Portland Craft Beer: Drink Tanks v. GrowlerWerks, a patent lawsuit examination

Portland Craft Beer: Drink Tanks v. GrowlerWerks, a patent lawsuit examination:
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• 35 U.S.C. §101 – Patentable subject matter - the new invention must be in a category for which a patent may be granted 
• 35 U.S.C. §102 – Novel - cannot be previously invented, publicly disclosed or for sale in the market 
• 35 U.S.C. §103 – Non-obvious - cannot be obvious to combine well-known parts 
• 35 U.S.C. §112 – Enabling description - Must contain a written description of the invention and the manner and process of making and using it."

Happy Hour Has Been Patented

United States Patent: 9235863

Williamson v. Citrix

Wow, lawyers are nit-picky. I guess that is why they are paid well. The English language is not as precise as math or programming. Too often a patent's description relies on this unprecise medium.

Williamson put many imprecise words such as "module" or "logic" into question. If you are talking about software or circuits, say "software" or "circuits", rather than "module" or "logic". If you really think it could be implemented either way, then claim it each way and include your own means plus function claims.

#Nonce #NonceWords #Nonce_words

Nonce Words can inadvertently trigger means-plus-function 112(f). They are specious structure. E.g.: “Unit for”, “device for”, “module for”, “mechanism for”.

Related Link:

Williamson v. Citrix: En Banc Opinion on § 112, para. 6 | Patently-O

HILL ROM COMPANY INC v. KINETIC CONCEPTS INC KCI | FindLaw

The abstract is intended to be plain-English, easy-to-understand, searchable, description of the patent. However, it CAN be used to narrow the patent even if that is not its intention. So be careful with it.

HILL ROM COMPANY INC v. KINETIC CONCEPTS INC KCI | FindLaw: "The abstract of the disclosure emphasizes the support and comfort provided by the upper and lower inflatable layers, which are identified in claims 1 and 10 as consisting of sets of cushions. The abstract states that “[t]he inflatable structure preferably has two components: a) lower inflatable layer which is selectively operable to provide basic support for the patient,” and “a second inflatable layer includ[ing] a plurality of zones for establishing optimal patient interface pressures and patient comfort levels.”"

#Abstract #Litigation #HillRom

Hello World!

Hi,

I am studying to pass the Patent Bar Exam. I am not a lawyer, so after passing, I'll be a Patent Agent. This blog will be for various interesting things I find along the way and tips to drafting and filing (prosecuting) patents. I'm an inventor and have about 100 patents. So I have been involved with patents before, but not on the backside of actually drafting the application myself. I was just the idea guy and the lawyers had to do the hard work.

This is primarily for my own achieving purposes. Since it is public, I won't talk about anything that isn't public. I hope you find something useful.