European Patent (EP) has been a common patent valid across 39 contracting member states (27 EU countries and 12 other European countries). However, the downside of it has been that the [...]
The choice of patent databases highly depends on the motive beneath it, or in other words, the type of patent search involved. For instance, for a prior art search that is for current litigation, [...]
Even with the customers’ growing need for dairy-free products, sales of most plant-based products have sharply declined in the past year. One of the major reasons consumers reject the use [...]
Are you familiar with Humira? The first fully lab-made immune protein approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for various treatments. In case you aren’t, Humira is a [...]
I won’t pretend that reading patents is the most thrilling activity in the world. As a user experience designer at a patent research firm, I’ve spent more time than I care to admit [...]
While one cannot deny NPEs’ role in innovation protection, heavy litigation from them does create uncertainties and turmoil for companies. Do you remember when 5G networking became the talk [...]
As the chip shortage lingers upon the world, TeleGrey, one of our clients from the telecommunications industry, approached us with a plan to get into chip development to become self-reliant. Just [...]
As innovation in self-driving technology is picking up the pace, acquiring the right patents can be crucial for IP managers to ensure their company stays ahead of the competition. But it isn’t as [...]
Virtual Reality (VR) technology rapidly transforms how we experience the world, from immersive gaming to advanced training simulations. However, as with any burgeoning field, legal battles over [...]
In 2018, Nestle was ranked the world’s 3rd greatest plastic polluter by Break Free From Plastic. Following that, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the UN Environment Programme together [...]
In 2019, OnePlus Technology faced a legal battle when EVS codec tech LLC & Saint Lawrence Communications- two U.S. NPEs sued this Chinese mobile giant for infringing on the patents related to [...]
Samuel (a Patent Attorney at a leading law firm in the USA) was exploring DatingArc (a famous dating app) as a potential infringer on one of his client’s patents. Despite his best efforts, he [...]
As an IP litigator, you know well how a claim chart can make or break the case for you. The effectiveness of a patent infringement search is nullified if the findings cannot be conveyed in the [...]
Conducting innumerable validity searches led us to realize that non-patent literature search databases often give us valuable leads to find the exact prior art. But, the trick with successful [...]
Bell Semiconductor, an entity of Hilco Global, has thousands of patents in the semiconductor domain. However, despite the connotations, it is a category 2 Non-Practicing Entity and doesn’t seem [...]
Analyzing your patent portfolio and potentially selling your patents to interested buyers can be a smart business move. And you already know that. Right? Therefore, to help guide you in this [...]
Irrespective of the company’s size, finding an alternative funding source can be challenging. While startups/smaller companies may struggle to secure funding for R&D or to support their [...]
Patent infringement search cases can become complex and challenging to navigate when product literature is to be extracted from thousands of NPL sources. What if, while checking every single [...]
We recently closed a prior art search where our client, from one of the leading infant food formulation companies, was in a tough spot as their competitor had sued them for one of their [...]
“First of all, it is very expensive litigation, and it is fairly risky on the plaintiff’s side, so the risk transferred to a funder is very appealing. You often have, not always, but a David [...]
Whether you’re a seasoned patent expert or just starting to dive into the field, you already know how important non-patent literature (NPL) search is when invalidating a patent. However, a [...]
Imagine you’re Mike, the IP Counsel of a leading technology manufacturing company. With the economy slowly slipping into a recession, you must ensure that your company doesn’t sink. This means [...]
Yes, you read that right. I found system prior art for a validity search in the Jurassic Park movie! While you are probably wondering how and what? Please hold on to your excitement as I [...]
In just a few decades, social media, as we know it, has influenced our everyday life. Over 4.5 billion people use social media daily. More than 300 million photos are uploaded daily on Facebook. [...]
Last year, we observed the operating companies picking up with respect to patent buying. But this isn’t true for all aspects of the market. So the question remains, “Has 2021 brokered [...]
Finding a bang-on prior art result with all the required features and published before the cut-off date of your targeted patent is the end game. Right? But what if you still cannot use it against [...]
