WELCOME
Welcome again to the Stoneman Volk Patent Group newsletter. We hope you will enjoy and benefit by
partaking of the information and entertainment in this month's newsletter. As part of this introduction, we are providing
below for our clients and friends a brief summary about how our "Scope-Standard
Charging" works (using preparation and filing of a U.S. provisional patent
application as an example).
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Our firm's unique basic idea is to charge the same price for the same work - consistently
among each and every client.
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Another unique basic idea is that the client may
set the charge at a client-chosen budget;
if the client's budget is high enough, the scope of work may be expanded to
match the budget; and if the client's budget is less, the scope of work may be
reduced to match the budget.
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Our firm does only high quality work, and so, in
some cases, if the client budget is too low for further scope reduction within
quality work standards, we might recommend that the client start with a
self-filed application until sufficient funds are available.
- Another unique basic idea of our firm is to
avoid "nickel-diming" our clients - and we do this by including in our charges the ongoing case-management,
status-checking, client contacts, etc., until the next stage of the
representation and the proposing of the next Scope-Standard Charge. Most, if not all, other firms in patent
prosecution, continue to bill clients
during this relatively "quiet" period (of up to several years) - so our idea
saves our clients' money in addition to preventing the hassle of
"nickel-diming".
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Thus our firm's work proposals to clients
include a specified scope of work, a specified charge, specified cash flow, and
a specified job-completion window.
That's it for our brief summary. We invite your questions and comments at any
time. Just give us a call.
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INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY NEWS
Common Markings in Intellectual Property
A court in the Southern District of New York recently
made a ruling that several gene patents (relating to isolated forms of breast
cancer gene) were invalid. The court remarked that all patents claiming
forms of "isolated DNA" are patent ineligible.
The court stated, "It is concluded that DNA's
existence in an 'isolated' form alters neither this fundamental quality of DNA
as it exists in the body nor the information it encodes. Therefore, the patents at issue directed to
'isolated DNA' containing sequences found in nature are unsustainable as a
matter of law and are deemed unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. §101." Association
for Molecular Pathology and ACLU v. USPTO and Myriad (S.D.N.Y. 2010) (Judge Sweet).
An appeal to the Federal Circuit (and
possible Supreme Court showdown) is anticipated.
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STAFF NEWS
The Wet Green Thumb
Ever wondered how hydroponics
work? RJ, one of our technical minds
here at Stoneman Volk Patent Group, did. RJ's interest in self-sufficiency and gardening led him to explore possible
ways to use hydroponic methods for gardening in outdoor areas. Having moved from a cooler area a few years
back, the gardening techniques he was familiar with were having poor results in
Arizona. "We couldn't even get a decent
harvest of tomatoes," RJ noted about his first attempts at gardening in Arizona. Then a neighbor suggested looking at
hydroponics.
At first, RJ was worried about the stereotypic complexity and
correspondingly large price tag, "but we needed options AND better
results." After some research, RJ
discovered, to his delight, that there are several types of hydroponics. Many of these types required the commonly-associated
climate controlled environments and expensive equipment, but some were much
simpler and much less costly. In fact,
RJ found that, with some thought, he could build a system out of common
household-available items. "It became a
fun-time puzzle for me to solve," RJ noted with a grin.
RJ found great growing success in his first home built
system. "My wife was delighted to have
fresh garden peas again," RJ recounted, "and we were both astonished at the
extensive root growth filling the entire container." Now that the basic "home-built" design for
his system is finished, RJ spends his "fun-time" experimenting with different
combinations of growing medium and nutrient mixes. "I am searching for the best, minimal-expense
way to make this system work," RJ said, "so I can share this with others,
particularly in these tough economic times."
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PATENT TIDBITS
The first
patent act of the United States Congress was passed on April 10, 1790 and
signed into law by US President. George Washington. The act was titled "An act to promote the progress of useful
arts" and recognized by law the right of an inventor to profit from his
invention "Congress shall have
the power...to promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for
limited time to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective
writings and discoveries."
The Act empowered
the Secretary of State the Secretary for the Department of War, and the Atty.
General, or any two of them, to approve the grant of a patent to an inventor
for filling the appropriate formalities if "they shall deem the invention or
discovery sufficiently useful and important".
The first patent was granted on July 31, 1790 to Samuel
Hopkins of Philadelphia for a method of producing potash, an essential
ingredient used in making soap, glass, and gunpowder - the first patent was
examined by Thomas Jefferson, the Secretary of State at the time.
The earliest law required that a working model of
each invention be submitted with the application.
On May 5, 1809 Mary Kies became the first woman to be
awarded a U.S. patent.
The first 10,000 patents issued by the
United States patent and trademark office from July 1790 to July 1836 were
destroyed in a fire in December 1836. About 2800 of them were later recovered,
but the majority of them are still missing. The recovered patents are now
called the X-Patents because their patent numbers end with an "X."
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ABCs of Patents
D - Declaration
This
is a document in which the applicant declares that: (A) he or she is the
original / sole inventor, (B) what country he or she is a citizen, (C) he or
she has reviewed and understands the specification and claims which the declaration refers to,
and (D) acknowledges the duty to disclose information that is material to
patentability. A declaration
(or oath) must be filed for each nonprovisional patent application.
E
- Embodiment
An
embodiment is the manner in which an invention is made, used, practiced,
or expressed.
F
- Filing Receipt
When
an application is submitted, the Patent Office issues confirmation of filing
which includes a summary of all the data provided by the applicant in the
application. This serves as evidence of filing. The filing
receipt typically lists information such as the application serial number
and filing date, the applicant's name, and/or the goods, services, the filing
bases, the international class(es), and the address to be used for
correspondence.
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Stoneman Volk Patent Group
Offices:
3770 N. Seventh St. Suite 100
Phoenix, AZ 85014
501 W. Broadway St. Suite 800
San Diego, CA 92101
Tel: (888) 252-2200
Fax: (877) 786-6362
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Patent History
Did you know that the famous Harry Houdini was also an inventor. In 1921 Houdini had an invention patented. You can view the patent here
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