Okay, loyal readers, who among us knows the name of this fitting? I first encountered these fittings a very long time ago, when I was about ten or eleven years old. If you know what this kind of fitting is called, please post a comment below.
A patent attorney that understands drape runners
Nadine, there’s plenty of patent attorneys. We just got to keep on looking till we find one that understands drape runners.
Vienna classification
There are three intellectual property classification systems named by the city in which the system was established. Can you name the three systems? Continue reading “Vienna classification”
Argentina’s patent office will soon join DAS
The National Institute of Industrial Property of Argentina (“INPI-AR”) will soon join the DAS system. Continue reading “Argentina’s patent office will soon join DAS”
Yet another reason that that trademark application will get refused
(Update: Just as predicted, the Examining Attorney has refused registration in view of this earlier trademark application. You can see the update here.)
Earlier today I wrote a blog article about a trademark application that had been filed by Ohio State University for the word “the”. I predicted that it would get refused as “merely ornamental”. But alert reader Edward Weller drew my attention to an earlier trademark application in which someone else also seeks trademark protection for the word “the”. You can see the TSDR record here. Continue reading “Yet another reason that that trademark application will get refused”
A trademark application that will get refused
(Update: Yes, as I predicted the Examining Attorney has refused registration because the “the” is “merely ornamental”. You can see this blog article with an update.)
It is all over the news that Ohio State University has filed a trademark application for the word “the”. I predict that the USPTO will mail an Office Action refusing registration in this trademark application. Here’s why. Continue reading “A trademark application that will get refused”
A mistake for USPTO to correct in one of its forms
USPTO’s form PTO/AIA/01/DE (version of June 2012) uses a wrong word as quoted at right, and needs to be corrected.
The English word of interest here “application” which the form incorrectly translates as “Bewerbung”. That German word only makes sense as for example a job application, not a patent application. The correct German word in the context of a patent application is “Anmeldung”.
USPTO fails to support DOCX from non-Microsoft word processors
One of the fundamental requirements in the design of an important system like USPTO’s system for e-filing patent applications is that the system should not force the customer to purchase any particular proprietary software as a precondition of use of the system.
USPTO’s initiative to try to force customers to file patent applications in DOCX format is an example of a failure to satisfy that requirement. Continue reading “USPTO fails to support DOCX from non-Microsoft word processors”
Amazon lockers in hotels
I still vividly recall the first time a hotel annoyed me by charging a package fee. It was a Hyatt hotel in downtown Chicago; I was attending a professional meeting about twenty years ago. I had arranged for some courier package to be sent to me, and I had to pay a $15 ransom to get the package. Continue reading “Amazon lockers in hotels”
Monitoring status of US patent applications
How may one monitor the status of a list of US patent applications? Clearly one way to do this is to set up a routine and to carry out manual steps of logging into PAIR daily to check the status. This is tedious and error-prone. What about USPTO’s Patent Docket widget in its MyUSPTO system? Is this a reliable way to monitor the status of a list of US patent applications? Continue reading “Monitoring status of US patent applications”