Highest scored questions
4,934 questions
86
votes
6
answers
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How to torpedo a bad patent my former large employer is filing?
I worked for a large software company recently and quit to go work a much better place. I thought I had a clean break, but apparently the company is filing to patent work I did there.
The specific ...
user1005
63
votes
10
answers
43k
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Scaling based on pixel density (Microsoft) - Patent Application - PRIOR ART REQUEST
In 2013, this Patent Application has received a final rejection by the US Patent Office.
The rejection was based in part on prior art found by Ask Patents community below! The main reference cited by ...
rejected
53
votes
8
answers
10k
views
Can a YouTube video be submitted as prior art?
I'm trying to determine whether there is evidence that definitively confirms that a YouTube video can be submitted as prior art.
If there is an example of one being used as the grounds for rejecting ...
- 1,199
48
votes
6
answers
4k
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Is it practical for a novice to successfully file a patent without hiring a patent lawyer?
I am an undergraduate student in the US, and have come up with a (hopefully) patentable idea independently of my studies. The upside of that is the university cannot claim any rights to my invention; ...
- 580
47
votes
10
answers
6k
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Microsoft have submitted a patent for a whack to silence a phone ringer. How similar does prior art have to be?
Microsoft has filed for a patent on a new technique that allow users of mobile devices to silence them by delivering a firm whack. From The Register:
Patent application 20120231838, aka CONTROLLING ...
- 816
39
votes
111
answers
16k
views
DISSEMINATING MEDIA CONTENT REPRESENTING EPISODES Issued Patent - PRIOR ART REQUEST
This call for prior art is part of EFF's effort to bust a patent being asserted against podcasting. Read more about the initiative here. Help narrow US patent applications before they become patents ...
Community wiki
39
votes
9
answers
4k
views
Prior art for linked list (secondary and tertiary traversal)?
This is the first I've heard of this patent for linked lists and traversals filed in 2002.
Note that the claim is not a patent on a linked list itself (discussion on Hacker News), but apparently on a ...
37
votes
8
answers
4k
views
Can a sci-fi technology be submitted as prior art?
In response to a question related to multi-touch user interfaces this answer states:
Prior art as published
Multi-touch computer pads were used throughout the television show Star Trek: The ...
- 695
37
votes
7
answers
19k
views
Are text and images in the patent copyrighted?
Sometimes, during a patent research, I found patents which comprise one or more similar images and/or text paragraphs. Are text and images in the patent copyrighted? Does any 3rd party, other than ...
- 825
34
votes
8
answers
4k
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URL pointing to time of video (Google) - Patent Application - PRIOR ART REQUEST
This Patent Application received a non-final rejection by the US Patent Office that was based in part on Ask Patents contributions! An initial rejection is part of the typical course of a patent ...
34
votes
5
answers
10k
views
How long are patents valid?
As an independent software programmer it is very tricky and time consuming to understand these patents. I would say it is impossible for me. Do software patents have a lifetime? If they do, it would ...
- 451
34
votes
3
answers
1k
views
What is the window for finding prior art on a patent application?
I know that patents are not part of the public purview until months or years after the patent application is filed. Once these patent applications are made public, for how long can I submit prior art (...
- 443
34
votes
4
answers
2k
views
What constitutes an original patentable idea in software?
We regularly hear a lot of news about software patents and how certain companies own or are buying gobs of patents in order to stave off potential law suits.
What constitutes an original patentable ...
- 457
33
votes
13
answers
3k
views
Prior art for video games played according to a selected value system such as the claimed "codes of honor"
US patent application 2012/0052930 is titled "System and method for the heros journey mythology code of honor video game engine and heros journey code of honor spy games wherein one must fake the ...
- 751
30
votes
7
answers
7k
views
Is it worth patenting an algorithm if I don't have the money to defend against infringements?
I have some algorithms that I am considering patenting, but I wonder whether I should just trust that rivals won't simply read the patent papers and copy my ideas.
While I hope that my inventions ...
- 423
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