3 min reading time

Patent attorney Doug Limbach told me a “necessary” story.

An implantable device battery company had a patent with the word “necessary” used to describe one of the features of its patented device. This word was not in the claims section of the patent.

It was unwisely used in the description section and – simple as that – a competitor was able to side-step the patent and compete against the patent holder, who spent considerable time and money obtaining the patent.

Doug explained, “Normally it’s the precise claim language of your patent, not the description or drawings, that determines whether your patent covers a competitor and will keep them out of your market. But in some cases where problematic words are used in the description section, the patent claims are interpreted more narrowly and can become ineffective against competitors.”

Intrigued, I asked Doug what other patent-sinking words like “necessary” are out there.

There are at least a dozen and he’ll share them during a Medical Devices Group webinar: http://medgroup.biz/check-patent on February 28. It’s free for all group members.

Doug will also discuss other watchouts in various sections of your patents, the right amount of detail to include, patent families, and much more. He’ll also discuss what to do when loopholes are discovered in your patents.

We will record the session, and the replay, slides, and transcript will be made available to all who register, whether you can make the live event or not.

Plus, Doug wrote an easy-to-follow five-page guide called “How to Obtain Patents” for immediate download.

So, come, take this free content and protect your work!

That invitation link again: http://medgroup.biz/check-patent

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Discussions

EC Declaration of Conformities – required content

Risk management question: how much control can be assumed?

FDA to collaborate with IBM’s Watson

What is the Usage of Online Education in the Medical Devices Industry

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New 10x speaker announced!

Zoltan Istvan, founder of the Transhumanist Party and author of “The Transhumanist Wager,” will join us on May 3 to discuss “What does it mean to be human?”

Cairn Idun will also speak. Her husband, Jim Glennie, is cryopreserved.

This talk is sure to be among the highlights of this year’s conference.

If you’ve the reviews and considered attending the 10x Medical Device Conference, please visit http://medgroup.biz/10x and request a brochure and our guest list.

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

Love,

Joe Hage
Medical Devices Group Leader

P.S. Be sure to pick up the free content on patents right now at http://medgroup.biz/check-patent

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Julie Omohundro
Principal Consultant at Class Three, LLC
So who handled the “necessary” patent application? A patent attorney? Some other type of attorney? The inventor?

Jennifer Rabal
Dental Crown Retriever-new dental instrument that helps prevent aspiration and inhalation of a crown.
I will mark the date on my calendar.

Roger Anderson
Helping people form companies, and companies form the future.
Time spent with Joe is never wasted.

Benjamin Ghanoongooi
Senior Quality Assurance Consultant at GIL Intl CSvs Inc
Good information thanks for sharing.

David G. Vita
Executive Manager
Thank you Joe for the topic and the opportunity. The story is one to learn onto many aspects but the wording should be the matter of the ip law firm. What is the end of it ? Can we know from publications who was the company ? did the company sue the law firm ?

Ee Bin Liew
Access-2-Healthcare’s Owner and Consultant
Fully agreed, Hugh

Laura Barker
Cardiovascular Territory Manager at Cordis, Cardinal Health
Andrew Thompson

Hubert “Hugh” Pfabe
Patent Attorney, Intellectual Property Counsel, & Product Development Specialist
Any patent attorney worth anything knows to avoid such required language, as it is, essentially, a road map for competitors to design around a patent.
As a former medical device R&D engineer and director and now patent attorney, thus knowing what these situations are like from both sides, I sincerely hope that everyone here is not making the mistake of having patent applications drafted using such rushed (or inexperienced) mistakes.

Suded Emmanuel
Senior Electronics Engineer at Wellington Drive Technologies Ltd
I’m interested in this subject, thanks Joe

Russ Donda
Science translation, startup funding, entrepreneur-in-residence, startup clusters/economic development
Emily Kennedy