According to a Forbes report, out of the 2.1 million active US patents, hardly 5% have reached the market. About 90% of the patents fail to be commercialized or find angel investors or [...]
When humans, in general, come across a problem, our first instinct is to solve it ourselves. This boosts our confidence to prove to others that we are capable and skilled enough. While there [...]
There is a lot of buzz about the upcoming global recession. If we see history, patent licensing and litigation flourish during this time. But, it is pretty obvious that if you’re filing patents, [...]
If you are working in the food industry you might be witnessing the increasing competition and demand first hand. To maintain the edge, companies, including the industry giants, are encouragingly [...]
“The decision of acquiring patents is some work! Starting from getting hold of a certain bunch of patents to making strategies looking at the various aspects that could affect the acquisition. [...]
After working on several patent monetization assignments, I observed a common trend. Large licensing managers generally do not want to target small companies for patent licensing. The reason is [...]
Rapid growth in the electric vehicle (EV) industry is imperative for reducing pollution. The market for EVs is growing faster than ever. But even then, the problem of reducing pollution has [...]
Studying various infringement cases, I couldn’t help but notice that companies generally start preparing against litigations only after they are sued. For example, doing non-infringement checks, [...]
Once a patent is filed, it is out there in the open for everyone to see. However, many companies wish to keep their important inventions hidden. So at times, they do this by performing conscious [...]
Any Tom, Dick, or Harry (pardon the cliché) can conduct patent searches using Google Patents Search, Thomson Innovation, Derwent, or Orbit. But it takes more than clicking the search button to [...]
A solid patent strategy is just as important as a well-planned business strategy for a corporation. With thousands of patents being filed every year by technology giants, developing a patent [...]
To leverage external smarts, P&G launched its Connect and Develop (C+D) program in 2002. The C+D website later (www.pgconnectdevelop.com) became the binder for innovators, scientists, [...]
Intelligence today is about using the collective knowledge of the organisation to reach an advantageous position in industry” ~~ Stevan Dedijer, the Father of Business Intelligence Walmart [...]
If Drug research and development is your bread and butter, you must be familiar with the wonders of Stelara. For the uninitiated, Stelara is the brand name of the drug Ustekinumab, which is [...]
“You don’t know the value of the best until you’ve experienced the worst”, I blurted out loud as I went through the journal of a paralegal, amazed at how his life took a turn for the best. While [...]
Our operational costs have been reduced by 50% and prosecution time is 30% faster, which has led to a 25% increase in profit. – Mike, one of our clients, filed over 20,000 (Information [...]
How would you know about a startup or a new player about which there is too little or nothing written on the internet? It won’t appear on Bloomberg or Crunchbase. And, you cannot miss it being in [...]
About ten years ago, traditional watchmakers—companies like Tag Heuer, Swatch, and Timex—entered dangerous waters. Tech companies were preparing to introduce the modern smartwatch—a grave threat [...]
Patent landscapes have been in the IP industry for a very long time and have been majorly used to track the number of patent filings, the number of competitors, the number of collaborations, and [...]
Not all that shines is gold and not every patent in your portfolio is a gem patent. Every inventor has a plan to eventually monetize their patent. But almost 80% of patents never see the light [...]
The patent prosecution process is a battle on its own, much akin to the patent owner and the examiner playing a game of chess. Each of them plays moves by not just reading the other one’s last [...]
Have you ever heard of – hiding in plain sight? How often does one skip the details because they look pretty obvious? But, a more important question, why am I asking these questions? I [...]
The IP world is ever-evolving. As a result, it becomes difficult to keep track of the same. But, it is essential for any individual or company to be educated about IP so as to protect and benefit [...]
Conclusion Earlier we released a list of 91 drug patents expiring between 2020 to 2022. And while small molecule drugs still dominate the global pharmaceutical market in terms of numbers, many of [...]
For a researcher, prior-art searching means following a set of patterns and ending with a bang-on result. Finding a bang-on result for every case is not easy. From the beginning of my career as a [...]
