Understanding the Different Types of Patents under the Patent Law of the US

A patent protects the discoveries and inventions, which are novel, non-obvious, and useful. There are three types of patents under the Patent Law of the United States, namely, utility patents, design patents, and plant patents. Each patent type protects a specific type of discovery or invention and has different eligibility requirements; however, it is also possible for one discovery or invention to potentially have more than one type of Patent Protection available for it. Now, let us understand this situation with an example – suppose a person invents an object, and he or she is willing to patent both the design and the functional features of that object. In this scenario, the inventor would require applying for two separate patents, both a design and utility patent.

It’s time to make ourselves familiar with the three different types of patents available under the patent law of the US and also understand how you can obtain patent protection for your discovery or invention.

1.     Utility Patents

A utility patent is undoubtedly the most common type of patent that the inventors seek. This type of patent revolves around compositions of matter, processes, manufactures, and machines that are useful, novel, and non-obvious. Inventors and innovators can also obtain a utility patent for useful and new improvements to the already existing compositions of matter, processes, manufactures, and machines. Compositions of matter refer to the chemical compositions that include a mixture of ingredients or new chemical compounds. Processes can be any acts or different methods of doing something, and they usually involve technical or industrial processes. Manufactures refer to the products or goods that are made or manufactured. Machines include all the things are typically defined as a machine across the globe.

2.     Design Patents

A design in legal terms refers to the surface ornamentation of an object, which can include the configuration or shape of an object. For obtaining design patent protection, the inventors or innovators need to ensure that the design is inseparable from the object. Although the design and the object need to be inseparable, a design patent only protects the appearance of the object. If a person is willing to protect the structural or functional features of an object, he or she must file a Patent Application for a utility patent as well.

3.     Plant Patents

The inventors and innovators can obtain patent protection for their new and distinctive plants. For obtaining this type of patent protection, there are a few requirements, which are as follows:

·         The plant can’t be a tuber propagated plant, i.e., an Irish potato

·         The plant can be asexually produced

·         The plant can’t be found in an uncultivated state

In asexual reproduction, the plant is reproduced by cutting or grafting the plant, instead of being reproduced with a seed. The reason why plant patents require asexual reproduction is that the same works as proof that a patent applicant is capable of reproducing the plant.

How can you Obtain Patent Protection in the US?

In the US, patent protection can be obtained by filing a patent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), irrespective of the type of patent that you are seeking. There are both the options of provisional and non-provisional patent applications available for the patent owners.

A patent applicant can file a provisional patent application if he or she needs more time to determine the specifics of his or her invention while protecting it from being patented by another person. The patent applicant who files a provisional patent application has a span of one year from the date of filing the patent application to file the corresponding non-provisional patent application.

The non-provisional patent application begins the official examination phase for the USPTO to decide whether a discovery or invention is eligible to obtain patent protection or not. Although the information included in a patent application depends on the type of invention; in general, every non-provisional patent application must include a claim and description of the discovery or invention, an oath or declaration, drawings, and the required fee. An inventor or innovator can also file an international patent application as per the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). For view source: https://www.kashishipr.com/blog/understanding-the-different-types-of-patents-under-the-patent-law-of-the-us/

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Delhi HC: Applicants Own Right to Know Reason for Trademark Application Rejection

The Delhi High Court (HC) recently has held that the trademark registrar is duty-bound to provide the applicant with the replica of an order passed under Section 18(5) of the Trademarks Act, 1999 comprising the ground for refusal/conditional acceptance in addition to the materials he used to reach the decision.

The Court has stated that Rule 36 of the Trademarks Rules, 2017 is unreasonable, arbitrary, and inconsistent with the Act insofar because it empowers the Registry to express the decision without including the grounds for refusal/conditional acceptance.

The ruling was passed by a Single-judge Bench of Justice JR Midha following a petition favored by the Intellectual Property Attorneys Association. The association had moved to the Court after being wronged by non-speaking orders passed by the registrar of trademarks while refusing applications for Trademark Registration.

It was asserted that such refusals were violating Section 18(5) of the Trademarks Act. Besides, it was argued that the terms mandated the registrar to maintain written records of the grounds for refusal or conditional acceptance along with the materials he used to arrive at his decision.

