Last month, I had to make up an exercise for patent agent trainees (that’s the “misery” part — not making up exercises, but training for the patent agent exams). The exercise itself was the preparation of a response to a … Continue reading
Here’s a recent Japanese patent application (JP2005042246), filed in 2003 and published in 2005. I don’t know the status now, but it is not necessarily patented yet. It’s probably undergoing examination now. I won’t pretend to understand Japanese, so here’s … Continue reading
You would have noticed in the double-or-even-quadruple-knit stockings patent that the description skipped over certain realities of sock knitting: namely, the heels and toes. In response to Lola’s comment that an explanation of heel shaping was missing, I flippantly answered … Continue reading
Today’s intellectual property-fest is brought to you by the letter ®. If you’re a designer who is planning to file and prosecute your own trademark application, especially in the US, you really should think about what you supply as a … Continue reading
Monday seems like a good day to start off with a healthy dose of patentese. I’m going to try to post something knitting-patent related once a week — maybe something new, like Knit Klips knitting clips, or stretchy circulars brand … Continue reading
Well. Kudos to Helen Jost. Not only did a design patent issue last month for a species of knitting needle with a measuring scheme marked on it, but earlier this week the USPTO saw fit to issue a patent for … Continue reading
If you read the comments to this post, you might have seen two interesting ones: First, a comment from one of the women behind Knit Stix, Aleta Frost, stating that they had a design patent, that they expect to receive … Continue reading
A product review I read in the most recent issue of INKnitters (the Fall 2005 issue — the website’s a bit out of date) sparked a vague memory. The product in question was Knit Stix: straight knitting needles in colourful … Continue reading
Seriously, what the hell were you thinking?
Shannon asked about what’s involved in challenging a patent. Here’s a really, really brief dissertation on how patents get issued, and how they get busted.