IIMPROVEMENTS TO COMPUTER NETWORKS AND/OR ARCHITECTURE MAY HAVE A GOOD CHANCE OF PATENTABILITY
A recent Federal Circuit decision reinforces the view that patents based on improved computer networks or architecture can be patentable....
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Shimokaji IP
- Aug 25
INCREASING THE POTENTIAL PATENTABILITY OF A COMPUTERIZED METHOD OF ANALYZING DATA
Obtaining patent protection for using a computer to gather and analyze data continues to be a challenge - but not impossible. A recent...
Shimokaji IP
- Jul 29
CAN YOU PATENT A DIAGNOSTIC TEST?
Yes, but it remains challenging. The patent laws provide that any new and useful process can be patented. However, laws of nature,...
Shimokaji IP
- Jul 15
CAN I USE MY FOREIGN TRADEMARK FOR PROTECTION IN THE UNITED STATES?
Generally, trademark rights exist only in countries where the mark is being used. A trademark has a separate existence on a...
Shimokaji IP
- Oct 11, 2021
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF LIMITING THE PRIOR ART TO YOUR DESIGN PATENT
A design patent protects an article of manufacture. For example, a design patent may cover a chair or even a surgical tool. Your design...
Shimokaji IP
- Jul 12, 2021
LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION BETWEEN TRADEMARKS CAN DEPEND ON WHAT PART CONSUMERS FOCUS
One's ability to register a trademark can depend on whether the trademark to be registered creates a "likelihood of confusion" with a...
Shimokaji IP
- Jul 2, 2021
USING A GEOGRAPHICAL TERM IN YOUR TRADEMARK MAY PREVENT REGISTRATION
Business owners may find it useful to use in their trademark the city or state in which the business is located. The inclusion of a...
Shimokaji IP
- Jun 22, 2021
PATENTABILITY OF MEDICAL DIAGNOSTIC AND TESTING RESULTS
So much of the medical advances today involve a diagnostic test and interpreting the test results. But is the technological advance...
Shimokaji IP
- Jan 21, 2021
US PATENT & TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO) CRITICIZES CHINA PATENT & TRADEMARK FILINGS
The USPTO recently criticized the manner in which the number of patent and trademark filings in China is influenced by the Chinese...
Shimokaji IP
- Jan 14, 2021
MEDICAL DEVICE INVENTIONS THAT JUST GATHER AND REPORT DATA MAY NOT BE PATENTABLE
Many innovative and useful medical device inventions sense, gather, and display data. However, those inventions may still not be...
Shimokaji IP
- Jan 7, 2021
CAN YOU PATENT YOUR NEW SOCIAL NETWORK?
New social networks continue to be created each day. But can you protect your new social network with a patent and prevent it from being...
Shimokaji IP
- Dec 30, 2020
A NON-OBVIOUS IMPROVEMENT MAY NOT BE ENOUGH FOR PATENTABILITY
A basic tenet of patent law has been that an invention must be new and non-obvious for it to be patentable. "New" means that the...
Shimokaji IP
- Dec 17, 2020
AGAINST WHAT KIND OF INFRINGEMEN WILL A DESIGN PATENT PROTECT?
Product owners often rely on design patents for protection against infringement by copycats. But they often also ask how similar or...
Shimokaji IP
- Nov 3, 2020
WHO OWNS THE PATENT WHICH YOU INVENTED?
There can be multiple inventors on a patent. But who owns the patent can be difficult to answer in the absence of an agreement.
Shimokaji IP
- Oct 22, 2020
DO YOU QUALIFY AS AN INVENTOR OF A PATENT?
Who is listed as an inventor on your patent can affect its validity. An incorrectly named inventor may make your patent invalid.
Shimokaji IP
- Sep 24, 2020
SHOULD AND HOW DO I GET FOREIGN PATENTS?
Whether you should get foreign patents is a business decision. How you obtain a foreign patent can be done in a couple of ways.
Shimokaji IP
- Jul 26, 2020
HOW BROAD (OR VAGUE) SHOULD I MAKE MY PATENT APPLICATION?
A broadly written patent application can give the patent owner broad patent protection.
Shimokaji IP
- Jul 1, 2020
"GENERIC" TRADEMARKS MAY NOW BE EASIER TO OBTAIN FEDERAL TRADEMARK REGISTRATION
Trademarks are often categorized on a "distinctiveness" scale from generic, descriptive, suggestive, arbitrary, and to fanciful.
Shimokaji IP
- Jun 29, 2020
DOES YOUR INVENTION GO BEYOND COMMON SENSE TO MAKE IT PATENTABLE?
A challenge that most patent applicants face is whether their invention is obvious or non-obvious.
Shimokaji IP
- Jun 22, 2020
BEWARE OF A DISADVANTAGE AND TRAP WHEN FILING A PROVISIONAL PATENT APPLICATION
Some of the advantages of filing a provisional patent application are lower cost and faster time to file.