On the other side, Rule 36 of Trademarks Rules, 2017, states that the registrar shall provide the decision in writing to the applicant. Moreover, if the applicant wants to file an appeal for getting the grounds behind the decision, he might do so within 30 days in Form TM-M.

Hence, the association concluded and argued that as far as the supply of reasons behind the refusal was concerned, Rule 36 was in contravention of Section 18(5).

To finish after hearing the parties, the Court approved the petition made by the Intellectual Property Attorneys Association. It held that the trademarks registrar/administrator was duty-bound to provide the applicants (who file Trademark Applications) with the copy of the order passed under Section 18(5) to make them familiar with the reasons for refusal or conditional acceptance and the materials he deployed to come up with that decision.

The Court further clearly held that Rule 36 was arbitrary, unreasonable, and inconsistent with the Act. It agreed with the association and ordered that the petition is approved. It added that the registrar of the trademarks is directed to stringently implement Section 18(5) of the Trademarks Act by maintaining written records of grounds for refusal/conditional acceptance and also sending the same to the applicant within fourteen days of the passing of the order. ✅ For view-source: https://bit.ly/2ClGvLV

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Blockchain: An Advanced Way to Protect, Manage, and Monetize Your IP

Are you facing issues in protecting, managing, or monetizing your Intellectual Property (IP)? Don’t worry, as you can now implement blockchain technology, which works as an advanced tool to help you protect, manage, and monetize your IP.

Intellectual property, which refers to outcomes of the human mind, includes many different things. From inventions to artistic works and unique products, almost every uncommon and useful thing can rest under its umbrella. Whether you create a symbol, write a book, design a game, or come up with any other intangible media, you (as an author) can access and enjoy Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) over the same. Nevertheless, the present system appears a bit weak to bring this phenomenon in practice. You are possibly aware of how easy it is for others to steal your content nowadays when the internet facilitates your data to flow freely across the globe.

Blockchain technology provides an incorruptible digital ledger that aids you in tracking assets and recording transactions in a business network. Assets can be tangible such as cash, cars, and houses or intangible like IP. Working as a tool to store and manage assets on a decentralized ledger and track transactions associated with digital content, including anything – music to pieces of art, etc., blockchain ensures reliability, accountability, and transparency. In this way, it allows an immediate revenue stream for creators by enabling a direct relationship between them and consumers.

IP Protection with Blockchain

As a creator of content, image, or anything else, you can understand how frustrating it is to put in efforts and time on something that people can access freely without your consent and any compensation. Moreover, you also comprehend the importance of retaining ownership rights as it is the easiest method to avoid such frustrating acts. Nevertheless, with the current model of the IP industry where getting your asset registered is a time taking process and the internet that has made copying content quite easy, doing so appears a bit hard. Worst, proving infringement of your content in court without proof of ownership becomes difficult. Here, blockchain digital ledgers that emphasize working with time-stamped and unalterable records come up as the perfect place to store evidence of your ownership rights. They provide a solution for authenticating and proving the time of creation and the identity of the original creator, thus eliminating all sorts of doubts and making it easier for creators to enforce their rights when Copyright Infringement of their content occurs.

IP Management with Blockchain

In the present era, once creators upload their work online, it becomes arduous for them to maintain control of the same. Moreover, not only the creators find it problematic to know who is using or making profits from their content, but even third-parties who wish to seek a license to use someone’s IP face difficulty in determining the relevant owner. All these facts result in increasing infringement issues and preventing authors from properly monetizing their works. The blockchain technology, which maintains a fair digital record enough to prove the creator’s authenticity, can prevent the occurrence of such issues. Besides, by maintaining transparency, it helps third parties to identify the original owner and get his/her permission to use the content. And this, ultimately, benefits the creators with the option to obtain expected compensation in exchange for licensing their IP.

IP Monetization with Blockchain

Blockchain technology-based smart contracts play an active role in helping creators monetize their IP. These contracts empower creators to not only dictate the fee and terms of their licensing agreements and ensure that the licensee is using it as expected but also license content directly to end-users. They can also serve you with benefits like automatic payment triggering whenever people access your content, appropriate scaling of compensations, etc. Blockchain, in this manner, aids you to save your money and monetize IP effectively as with smart contracts, you needn’t have middlemen.

Conclusion

Almost every one of us knows that blockchain technology, if used correctly, can help creators in improving efficiency, cutting expenses, and increasing revenue by creating new products. Still, many individuals and enterprises often ignore stepping ahead with it. Well, whether to use blockchain for protection, management, and monetization of your IP or not is your choice. Nonetheless, if you want to experience noteworthy protection of your IP and suitable compensation for your creative works, it is advisable to go for this advanced technology. ✅   For view-source: https://bit.ly/32nrwvG

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Intel Sues SoftBank-Controlled Fortress over Patent Aggregation

Intel has filed a lawsuit against SoftBank-controlled Fortress Investment Group, alleging the company stockpiled patents to hold up Intel as well as many other technology companies with numerous suits.

In response to a series of Patent Infringement cases that Fortress has filed against Intel in recent years, this latest suit accuses Fortress of engaging in anticompetitive behavior alleging that the company used its stockpile of technology patents to patent troll Intel. As a result, Intel is requesting the court to declare the patent aggregation business practice of Fortress as unlawful and essentially unwind its operations.

In the past few years, Intellectual Property (IP) aggregation intended to enforce patents and get royalties has emerged into a business. It has also lead to an increase in the number of companies known as patent assertion entities (PAEs) or patent trolls that acquire a lot of patents from several firms and then license them often in package deals to high-tech organizations who are developing real products.

Fortress controls several PAEs, and through a network of these entities, it has owned more than 1,000 U.S. technology patents, including patents granted originally to NXP Semiconductor, providing Fortress with a fairly deep collection of chip Design Patents. Aimed to make profits from those patents, Fortress and PAEs that it controls have previously alleged that virtually all of Intel’s CPUs produced since 2011 illegally use the NXP IP.

Certainly, Intel’s recent lawsuit rests on the notion that PAE’s patent enforcement actions do not necessarily lead to drive innovation by inventors; instead, they hurt manufacturers. Intel insinuates that Fortress’s business model revolves around the concept of parlaying patents, especially looking to profit from the range between what the firm pays for the patent and what it thinks to get from companies for settling the matter out of courts as defending in courts often demands to spend even more.

Intel, on its part, isn’t new at protesting against patent trolls. Nonetheless, what makes this case complex is that Fortress, which has been bought by SoftBank for $3.3 billion in 2017, has the support of the Japanese multinational conglomerate. So Fortress is far more affluent than any typical PAE. Moreover, SoftBank itself is a competitor to Intel, as it also owns Arm.

Although agreeing that this case is a bit complicated, still Intel doesn’t appear willing to pay to Fortress for its patents, at least not without testing them legally in court first. However, SoftBank hasn’t yet provided any official statement about Intel’s antitrust lawsuit. ✅ For view source: https://bit.ly/36HHu6X

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Planning to File a Patent Application? Don’t Miss on These 5 Points

Amongst many different things inventors need to do to succeed, applying for a patent is the most vital one. Sadly, most of them often either ignore or delay carrying out this significant task for a variety of reasons, like lack of knowledge regarding the law, insufficient budget, etc. Undoubtedly, waiting to File a Patent Application isn’t a bad idea, but it as a whole can raise a lot of risks. It may sometimes make you face losses due to violation of your invention. Sometimes, it can forever foreclose the option to obtain patent protection. Hence, in the present age where competition is remarkably high, filing a patent application is significant. However, what’s more important – the five points that you must consider while applying for the patent to reap the best possible profits.

How to File a Patent Application Effectively?

1.     Understand ‘what, why, etc.’: Most individuals and companies view patent filing as just a task, and thus, apply for a patent without thinking much and in the flow with other jobs related to their business. However, as it is a matter associated with the protection of your unique invention, you should always take it seriously and be cautious about the Patent Process. Understand how to file a patent application, what role does a patent play, how can it benefit you, and more importantly, why do you want to get a patent. Several reasons that showcase merits revolving around patenting your asset could make you do this. For example – a granted patent serves you with Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) to keep infringers who may infringe on your ideas at bay. It can create goodwill that boosts up your company’s reputation and inventors’ prestige. Furthermore, your application, whether approved or not, works as a public prior art document prohibiting others from applying for a patent for a thing similar to yours.

2.     Select the Correct Approach: Now, when you have decided to file a patent application by having any of the advantages in your mind, it’s the time to opt for a suitable approach. Out of several methods like filing the Provisional Patent Application, non-provisional patent application, international patent application, or Design Patent application, you can opt for any as per your needs. Although you can easily make this straightforward decision by recognizing your requisites, gathering information about each method will undoubtedly be worthwhile.

