patents with no aspiration to develop…

UK ditches patents quicker than most other countries

July 22, 2014

The average time that patent holders keep their patents for in the UK has fallen drastically short of countries such as Canada and Germany a new report has found. The average UK patent holder only keeps their patent for 7.6 years according to a recent study by the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO). By comparison, countries such as Germany have an average of 11.3 years, South Africa 11.1 years and India 11 years. Out of all of the countries with…

UKIPO online patent renewals system falls short of expectation

July 15, 2014

It was gratifying to see the UK Intellectual Property Office, in partnership with the UK government, this week launch a new digital system for patent renewals, but unfortunately it falls short of existing solutions in the market such as RenewalsDesk. The launch is part of an effort to reform the customer experience of patent and trademark holders in the UK and part of a wider – and very welcome – scheme run by the UK government to bring its red-tape-ridden…

We will always tell you the patent office fee so there are no hidden fees. Ever. Email us

We will always tell you the patent office fee so there are no hidden fees. Ever.

Email us