Hello loyal readers.  I had received quite a few inquiries from readers who saw what I posted about this series of fifteen webinars about the Patent Cooperation Treaty, and who were not sure they could commit to attending all fifteen sessions.  Here is some good news about this.  Continue reading →

WIPO has launched a new web page called PCT Success Stories (click here).  The idea is that you might have invented something and filed a PCT application on the invention, and the PCT application might later have helped the invention be a success.  You could let the folks at WIPO know about it, and they could share the success story.  There is for example a place on the web page where you can click and upload a photograph of your invention.  Continue reading →

Who would like to receive fifteen hours of training on the Patent Cooperation Treaty?  In past years this might cost hundreds of dollars to buy a badge to attend an in-person two-day program.  In past years you might have to spend money on airplane tickets and two or three nights of hotel rooms.  In past years, you would have to go somewhere on an airplane and spend at least two nights in a hotel.

Guess what?  The patent firm Schwegman Lundberg Woessner is doing everything to make it possible for you to attend fifteen consecutive webinars about the Patent Cooperation Treaty from the comfort of your home or office.  You will not have to pay a penny to attend these webinars.  The people of the Schwegman firm are making this available to you free of charge.

But these webinars are consecutive and cumulative.  To make sense of webinar number 8, you need to have attended webinars 1 through 7.  You need to block out time in your schedule for all fifteen webinars.  They are free of charge, but you need to dedicate your time and energy to all fifteen of these webinars.  To see the schedule, or to register, click here.  I suggest you book these dates and times in your calendar.

You have a choice.  You can pass up this unique opportunity, or you can commit to this unique opportunity.

I think you can guess where I am going with this.   I suggest you follow through on this unique opportunity.

And by the way if you know anybody who is connected with the Schwegman firm, right now is the time to drop them a note and to say “thank you” to them for providing this opportunity for you.

click to enlarge

When I was first in practice, the only way to gain “small entity” status as a US patent filer was by filing a “small entity status form”.  It was thus a pretty big deal in the year 2000 when the USPTO published a Federal Register notice (65 FR 54603, September 8, 2000) which pretty much eliminated the need for small entity status forms.  Oversimplifying slightly, starting on November 7, 2000, a patent applicant in the USPTO was able to gain small entity status by the simple step of paying a government fee at the small entity rate.  Except not!  PCT filers sometimes find to their great disappointment that is is not really true that you can always gain gain small entity status by the simple step of paying a government fee at the small entity rate.  Continue reading →