3.     Find Attorney With Deep Knowledge Regarding the Subject Area: No matter whether you are applying for the first or second time, an experienced Patent Attorney plays a remarkable role in the complete patent process. He/ she will help you in establishing a final application, which involves no mistakes and holds all the required details that would prevent your request from being rejected by the patent office. Nevertheless, the lawyer is a human being after all who can’t read minds, and plausibly need your aid to explain things in the patent application adequately. So, don’t leave everything on him/her, instead ask your inventors to invest some of their valuable time helping him/her. Tell the attorney which part of your invention is ‘inventive’ as per your perspective, what features differentiate it from the assets already existing in the market. Moreover, make sure that he/she will prepare the final application emphasizing your disclosure as it would make the process easier and things go right.

4.     Expect Things Could Go Wrong: Even if you have partnered with the best IP Attorney in the country, there is no guarantee that everything will go right, or we can say as you expect. As discussed earlier, as a human being, your attorney can also make mistakes, or forget including anything crucial in your application. Hence, you should always submit the final application after reviewing everything to ensure accuracy and completeness. Check that nothing necessary is missing, and the description describing your invention is understandable, clear, and well-formatted. Besides, make sure that the language used in the application gives out a sense of politeness.

5.     Get Aware of the Timings and Deadlines: According to the US Patent Law, filing the patent application before uncovering the invention in front of anyone is the time that will be in your best interest. Moreover, for prioritizing your application at the USPTO, there is a need to request it on the same day when you will apply. No privilege can make it possible later. When it comes to foreign and PCT patent applications, you have to file them within some months of the initial US patent application. As your attorney can explain the laws and privileges therein more precisely, it is better to stay in touch and ask everything without any hesitation.

Wrapping Up:

In the end, obtaining a patent is though a bit painful yet incredibly rewarding. Therefore, if you are having something new and unique in your treasure, don’t be afraid of taking a little pain in getting Patent Protection for the same. Note that if granted, the patent will bestow you with lots of benefits that would fade away all your pain. ✅   For view source: https://bit.ly/33pnkN7

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Innoviti Files Patent Infringement Case Against Pine Labs

On 17th July 2019, Innoviti Payment Solutions revealed that it has alleged Pine Labs Pvt Ltd for infringing its patent. The plaintiff, which is a Bengaluru-based digital payments provider, filed the case revolving around a processing technology that enables UPI payments at retail POS (Point-of-Sale) terminals, in Bengaluru City Civil Court on 11th July 2019.

The Court granted Innoviti an ex-parte ad interim injunction against Pine Labs. Coming into effect immediately on 16th July 2019, it prevents the defendant from manufacturing, distributing, advertising, selling, and even exporting this technology via its ‘Plutus Smart’ or any other device in India.

According to Innoviti, its invention for payment processing by using transaction-specific dynamic-QR technology was granted a patent by the Indian Patent Office on 15th March 2019. The patent rights in association with its patent number – 309274 will be in force till 29th March 2037.

In what way does this processing technology work?

The transaction-specific dynamic-QR technology enables payments processing through UPI, Bharat QR, and other QR-based forms of payment. It involves the PoS (Point-of-Sale) devices that firms generally use to accept debit and credit card payments.

Every payment transaction made by using this technology processes with a unique code, which ensures better fraud control, less error-prone cashier-customer interaction, and more secure transactions.

The plaintiff shared that the company has already licensed the same technology to several partner financial organizations and is currently in discussion with more.

The investors who support the Bengaluru-based Innoviti include:

• Catamaran Ventures,
• SBI Ven Capital, Singapore,
• Bessemer Venture Partners, US.

Rajeev Agrawal, Innoviti’s chief executive, said that one of their employees informed them about a shop in Bengaluru, which is using the same technology. He added that such information had placed them in a shocking situation. He continued that they came across many instances revealing the possibilities of their Patent Infringement by several Indian commercial organizations that deal in selling and offering for sale payment devices. Hence, they began legal enforcement of their Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), such as patent rights.

Innoviti annually processes near about $5 billion of payments across India from approximately 1000 cities and till now, has filed 16 Patent Applications in various payment technology sectors. For more visit: https://www.kashishipr.com/ 

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