I’ve seen docketing systems missing lots of basic checks that can be programmed in a day. For instance, I’ve experienced IDS filing systems that do not check if cited references are in sync with [...]
“At the end of the day I can get the work that I need, but if I would have done the work myself, I would have done it differently.”, relatable? This is the problem that some of the best in-house [...]
With our previous articles on 5G in the Healthcare sector, it is apt to wonder if turbulence brought by the introduction of 5G to the various other technical domains is waiting to shake the [...]
If you have ever received a software patent for invalidation that has claims like a “computer command” that comprise – 1) DOM index value, 2) DOM property name, and 3) DOM property value [...]
“Corporate patent buyers have pulled back and NPEs have moved in with more buying (often with cash), accounting for almost 70% of patent sales as of last quarter. In fact, they are buying more [...]
While on a hunt for a killer prior art, even after putting in all your blood and sweat, it is not certain that you will hit right on it. One of the many reasons could be that the industry or, the [...]
Have you ever spent a lot of time sifting through information that already exists within your organization? Has it ever happened that the internal knowledge of all the past projects got [...]
“… Intuition is nothing but the outcome of earlier intellectual experience”, Einstein said. Ideas are just a mash-up of already existing information. And what if I tell you with that logic, [...]
This article is written by Andrew Schulman, Consulting Expert & Attorney at Law, and it appeared first on his LinkedIn profile. Claim charts (infringement contentions [ICs], invalidity [...]
Planning to launch a new product and concerned about the huge IP prevailing in the domain? Does the thought of accidentally Designing/producing an infringing product ever bother you? What if [...]
With 5G into the picture, wireless communication has moved way beyond smartphones and telecoms. Today, the companies in sectors such as Healthcare, Automotive, Gaming, etc. are developing [...]
According to reports, it takes ~10 years and $2.6 Billion for a new drug to complete its journey from initial discovery to its market launch. Given the timeline and the resources at stake, you [...]
Have you ever faced a situation where you are trying to invalidate a formulation patent and end up not having even a single prior art disclosing the exact same proportions of ingredients? Despite [...]
As a searcher, each of us has an array of tactics and strategies at our disposal. Implementing the right tactic at the right resource could open doors to the prior art which you thought might not [...]
Imagine this – You have a patent to invalidate. What are the possible search avenues you will explore to ensure a comprehensive search such that no prior art is missed? If you’re a [...]
In the practical world, circumstances are not always in our favor. Sometimes, indeed, we don’t have suitable weapons to fight the battle. On the contrary, the opponent’s counterattack is so [...]
Patent filing in the semiconductor industry has exploded in recent years as new technologies like the internet of things, machine learning, and artificial intelligence have rapidly expanded in [...]
Imagine this – You are a leading biopharmaceutical player whose R&D team has developed a novel product. Before launching the product, you want to make sure your product is not infringing on [...]
As a litigator, you love killer prior art, don’t you? A perfect Tier-I reference(s) would make life so easy and court proceedings bliss. But what if killer prior art does not exist? The next [...]
I have been with GreyB for over two years now. I have worked on multiple cases, yet every new case brings with it the same enthusiasm and thrill – something I love about the IP industry. That is [...]
We have been working on a lot of drone-related patent monetization projects recently and came across quite a few interesting drone-related patents worth acquiring. Flirtey’s drone safety [...]
Higher damages and specifically, treble damages are a dream come true for every plaintiff in patent litigation. I mean who won’t like triple the normally entitled amount? However, if we have to [...]
Ever since its launch in November 2004, Google Scholar has become an indispensable search tool amongst students, researchers, and legal practitioners around the globe. Be it for working on their [...]
“COVID may have an end in sight thanks to vaccines, but the lessons and values realized by critical infrastructure companies operating drones during the pandemic only pave the way for more [...]
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected several industries around the world. Businesses have taken a hit and most of them are adopting a myriad of approaches to combat these tough times. While [...]
