New - Innovation Gadfly

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Highway Robbery: How the USPTO Pockets Excess Filing Fees (Part I)

May 26, 2024

$15,880 Gone! $13,900 Missing! $13,540 Taken! $17,120 Lifted! $6,390 Pilfered! $8,300 Borrowed! This article is dedicated to inventors and IP practitioners who have checked their USPTO deposit accounts only to realize “we’ve been robbed!” Unlike the burglar who stealthily snuck into Steve Martin and John Candy’s motel room in Planes, Trains and Automobiles under the […]

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Dear Congress, the PTAB Hinders Innovation and Threatens National Security

Paul Morinville /

- Corruption -

May 14, 2024

PTAB hinders innovation threats national security

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) effectively invalidates 84% of the patents it fully adjudicates. That fact comes directly from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) PTAB Trial Statistics FY23 End of Year Outcome. This astronomical PTAB invalidation rate has effectively shut down investment in early-stage startups, particularly in vital sectors that require […]

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Shut Up! Denied Right to Defend Your Rights

Randy Landreneau /

- Corruption -

May 7, 2024

Inventors naturally solve problems that others have not. Tom Waugh had a successful business in Alabama, providing fittings and parts for utility poles and electrical systems. Utility poles must be strong and durable, especially tall ones with many lines. The metal utility poles that existed before Tom got involved required taking large sheets of metal […]

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New Legislation that Restores America’s Leadership in Innovation

Paul Morinville /

- Legislation -

May 2, 2024

On April 26, 2024, Representatives Thomas Massie and Marcy Kaptur introduced the Restoring America’s Leadership in Innovation Act (RALIA) in the House Judiciary IP Subcommittee. RALIA is one of those rare bills that actually does what its title says it does. RALIA restores America’s leadership in innovation, which is very much in the interest of […]

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A Wall Street Redux And The Patent Eligibility Restoration Act

Publius /

- Legislation -

April 24, 2024

Background/History Financial services firms (Wall Street) have long argued that they should be exempt from the rules applicable to others. They have showered their champions in Congress with large campaign contributions in return for special exemptions. The role of Senator Schumer in this connection is discussed in the New York Times in an article titled […]

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Apple Goes To Amazing Lengths To Destroy Inventors

Randy Landreneau /

- New -

April 4, 2024

It used to be that a biometric sensor wouldn’t work on a moving body. A heart sensor would only work on a motionless person, like a patient in a coma. The solution that solved this problem was invented and patented by Dr. Steven LeBeouf. Dr. LeBeouf, who has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (no small […]

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Debunking Big Tech’s False Argument: Patent Legislation Won’t Raise Drug Prices

Paul Morinville /

- Corruption -

April 2, 2024

In the U.S. Senate, there is a push to markup the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA) and the Promoting and Respecting Economically Vital American Innovation Leadership Act (PREVAIL). Both are patent-related legislation introduced in the Senate, and PREVAIL has been introduced in the House. The recent lobbying blitz by those on all sides of the […]

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Inventor Able to Overcome Muscular Dystrophy, But Not the PTAB

Randy Landreneau /

- New -

March 29, 2024

Gene Luoma is a prolific inventor with roughly a dozen patents. He grew up on a farm in rural Minnesota, where money was tight. If he wanted something, he often had to make it. In his teens, Gene’s muscles started to weaken. He had muscular dystrophy, and it would worsen as he grew older. But […]

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The Great Equalizer: Reflecting on My Role in Award-Winning Film

Molly Metz /

- New -

March 26, 2024

I have experienced firsthand the highs of success and the lows of participating in our country’s broken patent system. “The Great Equalizer,” a documentary I had the privilege to be a part of, directed by Pritchett Cotten and led by Luke Livingston, has just won an award for “Best Direction” from the Political Film Festival. […]