The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the University of Texas will be conducting a conference designed specifically for independent Texas inventors and entrepreneurs. The Conference will be held September 14-15 at the University of Texas at Austin in the Thompson Conference Center located at 2405 Robert Dedman Drive, Austin, Texas. Presentations and workshops will be conducted by [...]
One positive effect of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (the patent reform bill passed in 2011) for small inventors is the introduction of the “micro” entity filing status. As you may know, under the current law the USPTO recognizes “large” and “small” entities, with small entities being entitled to a 50% reduction in most USPTO fees. [...]
In the last post, we discussed the possible impacts of the modification of the one year grace period, under 35 U.S.C. §102(b), under the new America Invents Act (AIA). One potential issue is whether a public use or sale by the inventor less than one year before the filing of the application will fall under the [...]
One of the major changes to the patent system advanced by the America Invents Act (AIA) is that, starting March 16, 2013, the US will change from the previous first-to-invent system, to a first-to-file system. Under the old system, 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) stated that “a person shall be entitled to a patent unless the invention was [...]
The US Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has provided a 50% reduction in patent application fees for “small entity” applicants. The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (“AIA”) created a new classification called a “micro entity”. A micro entity is expected to pay fees discounted by 75%. The discounted fees will apply to filing, searching, examination, issue, [...]
