Patent ?

Thread Starter

Yas Rezaei

Joined Oct 9, 2017
4
I am sorry that my question is a little strange. But, I do not understand what is "patent". Indeed, is there any difference between "patent" and "paper"?

Thanks a lot
 

BR-549

Joined Sep 22, 2013
4,928
Before you can apply for a patent.........you must pay someone to see if anybody has patent it before.

So the first thing you need is money.
 

BobTPH

Joined Jun 5, 2013
8,804
A patent is a grant by a government of exclusive ownership of a new invention. The process is nearly impossible for an individual to initiate. Lawyers are usually used to write patents, which are written in a language unlike anything you have ever seen. They are nearly all rejected the first time, then the lawyer has to prove that their objections are unfounded.

A patentable idea must be new and non-obvious. The patent application must provide enough information for a person skilled in the art related to the patent (eg and electrical engineer for circuits) to build a working version of the invention.

I have 3 of them, all filed by my employer.

Bob
 

philba

Joined Aug 17, 2017
959
A patent is a grant by a government of exclusive ownership of a new invention. The process is nearly impossible for an individual to initiate. Lawyers are usually used to write patents, which are written in a language unlike anything you have ever seen. They are nearly all rejected the first time, then the lawyer has to prove that their objections are unfounded.

A patentable idea must be new and non-obvious. The patent application must provide enough information for a person skilled in the art related to the patent (eg and electrical engineer for circuits) to build a working version of the invention.

I have 3 of them, all filed by my employer.

Bob
Yeah, the process is weighted towards deep pockets. Typical cost of a patent today is north of $30K. I have 10 or so and they are all assigned to some company or other. I've lost track of who owns "my" patents. Heck, I have a patent on using -1 (initial value of a flash memory cell). So much for non-obviousness. It didn't used to be that way. Patents used to protect the little guy but today it's all about amassing "IP" and using it to threaten other companies into either paying up or cross licensing. The system is rigged for the big companies, it's pathetic. Look at Intellectual Ventures. The guy who owns it got rich by cross licensing patents and then using litigation threats to cross license other IP and build up a bigger portfolio so he can repeat the process. He didn't invent anything and claims he's just out to "protect the little guy". I doubt there is a patent in his portfolio that is actually owned by a little guy.
 

Thread Starter

Yas Rezaei

Joined Oct 9, 2017
4
Thank you, guys. Your information is very helpful for me.
However, there is a website for one of the professors which say that this person (Dr Narimani) have 4 patents.
I read the title of his patents and I found that all of them are equal!
How is it possible?
Please see this website the part related to his patent.

http://www.ece.mcmaster.ca/~narimanm/

In addition, I am thankful if you guide me how can I submitted my own patent in IEEE.

Thanks a lot
 

philba

Joined Aug 17, 2017
959
Time for Patents 101 (er, 99?).

A patent is a right issued by and registered with a governmental agency. In the USA, it is issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). It is headed by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. That title is but a taste of things to come! In the EU, the European Patent Office (EPO) issues patents. Originally, the patent mechanism was intended to promote communication of the invention and to allow others to build on the invention while giving the inventor a window of exclusivity.

An issued patent document contains the following sections.
  • Summary
  • Background and motivation for the patent
  • Invention summary
  • Drawings and diagrams
  • Description of the drawings
  • Detailed description of the invention
  • Set of claims (always at the end)
While these are all important, the claims are the real heart of the patent. This section defines the novelty of the patent.

A claim can be dependent or independent. The first claim is always independent. Subsequent and dependent claims can start something like "The claim in #1 plus...". There will always be at least one independent claim and perhaps more. I always just skip to the claims section when I read a patent.

My guess is your professor's patents differ in the claims sections. It is not unusual for vanity inventors to turn each independent claim into a separate patent to boost their patent count. This is abetted by some IP lawyers to boost their billable hours. When I see someone claim "hundreds of patents", I immediately suspect them of being a vanity inventor.

It is not required that a patent application be filed by a lawyer. Anyone can file an application and handle the subsequent office actions that ensue. Typically a paralegal does all that work anyway. The thing that an IP attorney brings to the table is understanding the arcane language and process of the USPTO. For a layman to do it is pretty unusual but not impossible. A typical patent will take years – mine took around 3 years from filing to issue and I believe it's gotten worse in 15 years since my last interaction.

This is just my opinion but patents are a huge waste of time and money for all but larger corporations. In theory, a patent can help you preserve your edge against competing products and allows an “inventor” to reap the financial benefits of his work. In practice you have to file your own infringement lawsuits and prove the infringement in court. Incredibly costly and when you consider the cost and time of getting the patent and the cost and time of defense, it's really the province of big corporations protecting multi-million dollar product lines. In addition, the legal system takes years to resolve disputes like this. A better way to “defend” yourself is to constantly innovate your products and make them better than the competition. If you are always 2 years ahead, yours will be the desired product.

We've all heard the stories of the little guy who wins a huge patent infringement judgment against some big corporation. The ratcheting socket wrench story springs to mind. However, this is the vast exception. Almost all patents are not owned by the “little guy” but rather assigned to some large corporation. If you invent in the course of your employment, it is owned by your employer.

Finally, the system of today is a far cry from the intent of the founding fathers. Patents are about building large IP portfolios to use as a weapon against competitors. This has lead to, what I believe, is widespread abuse of the patent system. Patent trolls buy up patents and use them to go after end users of products that they deem infringing. The trolls send out mass mailings of scary letters with a quick offer of settlement. They really have no intent of filing a suit. It must be successful, they keep doing it. A victim may make the decision that a $30K settlement is cheaper than the cost of defense. And, in my opinion, the worst of the worst is Intellectual Ventures that has amassed a huge portfolio and uses it to legally bludgeon companies into cross licensing their patents and make the IV portfolio even bigger and more threatening to the next victim. All the while they claim to be “protecting the little guy”. I bet the number of “little guys” holding patent rights in the IV portfolio is vanishingly small, if there is even one. Very smart but deeply unscrupulous.
 
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Papabravo

Joined Feb 24, 2006
21,157
In addition to the excellent essay above you need to read Don Lancaster's article(s) which contain the following trenchant comment from 25 years ago:

"At one time, way back in the golden age of inventing,
ideas were worth as much as a dime a dozen. These days,
they are worth less than a dime a bale in ten bale lots."

https://archive.org/stream/Case_Against_Patents/Case_Against_Patents_djvu.txt
 
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