Author Archives: mjwhitekingston

New USPC Classification Orders

Posted on September 16, 2007 by mjwhitekingston

The USPTO has recently issued several new classification orders affecting Classes 375 (Pulse or Digital Communications), 386 (Television Signal Processing for Dynamic Recording or Reproduction) and 525 (Synthetic Resins or Rubbers).

Posted in classification, classification orders, USPC, USPTO | Leave a comment

WIPO Proposes Supplementary International Patent Search

Posted on September 12, 2007 by mjwhitekingston

The WIPO General Assembly is likely to approve a supplementary international patent search, according to comments made by WIPO Deputy Director Francis Gurry quoted in IP Watch. This will allow applicants to request a supplemental search from another patent office … Continue reading →

Posted in International patent search | Leave a comment

Downloading Foreign Patents

Posted on September 10, 2007 by mjwhitekingston

When I need to download a copy of a patent for myself or a client, I usually go right to esp@cenet. Since esp@cenet includes ~60 million patent documents from more than 70 countries, the odds of finding a patent or … Continue reading →

Posted in downloads, Patent databases | 2 Comments

GCN Report on USPTO e-Filing System

Posted on September 10, 2007 by mjwhitekingston

Government Computer News has a report on the success of the USPTO’s new e-filing system, EFS-Web. Since the system went into full product in March 2006, the USPTO has: Seen new applications filed electronically rise to 60 percent Received 850,000 … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Clothing Design Patents

Posted on September 8, 2007 by mjwhitekingston

<– The "Frau Blucher" <– The "Rosie the Riveter" <– The "Marian the Librarian" Here are a few clothing design patents from the mid 1940s. Not exactly stylish by today’s standards, but hey, there was a war on. As I … Continue reading →

Posted in clothing, design patents | Leave a comment

US Classification Tools – New Feature

Posted on September 5, 2007 by mjwhitekingston

The USPTO’s online classification search system has a new feature that will make browsing classification schedules much easier. Users can now use an “Outline” feature to collapse any schedule from its normal full display to just its mainline through level … Continue reading →

Posted in classification, USPC | 1 Comment

Fashion Designers Look to Copyright, Not Design Patents

Posted on September 4, 2007 by mjwhitekingston

An article in today’s New York Times discusses the growing threat that high-end fashion designers face from low-cost imitations of their most popular clothing designs. Their industry trade group is lobbying Congress to extend copyright design to clothing. Copyright already … Continue reading →

Posted in clothing, design patents | 4 Comments

Politicians and Patents

Posted on September 2, 2007 by mjwhitekingston

Although politicians make patent laws, very few have had any real first-hand experience as inventors. Perhaps the best known politician-inventor is President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln, an attorney from Springfield, Illinois who had a life-long interest in inventions, received patent No. … Continue reading →

Posted in plant patents, policitians | Leave a comment

U.S. Patent Counts, April-June 2007

Posted on August 29, 2007 by mjwhitekingston

Table 1. Patent Counts, Week 1-26, 2007 Quarterly Patent and PGPub Counts Q1 | 47,332 | 74,277 | 121,609Q2 | 45,828 | 76,640 | 122,468Q3 |Q4 | Published patent applications (A docs) surged in Q2, setting two new records for … Continue reading →

Posted in Patent statistics | 2 Comments

ChemSpider Adds Patent Data

Posted on August 26, 2007 by mjwhitekingston

Despite the proliferation of open access patent databases over the last ten years, chemists and life scientists have found it difficult to search for patents related to chemical compounds. This is largely due to the fact that patent offices do … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment