On February 12, 2024, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) issued guidance on the patentability of inventions developed with the assistance of artificial intelligence, saying that a human must have made a “significant contribution” to the invention. The USPTO explained that while AI-assisted inventions are not categorically unpatentable, the inventorship analysis should focus on human contributions, as patents function to incentivize and reward human ingenuity. Thus, patent protection may be sought for inventions for which a natural person provided a significant contribution to the invention, and the guidance provides procedures for determining the same.Continue Reading USPTO Issues Guidance on Patentability of Inventions Developed with the Assistance of Artificial Intelligence

Every year, I write about patents that have to do with Christmas. Here are a few I have found, some of which were issued in 2023 and others of which are older.

Design patent D990,096 is a rather strange patent entitled “Elf Hand.”  The design looks like a prickly glove with four claws on the end of a round dowel. It is not very appealing. The listed prior art includes a backscratcher, so maybe that is what this is for.Continue Reading MERRY CHRISTMAS!

On December 4, 2023, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated a $2.18 billion damage award against defendant Intel Corporation because it found plaintiff VLSI Technology LLC had erred on its damages calculation, that one of the asserted patents was not infringed, and that Intel was wrongly barred from raising a defense that it had a newly acquired license to the asserted patents.Continue Reading Federal Circuit Vacates VLSI’s $2.2 Billion Damage Award Against Intel

Many of us have said, “Bacon makes everything better.” Can you imagine the accolades someone would receive if they contributed to an invention that improves bacon? Well, it turns out that not all contributions count when it comes to being an inventor of a patent for a better method of precooking bacon.Continue Reading Alleged Co-Inventor Not Bringing Home the Bacon This Time