Category: General IP Management
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Smart IDS Timing: Before FAOM, After Final, or After Allowance?
Getting a patent isn’t just about having a great idea—it’s also about timing. And one of the most misunderstood pieces of timing in the patent process is when to file an IDS, or Information Disclosure Statement. It sounds simple: you’re just telling the USPTO about any related prior art or documents you know about. But…
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De-Duping References at Scale: Family, Kind Code, and Alias Matching
Patents are messy. Not because they’re bad—but because the world is big, inventors are everywhere, and people describe the same thing in different ways. If you’re trying to make sense of a huge stack of patent references, the same invention can show up again and again under different names, different countries, or different codes. It’s…
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Amendment Playbooks: Narrow Smart, Preserve Scope
You’re building something big. You’ve put in late nights, solved tough problems, and finally turned your idea into real tech. Now you’re filing a patent to protect what you’ve built. But here’s the thing most founders don’t realize—getting a patent isn’t the finish line. It’s just the start. What Happens When You File a Patent—And…
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Rule 130 Affidavits: Disqualify Your Own Disclosures Safely
You’re building something big. You’re moving fast. You’re showing your work to investors, pitching at demo days, launching your beta. Then it hits you—did that pitch count as a public disclosure? Did I just ruin my chances of getting a patent? What is a Rule 130 affidavit, really? More than a form—it’s a lifeline for…
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Obviousness-Type Double Patenting: When to Use a Terminal Disclaimer
You’ve built something amazing. Maybe it’s a new hardware setup, a smarter algorithm, a unique user interface—something that’s not just cool, but actually new. You’re protecting it with a patent. Smart move. But here’s the twist most founders don’t see coming: just because your idea is new, doesn’t mean the patent office will say yes…
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Declaration Power (1.132): Data That Defeats 103
If you’re building something new, smart, and maybe even a little bit wild, chances are someone at the patent office is going to tell you it’s “obvious.” They’ll throw Section 103 at you. It’s their way of saying, “This thing you invented? We think someone else could have figured it out too.” What’s a 103…
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File History Judo: Use Estoppel and Statements Against 102/103
Getting a patent isn’t just about filing something smart. It’s about defending it later, too. And one of the smartest, simplest ways to defend your patent is by using what’s already in your file history. That’s what we call file history judo. First, What’s File History? The Hidden Map Behind Every Patent When you file…
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Rule 56 to Reality: Automating Your Duty of Disclosure
If you’re building something big—tech that matters, a product that changes the game—you probably don’t want to get tripped up by a small legal rule most founders have never heard of. But here’s the thing: Rule 56 can make or break your patent. It’s not just a form. It’s not just a box to check.…
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IDS Made Simple: A No-Stress Workflow for Busy Teams
When you’re building something new—especially at startup speed—the last thing you want is legal paperwork slowing you down. But when it comes to patents, there’s one thing you can’t ignore: the Information Disclosure Statement, or IDS. It sounds boring, and honestly, it kind of is. But it’s also one of the most important steps in…
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From Landscape to FTO: Distill Noise Into Actionable Moves
You’re moving fast, building something real, and pushing toward launch. But there’s that quiet, nagging thought in the background: are we clear to ship this? You’ve probably heard words like “patent landscape” or “freedom to operate” (FTO) tossed around. Maybe you even got a big PDF from a lawyer filled with confusing diagrams and legal…