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Introduction to Infringement Under the Doctrine of Equivalents The Doctrine of Equivalents allows infringement to be found in some cases where the elements of the accused device are substantially equivalent to the corresponding elements of the asserted claim. K-2 Corp. v. Salomon S.A., 191 F.3d 1...

Tips for Patentability Searching By Frederic M. Douglas © 2012, Frederic M. Douglas, All Rights Reserved. Persons new to filing patent applications often have basic questions regarding patent searches. Should an inventor do a patent search? Is a patent search required? Does it matter when a paten...

I Just Met Someone By Accident! What Do I Do Now? © Frederic M. Douglas, 2013. All Rights Reserved Ages ago when I used to be a cab driver, I clocked over 3,000 miles each month on the streets of Oxnard, California. I never forget one night in which I observed an accident involving two cars. One ...

Patent, Publish, or Keep Secret A rudimentary flow chart for the types of decisions advisable for figuring out whether to apply for a patent for an idea, keep it confidential as a trade secret, or to publish the idea to block others from patenting the idea. Consultation with an intellectual prope...

Eight Tips For Inventors Planning To File A Patent Application © Frederic M. Douglas, 2010. All Rights Reserved 1. When you get your stroke of genius and come up with an idea, WRITE IT DOWN! You need to create a record of your invention before going any further. You should list: (a) A full and co...

Songwriters may make money from public performance fees (such as when someone does the song at a concert) and mechanical licenses (such as when a record company pays the publisher for using the song on a CD sold to the public). Another source of income for songwriters can come from synchronizatio...

Patent Validity: Offers to Sell an Invention Be careful when selling an invention before filing a patent application.  By Frederic M. Douglas; douglaspatents.com © January 14, 2002, Frederic M. Douglas, All Rights Reserved.                    Q.  When does an offer to sell bar patenting an inven...

By Frederic M. Douglas © 2012, Frederic M. Douglas, All Rights Reserved. Songwriting income usually comes from mechanical license fees and public performance fees. Mechanical License Fees – Mechanical license fees are paid by a record company to the publisher for using the musical composition in ...

Three Types of Patents By Frederic M. Douglas © 2012, Frederic M. Douglas, All Rights Reserved. Frederic M. Douglas is a solo practitioner specializing in litigation involving intellectual property (patents, trademarks, trade secrets, copyright, and more). Often, novice inventors are confused as...

Tasks for a Company Patent Committee By Frederic M. Douglas © 2012, Frederic M. Douglas, All Rights Reserved. Frederic M. Douglas is a solo practitioner specializing in litigation involving intellectual property (patents, trademarks, trade secrets, copyright, and more). Businesses of all sizes sh...

Often, people are unsure as to whether to apply for a patent or to go “naked” into the marketplace. Consider this list of benefits to owning a patent and talk to a registered patent attorney if you have further questions.

Benefits of Getting a Patent By Frederic M. Douglas; douglaspatents.com © 2012, Frederic M. Douglas, All Rights Reserved. Frederic M. Douglas is a solo practitioner specializing in litigation involving intellectual property (patents, trademarks, trade secrets, copyright, and more). Often, people ...

This video describes the different types of patents. Often, novice inventors are confused as to the various types of patents. This list is a good starting basis for understanding the various types of patents. Copyright 2012, Frederic M. Douglas. All Rights Reserved.

Uniform Trade Secrets Act   Many states in the U.S. have enacted their own respective versions of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act.    California's version begins at California Civil Code Section 3426. Under California's statute, a “trade secret” means information, including a formula, pattern, comp...

Trademark Basics By Frederic M. Douglas © 2012, Frederic M. Douglas, All Rights Reserved.           What is a trademark? Should you instead “get a copyright” or “get a patent”? Understanding the basic facts about trademarks can avoid misunderstanding and give you the knowledge to protect your har...

Practical Tips When Moving Out of a Rental By Frederic M. Douglas © 2012, Frederic M. Douglas, All Rights Reserved. A common scenario for a potential client calling a lawyer about problems with a landlord consists of complaints about not getting a refund of the deposit upon leaving the rental hom...

Tips for Patentability Searching By Frederic M. Douglas © 2012, Frederic M. Douglas, All Rights Reserved. Persons new to filing patent applications often have basic questions regarding patent searches. Should an inventor do a patent search? Is a patent search required? Does it matter when a paten...

Tips on patent subject matter eligibility for computer readable media © 2012 Frederic M. Douglas. All Rights Reserved.                Many patent applications have been filed aimed at protecting inventions involving computers. Often the patent claims describe using disc drives or other media for ...

When filing a patent application, the applicant must state correctly who are the inventors of the invention(s). If the patent issues with the wrong inventor listed, the patent may end up being invalid or unenforceable. Be sure to not omit one of the inventors or to add someone to the patent appli...

Formulating a discovery plan is necessary for effectively conducting litigation. The discovery process (essentially, gathering evidence) is usually the most critical and costly part of litigation. Failure to make a good plan can easily set a case up for excess costs, wastes of time, and eviden...

Infringement Analysis: 21 Defenses to a Patent Infringement Lawsuit Copyright 2000-2011. Frederic M. Douglas. All Rights Reserved. Determining whether a patent is infringed should entail the same process that a court would use. Generally, a court would make findings on validity, infringement, and...

When I think of February, I think of Valentine's Day, Ground Hog Day, and Presidents' Day. I also remember that Black History Month falls in February, the shortest month of the year. This makes me remember a joke I heard on the WB network. “There they go again, always trying to keep the Black man...

Check out this video for the 19 defenses to patent infringement. http://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc/19-defenses-to-patent-infringement

Watch this video for information on copyrighting your songs. http://youtu.be/WLJdMFEQeHg

Infringement Analysis: 19 Defenses to a Patent Infringement Lawsuit Copyright 2000-2010. Frederic M. Douglas. All Rights Reserved. Determining whether a patent is infringed should entail the same process that a court would use. Generally, a court would make findings on validity, infringement, and...