Irvine Patent Attorneys & Lawyers

Can You Patent an Idea?

Inventors often wonder, "can you patent an idea." The answer is no. On its own, an idea is not enough to earn a patent. However, an idea can easily turn into a patentable innovation. A person or company simply needs to extend the concept so that it has drawings that qualify for a patent.

What Stops a Person from Patenting an Idea?

The federal government wants to encourage innovation. It grants patents so that people and businesses can profit from their inventions. 

The problem with this goal is that many people want patents. A patent is a powerful tool that gives the owner certain rights and privileges. The government has to make sure that a vague claim doesn't get a patent.

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What Is the Patent Assignment Database?

The Patent Assignment Database has all recorded patent information from August 1980 until now. Any time someone adds information to one of the patent records, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) adds it to the database. However, it doesn't check to make sure that the new information is correct.

How Do Patent Assignments Work?

Assignments offer flexibility. Different people can acquire different rights to a patent. One person could have the patent assignment, but a prior owner could keep a license to use the technology for free.

An interested party could only look at these documents at the USPTO. They're not available online. The best practice is for the owner of a patent to show all current and previous assignments. This is a

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Claim Charts: What Are They?

A claim chart is used to show how a product (or a service) has infringed on a patent, typically a utility patent. To prove the case, the patent owner must show that the product or service in question infringes on every portion of the claims. Claim charts break down complicated claims into easily read arguments that both parties can use when deciding a case. They also make it easier to compromise and negotiate with the other side.

The claim chart breaks down a claim by its specific elements. It doesn't have to cover the entire patent claim, and can only focus on the parts of the claim that are valid. Most lawyers agree that the claim chart is only as good as the claims that it contains. If it does not contain all the claim language, a court cannot determine whether infringement has taken place.

Claim charts have multiple names.

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What Is a Patent Claim?

A patent claim is the part of your patent application, typically for utility patents, that explains what it is you are trying to protect. 

Patent Claim Construction: What is it?

If you have to accuse a person or company of stealing your idea, you will need to prove there has been patent infringement. This process has two steps:

• There is the patent claim, which explains the product's use and makeup.

• There is the infringement analysis, which determines whether or not the claim has been violated.

This means you can't determine the second pa

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Want to Register a Patent?

You'll need a patent application for that.

If you're idea is patentable, you must create an application to apply for a patent via the United States government in order to protect your invention from others taking it. Because, in the U.S., it's not the first one who has the idea, but the first one to register a patent is the one protected in court.

1. Do you know what type of patent you need?

There are a wide variety of patents you can register for, but you need to know what type of patent would work best for you.

Here are some categories of common types of patents:

Utility Patents

Utility pa

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