If you have been searching for a comprehensive guide on how to conduct a patent search, I would like to congratulate you because your search has just ended. This is your one-stop solution where [...]
Imagine this – A leading smartphone player comes to you with a litigation-grade search project for a smartphone-related patent. If the fact that this patent was in litigation does not sound [...]
Intellectual property, especially patents, are one of the most important intangible assets of a business – especially the ones that sustain majorly by inventing and innovating. Given that [...]
With the deployment of 5G networks speeding up across the world, 5G SEP declarations are also skyrocketing. All the SEP holders are aggressively declaring their 5G SEPs to ETSI to strengthen [...]
There are a hundred different ways to perform a patent search – You can perform it on a commercial or a free patent database. You might choose a conventional way or go totally out of the league – [...]
In recent years, Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) have been the hot topic of interest for the R&D-Sales and Marketing departments of various companies. After all, confirming the patent as [...]
Did you know that IBM has found a new way to license and sell its patents? What is it – you ask? NFTs. On April 21, IBM announced that in collaboration with patent marketplace IPwe, it seeks to [...]
If you’re a seasoned innovator (or senior patent counsel), you would agree with me when I say that – One of the quickest ways to generate income from your patents is to sell them. Immediate [...]
“In 2020, there were 27 software-related patents on appeal for subject matter eligibility. The CAFC found four of the patents either partially or fully eligible under Section 101. It found 22 [...]
“Gamers are the most passionate people in the world and it’s painful when you make them unhappy”. Jack Tretton, President, and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America (2013) We have to agree [...]
Imagine this – It’s late in the afternoon. You had a heavy lunch an hour or so ago and your eyes are drooping now. All you want is a nap but you cannot because you have work and responsibilities. [...]
Have you ever been lost in the ocean of cited references in a patent invalidation search? Citation analysis, although a powerful strategy, is often limited to the second or third generation of [...]
Recently in March 2021, Intel Vs. VLSI made the news when the Texas court asked Intel to pay $2.18 billion to VLSI for infringing two of their patents. The amount was the second highest patent [...]
This report is an update to the report titled “Exploration of 5G Standards and Preliminary Findings on Essentiality” published May 26, 2020. This report covers more than 700 technical [...]
This assignment tracker helps you keep a track of recent assignment/reassignment activities happening in the US. The list provides the top 50 most recent patent assignments registered in the US [...]
On December 14, 2020, Alarm.com, a big company in security solutions added Gunshot detection to its business line by acquiring Shooter Detection Systems (SDS). Source: [...]
Companies like Apple and Google strategizing their trademark filings isn’t a news flash, right? But today we’re going a step deeper into the making of these trademark strategies and explore the [...]
Has this ever happened to you during a litigation grade search that you found prior art in complaint documents? Yes, those very documents which in a previous infringement lawsuit was used to [...]
‘What should I do differently today if more and more IP departments are digitizing every process and preparing themselves for the future. Should I also try few advanced tools? If so, which one [...]
So, you’re here, looking for patent brokers. You probably want to sell your patents, or maybe you are looking to buy more, in which case be sure to check out the latest trends in Brokered Patent [...]
“Do you think prior-art searches are only about looking at relevant literature available before the cut-off date?” – I asked the newly joined members of my team. All bewildered by the question, [...]
If I tell you, you could customize your internal patent tools with additional information, do you know the kind of possibilities it can open up? Depending on the tool and the customization, you [...]
When you are managing a portfolio of 100 patents or less, you probably are aware of all the gem patents. You may be selecting the gems based on vapours reasons like – they protect your [...]
How do we identify infringing products? What is that one strategy that makes GreyB different? Chakshu, director at GreyB, wanted to prepare a list of all strategies we use to identify infringing [...]
You (or your company, for that matter) are working on developing a product. A result of a ton of brainstorming, a dozen or more presentations to senior management, and a couple of approvals [...]
Have you ever faced the challenge where you know your subject invention is being infringed by a company but you have no proof of it? What do you do in cases where the products that could be [...]
