Author: Vic Lin

Have you received a patent infringement cease-and-desist letter? Patent cease-and-desist letters come in various forms. Some patent infringement letters contain aggressive language. Others take a…

Is a Power of Attorney required to pay a maintenance fee? If a new patent attorney or law firm plans to pay the maintenance fee…

What is use in commerce? To establish trademark rights in the US, a trademark owner generally must be the first to use a mark in…

Can an Assignee also be identified as an Applicant in a US national phase application? Yes, if the earliest filing date of the US national…

Can inventions be publicly disclosed prior to filing a US patent application? The US patent system is different from the patent laws of most foreign…

Is there such a thing as a patent renewal? Sort of. Instead of patent renewals, they are called maintenance fees. Maintenance fees apply only to…

What are the differences between provisional and nonprovisional patent applications? A nonprovisional patent application is normally considered the regular utility patent application. It is what…

What is an inherently distinctive trademark? An inherently distinctive trademark is a mark that lacks descriptive wording in relation to your goods or services. It’s…

What is a trademark rejection? Not all trademark Office Actions are the same. Your application may receive a trademark rejection, or a registration refusal, which…

What makes an idea patentable? If you have specific examples of how your idea would actually work, then your concept might be patentable if it…

PCT Application: The Gateway to Obtaining Foreign Utility Patents Are you considering foreign utility patent protection? A Patent Cooperation Treaty application is a single utility…

Is a utility patent right for you? A utility patent covers how an invention works. Unlike a design patent which covers how a product looks,…