Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

The USPTO released its annual report for fiscal year 2008.  Below is a comparison of a few key statistics with 2007 stats:

 

	2007	2008	change
Average months to first action (patent)	25.3	25.6	+.3
Average months total pendency (patent)	31.9	32.2	+.3
Percent of applications filed electronically (patent)	49.3%	72.1%	+22.8%
Average months to first action (trademark)	2.9	3.0	+.1
Average months total pendency (trademark)	15.1	13.9	-1.2
Percent of applications filed electronically (trademark)	95.4%	96.9%	+1.5%

 

Yes, this really does mean you can wait 2-3 years to get a patent application approved.

 

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James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com

Great piece of information.   Intellectual Property is key to the internet world.

Intellectual property is the key to all of capitalism, not just the online world.

Oddly enough, it seems more than half the voting population of the US has decided that capitalism isn`t the way to go. So I would assume they also mean for intellectual property rights to be removed from the environment. Maybe that`s part of what they mean by redistributing the wealth, and "change."

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James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com

What`s ironic is that most of Hollywood and the world of professional entertainers tend to vote Democrat, and certainly went all-out in support of Mr. Obama.

And yet, without intellectual property rights, there wouldn`t be any movies, recorded music, books, paintings, trademarks, contracts, royalties, percentages of gross earnings, "deals," stage productions, or any other of the countless luxuries those entertainers currently enjoy so much.

so true.  a host can live without a leach but a leach can`t live without a host.

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James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com