Finding prior art for a patent that has a mathematical expression or a complex equation in its claim is hard. If you have worked on such cases before, you would know it is not like another [...]
Ever wondered why you are not able to license or sell your patents despite them being of high value? Often, I come across licensing managers, IP heads and patent owners confused as to why they [...]
Patent Licensing Insights is a section featuring insights/trends from our in-house tool BOS, which can help anybody in designing and picking appropriate patent monetization and acquisition [...]
As a litigator, you love killer prior art, don’t you? But sometimes you have to make do with 103-type if you are in the US. The sound of 103-type just made you sigh, didn’t it? It is justified [...]
How do you assess for your company, if the risk of patent litigation is ahead on the cards? Companies, especially the ones based on internet technology face a constantly evolving landscape. This [...]
SEPs are a honeypot for the companies that are aiming to gain supremacy over their competitors. The current status of the SEP world is painted in our other articles. Looking at the average share [...]
Have you ever faced a situation where you had to find killer prior art in a limited time frame? Let me tell you what happened when we faced a similar challenge recently. In this case client [...]
Are you an IP counsel who is looking for tools for handling various facets of your job – Be it patent prosecution, litigation, monetization, or patent portfolio management? If yes, this article [...]
“Our group would like to proceed with the initial search outlined to identify companies who could be infringing U.S. Patent No. XXXX971”, emailed Chris – Partner in a proclaimed law firm and a [...]
The patent system that exists today in the US is a result of multiple decisions and verdicts that shaped the course of history for patent laws. Some decisions were minorly significant, while [...]
Do you use Salesforce in your organization? If yes, this write-up is for you. Excuse me for starting the article abruptly, but I don’t want to waste a second and directly jump on to help you with [...]
How do you tell apart an abstract idea from another? More importantly, in this post-Alice era, how do you identify patent abstract ideas which determine the subject matter eligibility for claims? [...]
Before you go running to the patent office to get a patent, there’s a lot you need to know. Getting a patent is not as simple as getting a copyright/trademark, it’s much complicated, [...]
To stay operational in times like this — when the Coronavirus epidemic is forcing offices to stay shut — is a challenge of unprecedented magnitude for all firms, big or small. [...]
Bringing a new product or invention to the market is not an easy job. It is a time-consuming process and the work starts from the day you had your eureka moment. Filing a patent to protect your [...]
Does the idea of getting approximately 7.2 times the return on investment OR reducing legal spending by 20% OR saving 28% (80% in a few cases) in contract reviewing time appeal to you? If yes, [...]
Joe came up with a great name for his soon-to-be-released product. He is proud of the selection and cannot wait to share it with the world. In this moment of excitement, he makes plans to move [...]
“RoC has a rich history of skincare solutions innovation stemming from its French pharmacy roots. As the first brand to stabilize Retinol, which is one of the top U.S. [...]
It was the onset of the new millennium. Three different entities- a cardiologist, a university, and a non-practicing entity (NPE), at three different points of time, committed a similar mistake [...]
Patent Licensing Insights is a section featuring insights/trends from our in-house tool BOS, which can help anybody in designing and picking appropriate patent monetization and acquisition [...]
On Apr 28, 2020, InterDigital entered a worldwide patent licensing agreement with Huawei Technologies Ltd, and also settled all litigation against each other. The licensing agreement runs through [...]
USPTO has become a focus of interest these days, with the release of Patent Center recently and now the USPTO IP Marketplace. This IP Marketplace called the “Patents 4 Partnerships” [...]
Patent Licensing Insights is a section featuring insights/trends from our in-house tool BOS, which can help anybody in designing and picking appropriate patent monetization and acquisition [...]
Patent Licensing Insights is a section featuring insights/trends from our in-house tool BOS, which can help anybody in designing and picking appropriate patent monetization and acquisition [...]
With the overall change in the patent market- dropping sales, increase in software patent sales, rise and fall of NPE litigation and the mere existence of Alice, it is important to encompass the [...]
If you are planning to conduct a Google Patent Search and want to try your hands on Google Patents, you landed on the right page. This is one of the most comprehensive guides ever written on the [...]
In the previous article of this series, we talked about the need for an IDS management system. We focused on various problems and solutions related to IDS management our clients discussed with [...]
Patent Licensing Insights is a section featuring insights/trends from our in-house tool BOS, which can help anybody in designing and picking appropriate patent monetization and acquisition [...]
A patent counsel’s job is not limited to patent prosecution, litigation, and maintenance only. A patent counsel wears multiple hats and plays a key role in strategic planning –in business as well [...]
Patent attorneys are often in a zero-sum game when it comes to litigation. Wins are attributed to how strong the prior art is with the attorney. My job is to find this prior art. Most patent [...]
Patent litigation is greatly influenced by having an expert witness on your side. These expert witnesses provide testimony for infringement, validity, damages, etc. As a patent litigator, you [...]
The patent community has been facing a few prevalent issues in recent times. To address those issues, on 20th April USPTO unveiled the Patent Center in the beta version. The main highlights of [...]
Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) puts a heavy administrative burden of ‘Duty of Disclosure’ on IP professionals, both in corporations and law firms managing US patents. This duty to [...]
Has this ever happened to you – You are conducting a prior-art search and something keeps on jabbing at the back of your head, questioning whether you have explored everything? Well, it happens [...]
BOS Insights is a section featuring insights/trends from our in-house tool BOS, which can help you in designing and picking appropriate patent monetization and acquisition strategies. Short for [...]
BOS Insights is a section featuring insights/trends from our in-house tool BOS, which can help you in designing and picking appropriate patent monetization and acquisition strategies. Short for [...]
The interest of the companies in having a fortified patent portfolio (SEPs) is growing at the rate of knots. The R&D-Sales and R&D-Marketing departments of various companies are making [...]
BOS Insights is a section featuring insights/trends from our in-house tool BOS, which can help you in designing and picking appropriate patent monetization and acquisition strategies. Short for [...]
BOS Insights is a section featuring insights/trends from our in-house tool BOS, which can help you in designing and picking appropriate patent monetization and acquisition strategies. Short for [...]
BOS Insights is a section featuring insights/trends from our in-house tool BOS, which can help anybody in designing and picking appropriate patent monetization and acquisition strategies. Short [...]
Twitter’s strategy to make its platform more engaging and less spam turned out to be great. And the company is not just thriving but has great user growth and along with it is what every company [...]
Xiaomi has been surprising the consumer electronics industry with its innovative and affordable products since its inception. Founded in 2010, the startup quickly became a smartphone leader in [...]
Editor’s Note: Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton (a leading US patent law firm) and GreyB Services collaborated to help you understand what kind of research trends 12 fast-growing tech [...]
Knowing the expiration date of a patent is important for multiple reasons; A key reason being that an expired patent goes into the public domain, which means everyone can now freely practice it. [...]
After hearing the word patent infringement, the first thing that comes to most analysts’ minds is finding product literature and mapping it with the patent. What comes to our mind, on the [...]
Recently, it made to the headlines that Daimler had lodged a complaint with the European Commission against Nokia as Nokia refused to license mobile components and insists on indirect licensing [...]
Recently, we noticed that many companies, especially with big patent portfolios, may not be aware that some of the patents in their portfolio are getting delayed in being officially listed as [...]
Since time immemorial, great companies have become great by hiring the right people. A rookie might wonder why. But seasoned players understand that it is your people who decide your reputation [...]
Recently, Hailo Technologies LLC – after three continuous attempts at suing the manufacturer of Anker Roav SmartCharge Car Kit – sued Best Buy, Target, and Walmart for infringement through the [...]
If you are a Patent counsel, or in any way responsible for the patent acquisitions of your company, you might be receiving multiple requests from inventors or companies to purchase/license their [...]
“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” ― Jorge Luis Borges I’ve heard this quote many times, yet hadn’t felt it until now. Recently, I was analyzing the stats of the [...]
