Right after it launched the iPad mini, Apple filed a trademark application for the name with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). As Patently Apple noticed earlier today, however, the USPTO will likely refuse Apple’s trademark filing because, the reviewer argues, “the applied-for mark merely describes a feature or characteristic of applicant’s goods.” The… → Read More
Google today expanded its search coverage for patents by adding millions of documents from the European Patent Office to Google Patents. Google’s patent search tool went live all the way back in 2006, but only featured U.S. patents until now. In addition, the company also added a “Prior Art Finder” feature to Google Patents that automatically scans the web, Google Patents, Google Scholar and… → Read More
The United States Patent And Trademark Office (USPTO) has extended its Green Technology Pilot Program to accelerate the review of patent petitions for green technologies defined as those pertaining to: environmental quality, energy conservation, development of renewable energy, and greenhouse gas emission reduction.
Applications are usually reviewed in the order they are received by the patent… → Read More
During my tech days, I co-authored four software patents. Each cost my startup about $15,000—which seemed like a fortune in those days. I didn’t really expect these to give me any advantage; after all if my competitors had half a brain, they would simply learn all they could from my patent filing and do things better. But I needed to raise financing, and VCs wouldn’t give me the time of day… → Read More
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