Intellectual Property/Patents

Nancy D...

There are three basic requirements for patentability in the US: 1. The invention must be USEFUL (meaning that it must be able to be built and used). No perpetual motion machines. 2. The invention must be NOVEL (meaning that it does not duplicate a previously existing invention). So far, so good. Most inventions pass these two tests with flying colors. But here's the kicker: 3. The invention must be NON-OBVIOUS (meaning that the invention does not result from combining two or more prior inventions where there is some motivation to combine). Obviousness is a legal concept about which case after case after case has been decided. The latest word in obviousness came down from the US Supreme Court just a couple years ago, and it stiffened the requirement, making it harder for inventions to pass this hurdle. Without having looked at and possibly done a search on your invention, I can't tell you whether I think you'd pass the obviousness hurdle. However, I CAN tell you that you have one year from the date of first disclosure of the invention to file a patent application on it; one year and one day loses your patent rights. I can also tell you that the "provisional patent applications" filed by the late-night patent hawkers ("Invention Promotion Firms") NEVER mature into an issued patent unless they are, within a year of filing, converted into a non-provisional application. Check out the US Patent & Trademark Office's website ( http://www.uspto.gov ) for a plethora of information about patents, patentability, and even about Invention Promotion Firms. Copyright is another matter. Copyright protects works of authorship: books, sculpture, painting, film, television shows, brochures, architecture, graphics, layout, etc. If your graphics are an original work of authorship (your own design, not just another replica of the Mona Lisa), then copyright could be invoked to protect the graphic design. It would not protect the method of applying a graphic design to a product whereon such things have never been printed. You can get lots of info about copyright from the Copyright Office's website, http://www.copyright.gov . Feel free to contact me directly if you choose to follow up on any of this info. THE INFORMATION PRESENTED HERE IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND IS NOT INTENDED, NOR SHOULD IT BE CONSTRUED, AS LEGAL ADVICE. THIS POSTING DOES NOT CREATE ANY ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN US. FOR SPECIFIC ADVICE ABOUT YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION, CONSULT YOUR ATTORNEY.