Michael O'Brien is a registered patent attorney who started the Law Office of Michael O'Brien in 2011 with the goal of providing premier intellectual property services to clients at flat predictable prices. Since then, Mr. O'Brien has drafted hundreds of patent applications for individual inventors, small businesses, and entrepreneurs throughout the country.
Mr. O'Brien is also active in the academic community and previously served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at St. Mary's College in Moraga, California where he teaches Business Law to undergraduate and graduate students in business management and accounting.
Mr. O'Brien is also active in the academic community and previously served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at St. Mary's College in Moraga, California where he teaches Business Law to undergraduate and graduate students in business management and accounting.
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Every invention starts with an idea. Most inventors we have worked with have said that their ideas were the result of noticing something in their everyday business that was inefficient, ineffective, defective, or simply irritating, and has been this way for a long time. It could be a business practice, a piece of machinery, or software that simply has been defective for a very long time.
Once an invention has been built, or at least described in thorough detail, then the question has to be asked, "Has someone else already thought of this?" The process of answering this question presents a bit of a catch-22, as you can only patent your idea if it's original, but you don't want to tip your hand to a potential competitor.
Once you have conducted a patent search and understand what elements of your invention are novel and patentable, it's time to file a patent application. The list of claims being made. These are the heart of the patent application, as the claims detail the novel portions of the device for which you are seeking protection.
Once the examiner has reviewed a patent application and found that it has one or more allowable independent claims, he or she will issue a Notice of Allowance. This requires the applicant to pay the publication fee-if it has not been paid already-and an issuance fee.
Once that is paid, the patent office will print the patent and provide the inventor with a 'ribbon copy, ' a certified copy of the patent featuring the patent office sea and ribbon, signed by a certifying patent officer.At this point, the patent can be enforced against potential infringers. However, the patent must be kept valid in order to keep patent protections in place.
Once that is paid, the patent office will print the patent and provide the inventor with a 'ribbon copy, ' a certified copy of the patent featuring the patent office sea and ribbon, signed by a certifying patent officer.At this point, the patent can be enforced against potential infringers. However, the patent must be kept valid in order to keep patent protections in place.
At some point after successfully receiving a patent on your invention, you may decide that you wish to add claims, or want a patent office examiner to consider prior art that wasn't included in the initial application. You may want to revisit your patent because you made an error in your original patent application.
Reviews (8)
Brad Kreifels
Aug 22, 2020
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Alex X.
Jan 30, 2020
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Grant C.
Jun 05, 2019
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We have been working with Mike for over 2 years now and he has been exceedingly helpful at every stage of the process. When we first spoke I was woefully unfamiliar with the patent process and all the hurdles therein. He was not only very patient but went through great lengths to explain various scenarios and options at our disposal along with the benefits/challenges of each. Having someone willing to take the time to really help us preemptively feel our way through the process and provide honest answers about what methods we should use was a great benefit . Even more beneficial were when many
A. M.
May 25, 2018
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Eric F.
Jun 11, 2016
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In short - Highly recommended! Professional, well mannered, highly intelligent, knowledgeable of the process and my favorite - high morals and values.
In full - Michael was the first person I was able to get ahold of regarding my new idea. After a few email exchanges, I had the gut feeling he was going to be very easy to work with. I've never tried patenting an idea before, so naturally I had a ton of questions. He was very patient with my lengthy emails, questions/concerns and took the time to answer them completely.
I originally went in, mind & budget set that I was going for a non
In full - Michael was the first person I was able to get ahold of regarding my new idea. After a few email exchanges, I had the gut feeling he was going to be very easy to work with. I've never tried patenting an idea before, so naturally I had a ton of questions. He was very patient with my lengthy emails, questions/concerns and took the time to answer them completely.
I originally went in, mind & budget set that I was going for a non
Yvonne G.
Dec 12, 2015
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Ann R.
Dec 12, 2015
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Jake O.
Dec 12, 2015
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