Category Archives: patent numbers

Frisbee False Marking Case

Posted on July 7, 2011 by

Interesting article in the WSJ about a false patent marking case involving Wham-O, maker of frisbees. The company is the latest defendant in a string of lawsuits against firms accused of marking their products with patent numbers that are long … Continue reading →

Posted in False marking, frisbee, patent numbers, WHAM-O | Leave a comment

Patent # 8,000,000 in 2011?

Posted on October 24, 2010 by

The USPTO is fast approaching another milestone… Patent number 8,000,000 might be less than a year away. The highest numbered utility patent (as of Oct. 19, 2010) is 7,818,816. At the current rate of about 60,000 patents per quarter, the … Continue reading →

Posted in patent numbers, Patent statistics | Leave a comment

Chinese Patent Number System

Posted on April 20, 2010 by

According to a note on the EPO’s Asian Patent Helpdesk, the Chinese patent office has adopted a new numbering scheme for published applications and issued patents. Prior to April 2010, applications and patents were published with different numbers. The new … Continue reading →

Posted in China, patent numbers, SIPO | Leave a comment

Ghost of Patents Past

Posted on April 9, 2010 by

Have you ever noticed old patent numbers printed on new products? I own a pie dough blender that I bought new about 15 years ago. Etched on its blade are three US patent numbers, 1486255, 1645052 and 1724356. A quick … Continue reading →

Posted in False marking, patent numbers | Leave a comment

New Series Codes for Utility/Plant and Provisional Applications

Posted on April 25, 2008 by

According to the USPTO website, there are new series codes for utility/plant and provisional application serial numbers. The new codes are “12” for utility/plant applications and “61” for provisional applications. The first applications of 2008 were 12/5,841 and 61/9,389, so … Continue reading →

Posted in patent numbers, Series codes, USPTO | Leave a comment

Review: Japanese-English Chemical Dictionary

Posted on March 26, 2008 by

Japanese-English Chemical Dictionary: Including a Guide to Japanese Patents and Scientific Literature. Edited by Markus Gewehr. Wiley-VCH, 2007. 680 p. $230 ISBN 978-3527312931 My library just received a copy of this very impressive reference work. The bulk of the book … Continue reading →

Posted in Japan, JPO, patent documents, patent numbers | Leave a comment

Baby Products, Patent Numbers and a Puzzle

Posted on September 20, 2007 by

My wife and I are going to be new parents any day now, so our house has been filling up with all kinds of cool baby-related products. (We’re having twins, so that means two of everything.) Of course, I can’t … Continue reading →

Posted in patent numbers, South Africa, trademarks | 2 Comments