In his book, The Road to Wigan Pier, Orwell describes how the poor miners in the 30s’ who couldn’t afford to buy coal from the market painfully scavenged bits and pieces of it from [...]
Today was the most important day in Bob’s life. Bob holding a Mont Blanc in his hand was seconds away from signing a deal with XYZ Technologies. Bob is a patent owner who had spent 10 years of [...]
“My client wants a fresh search on a patent about LED substrates” emailed an attorney – our repeat client – on a Friday. “Of course, we can help you as this is relatable technology”, [...]
“I don’t know what else I can tell you, it seems nothing good exists,” said the attorney on a conference call. This conversation took place during one of the interim connects in the project [...]
You might agree with me when I say that Terminal disclaimer calculations are confusing. Terminal Disclaimers are known for tangling the already tangled expiry date calculations. In the last [...]
Mark (Amused): How did you do it? There isn’t a single strategy that fits, I’ve been spiraling down and folding back with every other search partner. Aadesh (Me): Feels like an endlessly [...]
With every project comes a challenge, and with every challenge that we overcome a milestone is set. Most of you would relate to this – some when they push their limits at the gym, others when [...]
Almost every day, multiple patent litigations suits are filed. The increasing frequency of these cases indicates companies are now more inclined to stop competition or get value over their [...]
Imagine – You have hit upon a really good idea, which has a ton of potential. You start working on it with the product development team and invest millions of dollars on the R&D. Because you [...]
Imagine a situation where you are collating a patent portfolio for monetization or there’s a plan to acquire patents. This is like investing in gold or platinum, sort of a difficult call, isn’t [...]
We all know the power a strong patent portfolio holds. However, when it comes to monetizing it, it’s not always a walk in the park. A list of target companies needs to be generated, infringement [...]
Pre-script: This thought piece is written keeping in mind the board members and key decision-makers that aren’t from the IP department. If you are an in-house patent counsel, patent [...]
Results found. No results found – Searches, in my opinion, have more to it than the outcome. As a searcher, of course, there are strategies and tactics involved to get to the result (or the lack [...]
Companies often assume that if they spend big on research and development, it’s only a matter of time before they see a big return on investment in the form of new products with high marketplace [...]
While preparing a methodology for the projects, especially for a claim amendment study, deciding what to include and what not can take an extra bit of thinking. The client might have made his [...]
With Halloween coming around this week, we thought why not indulge in “Trick-O-Treat”, but the only trick here is that it’s gonna be “Treat-O-Treat” for you. On this spooky season, wanna lift [...]
Patents, when used strategically, can take your business on the path of unshakable success. They can secure your business from corporate and legal hurdles, and help ensure a dependable revenue [...]
Like trial transcripts, birth certificates, and property deeds, patents are supposed to be freely available to anyone interested in reading them. And officially, they are: patents are a matter of [...]
For big companies with active R&D departments, keeping track of the many thousands of individual patents that often make up their patent portfolios frequently represents a daunting task, the [...]
When it comes to prior art searches, among the huge list of resources and strategies explored and employed during the search, searchers generally tend to give a low priority to already cited [...]
Companies should invest their time and resources into developing a diverse patent portfolio as it can act as a vast resource of revenue as well as provide a competitive advantage. In fact, every [...]
Talk of budgets and the very first question that comes to the mind is — Given a certain amount of money, how much should be allocated to various expenses? Should you abandon few patents from [...]
Imagine you decide to invest a lot of money – possibly millions – in a patent since it is being infringed by a product with high market value. Of course, the patent has high value in this case. [...]
The patent world has changed a lot over the past couple of years. Critical court decisions and an increasing number of patent invalidation have made patents complex, harder to grant, and [...]
In our years of performing invalidation searches, there were often occasions when we found inspiration for prior art from the environment around us. There are way too many to link each of them, [...]
Around 2017, we heard from an inventor who’d grown dissatisfied with the IP research firm he’d been working with. He owned a patent dating to 2005 that had to do with the automated conversion of [...]
