FEATURED
Innovation Gadfly
- August 25, 2025
1,238 views 6 min

The Tiny Words That Could Cripple American Innovation

Imagine a company that spends years, millions of dollars, and countless hours on a breakthrough product, only to have its intellectual property (IP) stolen by a single sentence hidden in a routine document. Unfortunately, this isn’t a hypothetical scenario. It’s the central issue in Vicor Corporation v. International Trade Commission, a case that threatens to dismantle […]

33 POSTS
Paul Morinville is Founder and Executive Director of SPARK Innovation.  SPARK Innovation strives to create an policy environment ...
FEATURED
Innovation Gadfly
- August 4, 2025
1,264 views 10 min

Time to Turn the US Rejection Office back into the US Patent Office: Part 3

USPTO’s Office of Patent Quality Assurance (OPQA) results show that US patent examiners adhere tightly to performance incentives that value speed and volume over quality. See Parts 1` and 2 of this series. Here in Part 3, we drill into the quality element of the patent examiners performance and appraisal plan (PAP) to identify criteria […]

0 POSTS

Julie Burke has a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of London College of Science, Technology, a ...

FEATURED
Innovation Gadfly
- July 3, 2024
2,363 views 5 min

The Foundation of Innovation: Why Was Patent Protection Enshrined in the US Constitution?

patent protection constitution

In the intricate framework of America’s founding documents, patent protection holds a specific and distinct place, reflecting the wise foresight of the founding fathers of our great country. The prominence of patent protection in the US Constitution was no afterthought; on the contrary, it emerged as a pivotal instrument to foster innovation, promote progress, and […]

-12 POSTS
Andre' DiMino is a technology business executive with an extensive engineering and science background in the design, development, ...
FEATURED
Innovation Gadfly
- June 21, 2024
2,329 views 7 min

How to Write a Good Patent From Someone Who Has Patented Nothing and Is Not A Patent Attorney

write good patent

I haven’t written anything for external consumption in a long time unless you count the stuff I do for UnemployedProfessors.com and my Instagram captions. After last week’s US Inventor’s call, however, I was persuaded to not only write for Paul, my favorite patent frenemy, but also change my topic to this one. It has a […]

-12 POSTS
I come from an “all data, all the time” background. I’ve spent over 20 years working with co ...
FEATURED
Innovation Gadfly
- June 12, 2024
1,963 views 16 min

Heads I Win, Tails You Lose: How the USPTO Retains their Ill-gotten Gains (Part II)

uspto patent

As we are well aware, the patent examination process is complex. USPTO personnel, USPTO technology, inventors, and patent applicants can and do make mistakes. Regardless of how an error arises, there should be a workable, reliable, and consistent petition process to address and correct errors. When it comes to financial mistakes, 35 USC 42(d) authorizes. […]

-12 POSTS
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FEATURED
Innovation Gadfly
- May 26, 2024
2,005 views 10 min

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

uspto pockets excess fees

$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 […]

-12 POSTS
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