Patent Questions

I've been thinking about a new idea I want to work on. After searching the USPTO, I found that there are many (hundreds) of patents around what I am wanting to work on, with a slew being very...

Patent Intellectual Property

asked Apr 16 '11 at 12:50

Kirk
227 points

I'm looking to patent a method/core of my web app. It's actually pretty simple. What's the chance of me getting a patent for it?

Patent

asked Apr 2 '11 at 12:00

Matt
141 points

I am involved as a cofounder in a tech/software company. My associate is bringing initial funding and is conversant with finance/accounting, facilities/infrastructure and general organizational...

Strategy Patent Business Copyright

asked Mar 3 '11 at 12:41

Aaron Smothers
56 points

In my head, I see the entry to the hardware business very difficult due to all the patents. Is this true or is it just me? Say I want to create a simple mobile phone with touch capabilities. What...

Legal Patent Hardware

asked Feb 6 '11 at 07:46

Matt
141 points

Are there any resources you guys can help me find to patent a process for a web app I have developed. Or give any advice or steps to get the process started. Thanks so much everyone.

Patent

asked Jan 7 '11 at 12:19

User5366
31 points

I am considering inventing a new specialized programming language, which should increase the human/computer communication speed considerably. I, therefore, have two questions: Is it possible to...

Ideas Patent

asked Jan 12 '11 at 20:39

David
1,567 points

From my understanding of Paul Graham's Article http://paulgraham.com/msftpatent.html, IP doesn't have much affect on digital products/services. For example, youtube, tinyurl, groupon, kickstarter...

Patent Intellectual Property

asked Jan 1 '11 at 04:23

Manish Nair
8 points

My friends, wife, and even a partner, are all urging me to at least apply for a patent to discourage others from attempting to implement similar and/or competing software. Is this a worthwhile...

Patent

asked Nov 21 '10 at 04:16

Igorek
886 points

I am working on a start-up company to grow to become a big company to compete against some well known, popular, and in some ways powerful companies in the respective industries and markets today. I...

Venture Capital Patent Intellectual Property Trademark

asked Dec 1 '10 at 15:23

User5732
6 points

A friend has an innovative idea about a service. To protect the idea from future patents, he has the idea to make the invention available to the public domain. Is a blog a relevant place to...

Patent

asked Oct 29 '10 at 08:36

Djondal
118 points

I'm currently developing a Content Management System designed to manage video media. I have taken a look online and seen that there have been (US) patents filed for content management systems in...

Legal Patent

asked Oct 10 '10 at 00:52

Richard
21 points

I found a really cool word game that I would like to implement as a mobile app, though I don't if anyone owns the right to the concept. I know there are many games out there, such as Poker or...

Patent Intellectual Property Trademark

asked Sep 28 '10 at 13:07

Beeeefy
108 points

I'd like to use an algorithm that has been published. It's not a must have for me, but would be convenient. The creator might be difficult to contact, but that's obviously not a reason to do the...

Legal Patent Intellectual Property

asked May 6 '10 at 01:07

J Delage
277 points

I'm working on developing a product in the US with many potential competitors. None of the current products deals very well with analysis once the data is collected. I have several unexplored data...

Software Patent Data

asked Apr 5 '10 at 15:39

Kpierce8
113 points

I'm laying the groundwork for what might ostensibly be considered a 'Web 2.0' startup. While I think that I might have some protectable IP, I think that these are not necessarily fundamental to the...

Patent Intellectual Property Provisional Patent

asked Apr 7 '10 at 01:43

Ev Conrad
561 points

There are a few companies out there that seem to offer insurance packages for small(er) players in a market that want to be able to defend patents that are likely to be infringed. On the face of...

Insurance Patent

asked Dec 16 '09 at 01:07

Michael
250 points

My startup is working on a consumer product (manufacture, sell, ship), where we have developed a really great improvement over our competitors. We have patent pending status, and will be entering...

Funding Risk Patent

asked Nov 13 '09 at 04:33

Michael
250 points

I have a web based product which has some unique characteristics. The whole concept is not 100% unique but the way this idea has shaped up I think is unique. I want to apply for patent of this...

Patent

asked Oct 27 '09 at 01:55

Skillguru
344 points

My start up is getting ready to launch a retail product, for which we have filed (and expect to be granted) a patent application. The typical time for a patent to be reviewed is about 2-3 years,...

Risk Patent

asked Oct 13 '09 at 06:51

Michael
250 points