January 2007 Summary
Mr. James Richardson of the law firm Brinks, Hofer, Gilson & Lione spoke to us about recent developments in patenting and gave us his thoughts on possible future developments. Patent litigation is expensive and should be avoided if possible. Most individuals cannot afford patent litigation. Some legal firms will take a case on a contingency basis, but you must convince them you have a good case. Few firms will take a case that has damages under $10 million. It will cost the firm perhaps $1½ - 2 million to handle the case. Litigation occurs in a federal court, and can last as long as 2 years. The U.S. Supreme Court has final jurisdiction. In response to one of its recent rulings, the patent office is increasing the stringency of the standard of "nonobviousness" - a patentability requirement for the subject matter of a patent application. An increasing number of companies based in Taiwan and China are now seeking U.S. patents. The Congress is considering legislation th...