The art of prior-art searching – Finding prior-art for a dental device on Facebook
For a researcher, prior-art searching means following a set of patterns and ending with a bang-on result. Finding a bang-on result for every case is not easy. From the beginning of my career as a researcher at GreyB, I have heard so many stories from my peers and seniors about when they had nothing in […]
Applying First principle thinking for invalidating a software patent
If you have ever received a software patent for invalidation that has claims like a “computer command” that comprise – 1) DOM index value, 2) DOM property name, and 3) DOM property value in the web page being rendered for “synchronization testing and analysis”. …you know it is not going to be an […]
Finding a killer Prior art with a special analysis tool
While on a hunt for a killer prior art, even after putting in all your blood and sweat, it is not certain that you will hit right on it. One of the many reasons could be that the industry or, the technology area you are targeting, may not have the relevant prior art. Where could […]
Patent Invalidation search: Invalidating a Med-Tech patent by concept-hacking
“… Intuition is nothing but the outcome of earlier intellectual experience”, Einstein said. Ideas are just a mash-up of already existing information. And what if I tell you with that logic, we conducted a successful patent invalidation search of a recently litigated patent in the US? Yes, that’s right. One of our old clients, Sean, […]
This patent strategy can save you from paying huge Royalties
Planning to launch a new product and concerned about the huge IP prevailing in the domain? Does the thought of accidentally Designing/producing an infringing product ever bother you? What if there was a patent strategy that could help you? Well, if you’ve found yourself caught up in similar situations, this article can help you. Just like […]
ETSI Email Archives: A secret ingredient to crack SEP Litigation
“More than 75% of SEP litigations involve 3GPP standards, including these days’ hot topic i.e., 5G standard and its predecessor i.e., 4G, 3G, and 2G.” – IPWatchdog The stakes in high-profile litigations in the Telecom domain are so high that invalidating an SEP (Standard Essential Patent) becomes challenging. A miss of a single document (or, […]
How we approach Chemical/Markush structure searching?
According to reports, it takes ~10 years and $2.6 Billion for a new drug to complete its journey from initial discovery to its market launch. Given the timeline and the resources at stake, you want to make sure you extract maximum ROI from the drug. The logical step would be to get a patent on […]
Using Non Patent Literature for invalidating Whey Protein formulation patent
Have you ever faced a situation where you are trying to invalidate a formulation patent and end up not having even a single prior art disclosing the exact same proportions of ingredients? Despite a thorough search, chances are this happens with the best of us. Searching prior art for formulation patents is a whole different […]
How preprint servers gave us an edge in an invalidation search
As searchers, each of us has an array of tactics and strategies at our disposal. Implementing the right tactic at the right resource could open doors to the prior art that you thought might not have existed despite a thorough search. While each of the searchers has their own set of strategies they like to […]
Prior-art in News articles: How purchasing a new phone led to a killer prior-art?
Imagine this – You have a patent to invalidate. What are the possible search avenues you will explore to ensure a comprehensive search such that no prior art is missed? If you’re a traditionalist, you will list down all the possible databases and search tools where there are chances of finding prior art. However, if […]
How to strategize a search when there is no prior art for invalidation?
In the practical world, circumstances are not always in our favor. Sometimes, indeed, we don’t have suitable weapons to fight the battle. On the contrary, the opponent’s counterattack is so strong that we get a sense of vulnerability. Co-relating the above lines to high-profile litigation cases, oftentimes there are circumstances, where round after round of […]
Patent invalidation hacks in the semiconductor industry
Patent filing in the semiconductor industry has exploded in recent years as new technologies like the internet of things, machine learning, and artificial intelligence have rapidly expanded in the chip market. There are an estimated 50 billion connected devices globally, according to Ericsson. Chips are no longer the preserve of mobile phones, but can also […]
What are the roadblocks in sequence searching and how to overcome them?
Imagine this – You are a leading biopharmaceutical player whose R&D team has developed a novel product. Before launching the product, you want to make sure your product is not infringing on anyone else’s patents. There are various costs involved in manufacturing and marketing this product, and you do not want to get entwined in […]
How to Invalidate Pharma Patents on “Obvious to Try” grounds?
As a litigator, you love killer prior art, don’t you? A perfect Tier-I reference(s) would make life so easy and court proceedings bliss. But what if killer prior art does not exist? The next possible solution would be to prove ‘lack of inventive step’ based on obviousness. In pharmaceutical patents especially, obviousness is a hot […]
Finding system prior-art in old battered phones (Patent invalidation)
Imagine this – A leading smartphone player comes to you with a litigation-grade search project for a smartphone-related patent. If the fact that this patent was in litigation does not sound challenging enough, here’s some additional info – The patent-in-suit has already been through multiple rounds of searching by numerous IP vendors, and the patent stood […]
How System Prior Art can help videogame companies avert patent litigation?
“Gamers are the most passionate people in the world and it’s painful when you make them unhappy”. Jack Tretton, President, and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America (2013) We have to agree with Mr. Tretton’s characterization, for a lot of us, are a part of this gaming coterie. Talking about our coterie, another segment you […]