Recently, one of our client contacted us with a project which required a Reverse Engineering based infringement analysis of cutting edge tech. This article discusses how we went about the RE and [...]
A few years ago, as part of an ongoing relationship with a major U.S. defense contractor, we were asked to run a monetization analysis on a large patent portfolio, with an eye toward identifying [...]
Did you know that an OLED is 200 times thinner than a strand of a human hair? The thickness of a strand of human hair is approximately 30 to 100 micrometers while that of an OLED is 100 to 500 [...]
If you have a tough competitor who is very active in creating IP, chances are you might be looking for an effective patent strategy to thwart their plans and outpace them. Talking about thwarting [...]
At GreyB, companies often approach us with the broad objective of having us help them strengthen their IP position. It’s a challenge that incorporates elements of the three core IP research [...]
An attorney fighting a litigation suit is not unlike a soldier on a battlefield. The soldier equipped with sniper or high-tech weapons could give a deadly blow to the enemy, however, that’s not [...]
In the US, while presenting a piece of non-patent literature (NPL) as a valid prior art, the litigators have to overcome challenges of proving that the NPL was publicly accessible and that the [...]
Especially at young, fast-growing companies, there are few employees under more pressure than members of the Patent Review Board, or PRB—also known as a Patent Review Committee. Generally [...]
The utility as well as the supply and demand of IP has seen a significant shift in the last decade and so has the way leading companies are viewing IP. A decade ago companies wielded IP more as a [...]
In 2017, we heard from an executive who was heading up a team that specialized in mobile and augmented reality-related technology at a large Asian telecom company. She had a troublesome problem [...]
Old times were simple. There was a plaintiff, who tried to sue a company, and then the company asked us to find some good prior art. We logged in to simple patent databases, many of which were [...]
Since September 2012 the USPTO has been invalidating a majority of the patents for which proceedings have been initiated under the inter parties review (“IPR”) process. Statistics on IPR [...]
Patent litigation poses multiple challenges for SMEs. If you have a large player using your technology, it is not going to be easy to stop them without going into litigation. Notices do not work [...]
In 2016, a major Chinese smartphone manufacturer came to us with a problem. The company was being sued by a competitor, also based in China, for patent infringement, and they would soon have to [...]
Clever is the one who has mastered the art of saving money, for that money could be spent on million other things. Saving money is an art, of which a few are a pro while many fail at it. A bit of [...]
In 2017, we were approached by an attorney representing a large manufacturer of digital and analog computer chips that we’ll call Chip and Dale Corp. The company had recently been contacted by [...]
Around the world, the system of patents that governs new ideas and technology can seem practically designed to mislead people, making them think that they can see the field clearly when in fact [...]
This article highlights some of the issues caused by sticking with just one database for all your search needs and how it could be solved. Whether you’re an attorney/counsel searcher [...]
If you are a person who deals with design patents, then we have written this article for you. This article highlights how conducting design searches using Google Image Search feature could throw [...]
Have you ever been in a situation where your IPR got instituted, but the PTO declared the challenged claim as valid? If a challenged claim(s) is declared valid by the USPTO in IPR, and later a [...]
You are an inventor. You have with great efforts secured a patent which has cost you a good quarter of your bank balance. You want to make the most out of your newly granted patent and decide to [...]
Editor’s Note: Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton (a leading US patent law firm) and GreyB Services collaborated to help you understand what kind of research trends 12 fast-growing tech sectors [...]
What are the research trends our industry is following? Which competitor is building what kind of technical expertise? Are these among some of the questions that you want to get answered? Patent [...]
Law firms and Feedback — Multiple pieces of research on the subject have shown that there are extremely minimal chances that a client would stick to a law firm if proper feedback is not taken on [...]
Many a time, even after multiple rounds of searches – in house, from the client’s side, and using vendors – leads to no results. One reason it happens because the winning prior art is [...]
In the dispute between Helsinn Healthcare v Teva Pharmaceutical, the Supreme court unanimously decided and affirmed the Federal Circuit decision to consider a secret sale as prior art. The [...]
