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Law Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [patents]

A patent is a right granted by a government entity for [intellectual-property] (IP), which excludes others from using that IP. Use this tag when asking specifically about patentability or patented matters.

A patent is granted to an inventor (or assignee) by a sovereign state for a limited period of time. The invention will be either a novel product or process.

The exclusive rights granted by the patent will vary between countries and jurisdictions. However, in general, the patent prevents others from making or using the patented product or process, though its validity may still be challenged in court.

There is a separate Stack Exchange site for patents: Ask Patents. You might want to consider searching if your question has already been asked there.

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If I don't want to patent something, what can I do to ensure the patent office doesn't unintentionally grant the patent to someone else?

Say that I have created a hypothetical new invention. I would like for it to be used by as many people as possible without restrictions, so I deliberately choose not to pursue a patent on it. As described in the answers to What if I don't patent my…
Thunderforge
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Can I forbid the government from using my patented invention?

(this is a purely hypothetical situation, for literary research) I've filed a patent on a certain technology for facial recognition/analysis, and as the patent holder I want to use my exclusivity to ensure it's not used to harm anyone. …
anonymous
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If mathematical equations are not patentable, why are algorithms patentable?

I'm new to the domain of understanding the law behind patenting, and I want to start a company that uses machine learning algorithms. Unfortunately, almost every concept is patented by the top companies. Aren't computer algorithms mathematical…
Sreram
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Can I continue using technology after it is patented

Let’s say I use a very specific software communication technique applied in a novel way that could be patented. I don’t patent this invention because I am a startup that has little money to invest in an unproven application. A few months/years later…
Josh
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Contradiction of patents in revealing secrets

I've been looking up some pharmaceutical drug patents, and I was surprised to see they basically reveal the entire technical process involved in creating the drug. No doubt this recipe is the cumulation of years of work and substantial capital…
ronald christenkkson
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At what point does combining integrated circuits yield something patentable?

I am considering at which point an electronic circuit-based product becomes patentable. If I were to simply design a new electronic circuit by implementing a single integrated circuit (IC) from a manufacturer, I would think that this cannot be…
Nick Bolton
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Is it patent infringement to produce patented goods but take no compensation?

There are many experimental tools in biological research that cost researchers an exorbitant amount (for example, single-cell RNA sequencing technology) - would someone be infringing on a patent (or likely, multiple patents) if they choose to…
Aaron
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What is the effect of lost and recovered prior art on patent validity?

Normally, the existence of prior art containing matters for which a United States utility patent makes claims to patent rights prevents a patent from being issued for those claims, and if a patent somehow issues anyway, it provides a defense to a…
ohwilleke
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Is it illegal to implement a patented algorithm or method and take advantage from it?

I have been working on an SW project that combines image processing and IMU data since 2019. (Mobile platform) Unfortunately, a company got a patent on the same method that I have been working on and started selling their product last year…
Chanoh Park
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Could a charity manufacture patented medications for free?

Let's say there is a patented medication that is very effective and very expensive at the pharmacy, say $1,000/dose. But also assume that the medicine only costs $1 to formulate - most of the "cost" was in the research. I understand that a competing…
YPCrumble
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Is Nanoblock not in violation of LEGO's patents because their product is incompatible with and not the same size as LEGO's product?

Nanoblock is an interlocking brick toy similar to LEGO. They have an article on their website that describes their toy and compares it to LEGO. It makes the following claim: You may wonder if there is a patent infringement case against Nanoblocks…
pacoverflow
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Can two unique inventions that do the same thing be patented?

Let's say I get a patent issued for a process/formulation that cures a disease or treats damaged hair. Can someone else come along and invent something that cures the same disease or repairs hair, but they found a totally different chemical,…
DavidScherer
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If one invents a real life portal gun, can Valve sue them for copyright infringement?

I am just curious, whether an owner of an artistic depiction of non-yet-existent device has any rights on that device in case it's actually invented later? Can owner use their rights, if any, to issue cease & desist letters to inventors based on the…
toriningen
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What if I don't patent my invention?

Say I invent something and choose not to patent it but start producing and selling it, then if somebody else goes and patents my exact design what happens to my rights to sell/produce that product?
mitch dodge
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How much "more" needs to be added to an abstract idea in order to pass the subject matter eligibility test for a patent?

In Mayo v. Prometheous 566 U. S. ____ (2012), the Supreme Court said (regarding 35 U.S.C. §101 subject matter eligibility): a process that focuses upon the use of a natural law [must] also contain other elements or a combination of elements, …
user248
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