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As way of introducing myself for future posts, let me tell you about how I got here to be a Senior Patent Analyst at Legal Advantage.
My educational background is in the life sciences; more particularly, I graduated with an undergraduate degree in Cellular/Molecular Biology and Genetics from the University of Maryland in 1999. Soon after, I began working at an upstart biotechnology company; Celera Genomics, located in Rockville, MD. I was a research associate in the DNA sequencing team, where I worked along the sequencing pipeline. Although I started in one lab, I quickly learned the rest of the pipeline and made myself an invaluable researcher; able to step in anywhere to help. At Celera, I helped in the sequencing of mouse, dog, and most importantly, the human genome. This was a monumental feat, and something I am proud of to this day. Read More >>
Here is something different; a departure from the day-to-day, utilitarian concerns of intellectual property protection. The German artists Julius von Bismarck & Benjamin Maus have recognized the world's 7 million patent applications and 22 million interconnecting prior art references as a rich tapestry from which to pluck complex stories from the collective id. Not only this, but they have invented and constructed a machine to illustrate such never ending stories, one patent illustration at a time. They call this 'the Perpetual Storytelling Apparatus'. Read More >>
In the FY2011 budget announcement last week, the Obama Administration proposed a program to bring to market some of the over one million patents held by Universities and Colleges. Called IMPACT- Innovation Model Program For Accelerating The Commercialization of Technologies- a vast majority of these one million patents are driven by $50 billion in Federal research dollars. Only a limited number of start ups (estimated at 550 in 2007) are spun off from this treasure trove of Intellectual Property. Recognizing this vast challenge and opportunity, the Administration and University of Southern California Provost Krisztina “Z” Holly proposes an ambitious new project.
The goal of the program is to stimulate innovation, create jobs and utilize these great assets held by our universities and colleges. These intellectual property assets are federally funded to the tune of easily over $50 billion per year. Read More >>
| Since its official purchase by Wham-O in 1957 over 200 million “WHAM-O Frisbee Pluto Platter Flying Saucer” have been sold, now more commonly known as Frisbee’s. Beginning as an activity that gained popularity during the Great Depression, Walter Fredrick “Fred” Morrison and his initial investor Warren Franscioni began creating the first plastic “Flying Saucer.” |
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Frequently when I speak to inventors and small companies, I run across an issue which is painful to discuss with the larger IP community. How can I prevent other companies from infringing on my patent? How can I successfully license and monetize the good IP that I have?
I think the patent process is inherently unfair to the independent inventors and small businesses. That’s a bold statement to make as we work with both large and small businesses. However I know plenty of IP professionals that recognize this problem and want to work on solving this.
The key issue is that inefficiencies in the patent process limit innovation by creating an uneven playing field for small inventors. While 70% of patents are issued to small businesses and independent inventors, their ability to benefit is thwarted by the rising cost of enforcement ($4 million on average) and the inability of companies to efficiently license their inventions. Read More >>
| We frequently encounter documents sent in by our clients, with images of 3D CAD models and screen captures of working 3D CAD models. IP professionals often do not ask inventors for these sophisticated 3D files seen in their PDF because they cannot open them.
Staff designers at Legal Advantage have practical experience working with 3D modeling, and because of our various backgrounds some are more familiar with manufacturing ready engineering CAD, other are artists with years of experience with surface modeling such as Maya and Rhino, and our Industrial Designers have hybrid skills with both. Simply put we have the technical background and software to handle any type of file thrown our way.
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| In the best practices of both utility patent illustration and design patent illustration, there's an approach which is often very useful, but which is also often overlooked. When an inventor provides only the vaguest indication of a complex shape needed for a patent drawing, it falls to the illustrator to step up and "flesh out" the concept for the inventor and the IP professional. |
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| Design patents are granted on the premise that the drawings that depict the matter’s innovations are accurate, true to life representations of the physical form of the object. Representing the true isometric silhouette, intricate details, hidden areas of the form, and figure-to-figure consistency are the basics to a building design patent. What depicts the shape and nature of an object is the surface shading applied. Applying accurate line shading goes beyond the USPTO 37 CFR 1.84 Standards for drawings. |
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Last week, we conducted our annual meeting to review 2009 and unveil 2010 plans. Our teams from all of our offices joined us in pushing forward the new plans for 2010. But first, we celebrated our victories from 2009. This was a record year in terms of picking up new clients, reaching out to the IP community, prior art projects, and build out of our web capability. Read More >>
We are excited to announce that David Hemperly has been promoted as Vice President of Business Development, based in the company’s Bethesda, Maryland headquarters. Hemperly will assume business development and marketing responsibilities for the company’s award winning patent illustration, prior art search services, patent and technical translation, and trial graphics services.
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 Inside Intellectual Property is a Legal Advantage blog dedicated to sharing IP ideas, tools, techniques and knowledge. Posts are written by experts in the field with insights gained from hands on experience. Learn more about Legal Advantage
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