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This book made it very clear as to what I would need to do in order to proceed with my idea. I found this book to be quite useful. It is a well written, organized book and I highly recommend it for anyone who is looking for information about patents. I am by no means "an inventor" but I do have a few ideas floating around my noggin. One of which was simply another use for an invention that already exists. If you are more learned and knowledgable about the world of patents, I have no idea if this book would be of service. At worst, it will give you food for thought and a checklist of steps.
I've used Pressmans book, both an earlier edition and the current one, to guide the way I draft patent applications for my company. We still go through a lawyer, because we can afford to, but having the application written in proper format before giving to the attorney means that your legal costs will be much less, you will waste less time going back and forth with the attorney on drafts and expensive conference calls ($400/hr.)., you will get an earlier filing date whcih could make all the difference in a dispute, and the inventor is more likely to find that each and every inventive step is fully claimed. Pressman does a great job; I'd love to see him make a variation of this book specifically for computer-related patents, but in general the rules are the same for everybody, so whether you sequence DNA or if you design bicyle chains, this book is for you. There's a companion book which shows you how to do patent drawings in great detail, which is especially useful if your invention is mechanical in nature.
What they end up doing is charging you money and owning a percentage of your product. I had some ideas that I thought were unique and through this books guidance I was able to research other patented items and see that even though I had some good ideas there were already patents out there that were still valid. This book is filled with great information on how to patent an idea completely (well mostly) by yourself. The only people making money in that would be the scammers themselves. So, on to other ideas. Dont be fooled by the ads on the television tempting you to get a patent for your invention through them. Instead, get this book and learn how to get patents yourself. It tells you step by step on which forms to fill out, where to look for current patents, and also legal loopholes to check out.Very informative book, I highly recommend it to any inventors out there.Thank you for reading my review.
I think this is a significant subject to broach for potential patent holders. In some countries, there are even provisions in patent law which prevent the issuing of "disruptive patents." Submarine patents are patents that people suddenly spring on a market claiming infringement after protracted periods of no action. This book does not include a CD-ROM.This is a large and very detailed book on patent law and process, and a thorough review would require months of time and several pages. Not guaranteed to generate confidence.By way of explanation for those who don't yet know, a patent troll is a person, group, or company who buy and hoard patents to use as leverage or commodities rather than to exercise the patent itself.
This again makes me think the authors are biased, as they seem not to address the whole notion of society's rights and the intentions of our U.S. This is evident in sections like the sidebar on page 420 discussing "patent trolls" and "submarine patents." They are generally dismissive of the existence and practice of these two things, and indeed use definitions from Wikipedia, not exactly a sound source to reference. Patent system. I must admit I was under the impression that a person could indeed make one copy to test and validate the device, and that this was an intended part of society's rights under patent law. They may also be buying it to bury it or prevent significant advancements from disrupting their current business. Granted, those two terms may not be in Black's Dictionary, but seriously, Wikipedia.
This is not intended to slight the other marvelous material in the book, just to give a heads-up in areas I find lacking.First, I find the authors somewhat biased toward corporate interests as opposed to society and the small inventor. NOLO also offers many great resources on their web site. Since this is a significant topic in a country where the government contracts out to so many manufacturers, it should be given far more coverage than it is.Also related but not covered at all are the government's "march-in" rights, and the ability to take a private patent "black," removing it from public scrutiny. Their books are usually accurate, up to date, and easy to understand. Apparently this notion is not correct.
In a book on patent law. They do not discuss non-circumvention agreements, which are an absolute necessity in dealing with large entities like corporations, universities, and government agencies. It is mentioned briefly on page 418, but not in any other section on dealing with infringement, and not indexed at all. Nolo is the first stop for business advice books, and for good reason. They also do not address much of the patent system's history or the changing nature of patents and their uses. Probably since this is meant to be a guide to actually working the patent process, they felt it unnecessary to go into such things.Compulsory licensing by the government is only very slightly mentioned in a small sidebar on page 419. March-in rights mean that the government can come in and take ownership of a patent, ostensibly for "national security" concerns.
They may or may not compensate the patent holder, and may place them under strict non-disclosure agreements (gag orders) regarding the entire situation, even that it happened at all. In certain areas of technology, these are very important documents to have.All in all, a good book despite my nitpicks. That said, I found it to cover the topic very well on most issues, and found only a few nitpicks which would matter only in certain cases.Since most of the material is well done, I will concentrate on the nitpicks. I found some very interesting things which would inform any discussion on patent reform (which is desperately needed), and the book is certainly a must have if you are considering a patent. In looking through the book for information on statute of limitations for infringement actions, I found it difficult to locate that information. I would have liked a more concentrated discussion of this, as it is a serious enough piece of litigation to be more visibly addressed.On page 421, it is stated that a person is not allowed to make even one copy of a patented device, as that would be infringement. Speaking of non-disclosure agreements, the authors do mention them but seem to think they are not all that useful in most cases.
Other than those few nitpicks, another good NOLO book I heartily recommend.
I found this book at my public library, and it has been extremely valuable. Thanks to the book I saved thousands of dollars, and a lot of time in preparing for and submitting my provisional patent, and thanks to the book I know how to use the different patent databases, and how to write at least one claim. I am going to use it, when I am ready for the regular patent application.
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