The Biotech Bargain: How Patents Help Turn Risk Into Medicine

AI can now produce something that very much *looks* like a patent application. It can be long. It can be technical. It can have claims. It can use many of the right-sounding words in approximately the right-sounding places. But does it actually protect your invention? And that distinction—between something that looks impressive and something that creates a durable legal asset — is everything to an inventor hoping to reliably protect their innovation. From a subtle word-choice mistake to a maj...

When most people think or speak generally about patents, they’re really talking about utility patents – or patents that are primarily concerned with how an invention is used and how it works. But as it turns out, this is just one specific type of patent on the complete menu of options available for protecting your innovations. Another option, called a design patent, exists to – additionally or alternatively – protect the appearance of your invention. And whether you find yourself in an...

Willful infringement is a patent law concept that applies when someone infringes a patent knowingly or with reckless disregard for the patent holder’s rights. It goes beyond accidental infringement, often involving a deliberate choice to use protected work despite awareness of the rights holder. With unintentional infringement, the infringer can still be required to pay damages, negotiate a license, or face an injunction to halt the infringing activities. If the infringement is deemed willful...

Patent abandonment is the premature relinquishment of patent rights for an invention. Abandonment can happen voluntarily for various strategic and cost reasons, but can also happen silently and unintentionally. It can happen before the right is even granted in the case of public disclosure. But it can also happen after the patent has been granted at many key points in its otherwise useful life and window of exclusivity. Like with other property rights, securing your patent isn’t the end of th...

What are your options for protecting inventions across Europe? In this month’s episode, we’re taking a journey across the pond with a discussion on European Patent Practice. This episode is part two of a series we’re doing on International Patenting and follows Ashley’s exceptional Travel Guide to Foreign Protection from earlier this season. Even in a globalized economy, patents are still nationalized documents. For example, a U.S. patent only grants the right to exclude others from mak...