Podcast: Blockchain Intellectual Property Considerations for Innovators and Investors
The USPTO has issued an internal memorandum that may make it easier to patent software, in particular AI-related software inventions. In recent years, the USPTO has found certain software inventions to be patent-ineligible...more
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reinventing the research and development process, but until recently, patentability remained a major uncertainty. That’s until the United States Patent and Trademark Office stepped in and...more
Thank you for reading the September 2023 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss the significant revisions to the FTC's guidelines for endorsements and examine the benefits of design...more
Dear Patenticity, My startup is working on what we believe is a game-changing software application and we are concerned about others taking our idea and fielding a competitive product based on our work. We would like to...more
Developing a Disclosure for Software Patents: - Discuss with the inventor the technological underpinnings of the novel functional aspects of the software and how those technological considerations support that function. ...more
In recent years, AI patent activity has exponentially increased. The figure below shows the volume of public AI patent applications categorized by AI component in the U.S. from 1990-2018. The eight AI components in FIG. 1 are...more
There are many misconceptions or ‘myths’ about patents that have found their way into popular discourse, ranging from what type of innovations are patentable, to how important it is to own and protect your intellectual...more
Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized many technology areas. As a few examples, it has already been instrumental in improving and enabling voice recognition algorithms, digital assistants, advertisement...more
Two interwoven challenges come to mind when considering how to successfully patent AI technologies. The first of these challenges is drafting claims whose infringement is detectable despite the black box nature of AI...more
Senators from both sides of the aisle expect to introduce a final bill this summer that could significantly improve the prospects for patent applicants with software and business method inventions. Congress recently held...more
In its latest filing in February 2019, non-practicing entity Akoloutheo, LLC has expanded its Eastern District of Texas patent litigation campaign to include Oracle. Akoloutheo accuses the Oracle Analytics Cloud, Oracle...more
Recent USPTO Guidance Offers Insight for Software Patent Eligibility - By now most of you have probably heard that "software patents" and "software patent applications" have had a rough time for the past 4 ½ years. Some of...more
The United States Patent Trademark Office (USPTO), issued updated examination guidance (Updated Guidance) for examining software claims defining an invention using functional language on January 7, 2019. ...more
Amid a growing body of unsettled law regarding the patentability of software and business methods patents, companies are increasingly choosing to maintain their valuable innovations as trade secrets rather than risk a...more
As in any area of technology, it is important to consider patent protection early in the development of an AI-related invention. However, AI and other digital health inventions raise a number of particular issues that, if not...more
As you read this article, hundreds of startups and other organizations are working on blockchain applications in such areas as energy trading, data storage trading, peer-to-peer lending, and verifying professional or other...more
When it comes to suppressing U.S. competiveness, no one does it better than patent trolls. A 2017 study concluded that 5,100 patent infringement lawsuits were filed in 2016. Patent Trolls account for about 67% of those. ...more
This third article in the “Surviving Alice” series examines how the USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board has responded to the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2014 Alice decision. It also shows how applicants can use the PTAB’s...more
As many of my readers noticed, I didn't publish any of my own blogs in January and February. As it turned out, I suffered from a peculiar form of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), what I would call SMIAD: Subject Matter...more