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Law Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [patents]

A patent is a right granted by a government entity for [intellectual-property] (IP), which excludes others from using that IP. Use this tag when asking specifically about patentability or patented matters.

A patent is granted to an inventor (or assignee) by a sovereign state for a limited period of time. The invention will be either a novel product or process.

The exclusive rights granted by the patent will vary between countries and jurisdictions. However, in general, the patent prevents others from making or using the patented product or process, though its validity may still be challenged in court.

There is a separate Stack Exchange site for patents: Ask Patents. You might want to consider searching if your question has already been asked there.

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At what point does combining integrated circuits yield something patentable?

I am considering at which point an electronic circuit-based product becomes patentable. If I were to simply design a new electronic circuit by implementing a single integrated circuit (IC) from a manufacturer, I would think that this cannot be…
Nick Bolton
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Is it patent infringement to produce patented goods but take no compensation?

There are many experimental tools in biological research that cost researchers an exorbitant amount (for example, single-cell RNA sequencing technology) - would someone be infringing on a patent (or likely, multiple patents) if they choose to…
Aaron
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Is it illegal to implement a patented algorithm or method and take advantage from it?

I have been working on an SW project that combines image processing and IMU data since 2019. (Mobile platform) Unfortunately, a company got a patent on the same method that I have been working on and started selling their product last year…
Chanoh Park
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Is Nanoblock not in violation of LEGO's patents because their product is incompatible with and not the same size as LEGO's product?

Nanoblock is an interlocking brick toy similar to LEGO. They have an article on their website that describes their toy and compares it to LEGO. It makes the following claim: You may wonder if there is a patent infringement case against Nanoblocks…
pacoverflow
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What if I don't patent my invention?

Say I invent something and choose not to patent it but start producing and selling it, then if somebody else goes and patents my exact design what happens to my rights to sell/produce that product?
mitch dodge
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What is the status of this patent?

Recently I received a warning from someone who seller that says I am infringing on their utility patent. While looking up their patent, I am seeing different information about the status. 1) Source 1: Google Patents Google Patents says the latest…
bigpotato
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Is MagSafe patented such that no one else can make magnetic power supplies?

I'm talking about MagSafe, the connector used on some Apple power adapters that pops out of the socket easily, and snaps into place using a magnet, so that both the cable and the socket are unlikely to be damaged in the event of an unexpected…
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How to prevent others from getting a patent on my idea?

I have a good product idea. But I don't have enough time or money to transform the idea into a real product. Instead, I would like to prevent other companies or individuals from getting a patent on the idea, so that someday I can continue the idea…
Chanoh Park
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Can I avoid infringing a patent if I change one component of existing patent?

This is an extended question to my previous question: Leading customers to use cheaper solution invented for another domain instead of expensive patented solution. Infringement? As far as I know, if one component is different from the registered…
Chanoh Park
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Do patent holders have an obligation to make their patents available? To what extent?

The company ASML Holding N.V. is, quote Wikipedia: "the sole supplier of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) photolithography machines in the world" This means that ASML has a monopolistic position in the global semiconductor / computer chips…
defykade
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Can one enforce a patent while it is only "pending approval"?

When does a patent begin taking effect, exactly? And if it takes effect BEFORE being officially approved (which seems strange to me), can the patent's author enforce the patent (for example, through demands to cease or negotiate, and filing of…
J..y B..y
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Can an unfinished product be patented?

Say two companies are working on some software that does essentially the same thing: Can one of the companies patent the idea before it's finished to prevent the other company from working on it, or can they only patent the software once they have a…
dshawn
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One person patenting a biology researcher's published idea

If a biology researcher publishes a paper indicating that a certain molecule can be used to treat a certain condition, can another person then patent that molecule or would the right to patent that molecule be exclusively the original researcher's?…
Aaron
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Do I have the right to sell something that has a patent if I started selling before the patent was active?

I currently sell bed bug traps on Amazon. I've been selling them since March 2017. Recently I received a complaint from the rights owner of this patent: https://patents.google.com/patent/US20110225873?oq=patent:20110225873A1 It looks like they were…
bigpotato
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Repatenting a medicine

What does it mean that a drug was "repatented"? From the New York Times: Albuterol, one of the oldest asthma medicines, typically costs $50 to $100 per inhaler in the United States, but it was less than $15 a decade ago, before it was…
Quora Feans
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