About Patent Maintenance Fees Source: USPTO.GOV A maintenance fee is a fee that is required for maintaining in force all utility and reissue utility patents based on applications filed on or after December 12, 1980. Generally, utility patents expire after 20 years from the application filing date subject to the payment of appropriate maintenance fees….
USPTO Fights Fraudulent Trademark Solicitations The USPTO has worked hard to fight solicitations from companies fraudulently promising to protect trademarks, and we have taken a number of steps to help raise awareness of these schemes in an attempt to limit the number of victims defrauded. Our agency works closely with federal agencies, including the Department…
Several options exist to challenge another party’s trademark registration or application, depending on the particular circumstances and grounds for challenging: You may challenge a trademark registration issued by the USPTO by filing a petition to cancel the registration with the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board (TTAB). You may challenge an application for trademark registration at…
What is a cease and desist letter/email? A cease and desist (or demand) letter/email is correspondence that states or suggests that you are potentially infringing the trademark of another and demands that you stop using, or consider stopping use of, the accused mark. You should treat any such letter/email seriously. Before deciding how to proceed,…
A provisional application automatically becomes abandoned when its pendency period expires 12 months after the provisional application filing date by operation of law. Applicants must file a nonprovisional application claiming benefit of the earlier provisional application filing date in the USPTO before the provisional application pendency period expires in order to preserve any benefit from…
When Patents and Trademarks Go Bump in the Night A post about the USPTO from the Department of Commerce Innovation comes in all shapes and forms, and every October the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) uses social media as a fun and timely way to educate the public about the importance of intellectual property (IP) and…
2016 National Trademark Expo The 2016 National Trademark Expo will be held on October 21st (10:00 am to 5:00 pm) and 22nd (10:00 am to 4:00 pm), 2016 at the beautiful Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium located at 1301 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20240. The Expo is open to any owner of a federally-registered trademark. This free,…
Technology Centers Applications, other than provisional applications, filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office and accepted as complete applications are assigned for examination to the respective examining technology centers having charge of the areas of technology related to the invention. In the examining TC, applications are taken up for examination by the examiner…
Provisional Patent Application Basics It is a lower-cost first patent filing in the United States and provides U.S. applicants parity with foreign applicants under the GATT Uruguay Round Agreements. It is not required to have a formal patent claim or an oath or declaration. Provisional applications also should not include any information disclosure (prior art) statement since provisional…
“A picture speaks a thousand words.” That ancient adage certainly holds true in the case of patent drawings. An invention can often be more easily explained through drawings than in reams of description. Accurate, clear drawings strengthen and enhance patent applications, helping overloaded patent examiners to understand inventions faster. Simple, clear and precise images also…
