IP Blog
How much does it cost to get a patent?
People frequently ask me how much it costs to get a patent. This is what I usually tell them. For most patent-related work, I charge based on an hourly rate of $400/hour. So if you hire me, the cost for preparing and filing an original utility patent application is usually in the range of $8000 - $16000 CAD. If you want me to do a patentability search and analysis prior to preparing the utility patent application, the cost for conducting a patentability search and analysis for one invention is usually in the range of $3500 - $5000 CAD. If the USPTO issues a substantive Office Action to the utility patent application, the cost for preparing and filing a response to the Office Action is usually in the range of $3000 -$5000 CAD. In contrast to utility patent, it is much cheaper to get a U.S. design patent. I usually charge about $2500 CAD to prepare and file a U.S. design patent application. If the application is allowed, there is some additional cost (usually less than $1500 CAD) to pay the issue fee to the USPTO and obtain the patent. |
US Patent No. 9,733,811 - Can you guess which company got this patent?
The US Patent and Trademark Office recently issued a US patent (US Patent No. 9,733,811) to a company. The patent is directed to a computer implemented method of profile matching. The following are representative figures from the patent.  Can you guess which company got this patent? The answer will be revealed the next time I update this blog. Disclaimer: I am not the patent agent or lawyer for the patentee. I just find it funny that it is possible to get a patent for this and want to share this with my clients. |
USPTO's 2017 TTAB rule changes
The United States Patent & Trademark Office has implemented the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) rule changes effective January 14, 2017. The TTAB rule changes include: (1) All pleadings and submissions must be filed through ESTTA (Electronic System for Trademark Trials and Appeals) . (2) Service of all papers must be made by email, unless otherwise stipulated. (3) Testimony may be submitted in the form of an affidavit or declaration. For complete information, please see the TTAB's home page on the uspto.gov website: https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks-application-process/trademark-trial-and-appeal-board |
U.S. Supreme Court will hear Samsung appeal over Apple design patent case
The legal battle between Apple and Samsung over an alleged design patent infringement is going all the way to the US Supreme Court. The US Supreme Court has issued its decision to hear the case this morning. This is big news, because the US Supreme Court has not heard a design patent case in more than a century. The last design patent case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court was in 1872 in a case involving an ornamental design for silverware handles. The hearing will only consider a single question in Samsung’s appeal, which asks whether, where a design patent is applied to only a component of a product, an award of infringer’s profits should be limited to those profits attributable to the component. |
Edmund Xie has obtained a Canadian patent for a Vancouver-based biotech company.
 Edmund Xie has obtained a Canadian patent for a Vancouver-based biotech company. |
How to access USPTO EFS-Web online patent filing system and Private PAIR using Chrome Version 42 and later?
If you are a patent lawyer or patent agent and use Chrome Version 42 and later as your browser, you need to enable Java and NPAPI in order to use USPTO EFS-Web online patent filing system and Private PAIR in Chrome. To enable NPAPI plugins, you need to enter In your URL bar: chrome://flags/#enable-npapi Click the Enable link for the Enable NPAPI configuration option. Click the Relaunch button that now appears at the bottom of the configuration page. |
Can one use the 11-point maple leaf in a trademark in Canada?
By Order in Council P.C. 1965-1623 (dated September 2, 1965), any person in Canada may use a design or trademark incorporating the maple leaf that forms part of the flag of Canada on the condition that:
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Does a patent give the patent owner the exclusive right to make, use, and sell the invention?
A patent gives the patent owner the right to EXCLUDE others from making, using, and selling what is covered by their patent claims. A holder of a prior patent still in force with broader claims may prevent the inventor whose patent has narrower claims from using the inventor's own patent. Therefore, patent right is exclusory only. A patent is a property right granted by a state government to an inventor to EXCLUDE others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention or importing the invention for a limited time in exchange for public disclosure of the invention. |
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