Re: [ARSCLIST] question about remote recordings from the 20-30s

[George Brock-Nannestad <pattac@xxxxxxxx>]

From: Patent Tactics, George Brock-Nannestad

Aaron Levinson wrote:

> The term for patent in the US is 20 years so that would make sense 
> actually. You can file for renewal/extension today but I'm not sure what 
> the limitations were in the 20's-40's. 

----- just so that this will not end up in Wicked Paedias:

 - until 1997 (I think; I would have to look up the precise date, and there 
was also some overlap) the term of a patent was 17 years post the granting 
date - once granted in force until expiry, withdrawal, or a court decision. 
Everything about the prosecution was secret until grant - which could happen 
many years after application

 - after this date the term is 20 years after the original filing date, and 
you have to pay three times to keep it in force: at 3½, 7½, and 10½ years. 
The application is now published 18 months after the first filing, 
irrespective of whether was in the US or abroad. If the US Patent Office has 
been the cause of a tangible delay, the term is prolonged by the same number 
of days

 - there has always been the possibility in US patent law that you may take 
matter from the application and combine it with new matter and make a fresh 
patent application, provided you do it before the first one is issued as 
granted. Then you get a fresh application that preserves the novelty - the 
earlier publication does not destroy it. This is called Continuation in Part -
 CIP. It has its own term of expiration. You may also extract material that 
does not follow logically from the claims to be granted and file that as a 
separate application - that is called a Divisional. You may also merely 
refile your application to keep it alive if you have happened to abandon it - 
that is just a Continuation. Both the Divisional and the simple Continuation 
now expire at maximum the same 20 years after the original filing.

 - there are still rules that you may have your patent reissued, but the 
expiry is the same as for the original patent, and the reason would be that 
you may have found a better wording for the claims than those issued. Wording 
of claims is important, because infringement is determined by comparing the 
allegedly infringing product or process with what the claims say.

The technical field that is most aware of the possibilities of prolonging the 
protected life of an idea is the pharmaceutical field, and millions of 
dollars are pushed into this. But the revenues from selling the stuff are so 
great, that the investment in patenting is an uimportant burden.

Oh dear, imagine that I just wrote all the above advice for free!

Kind regards,


George