There are benefits of conducting Examiner Interviews.  It is overlooked in back-and forth communications with the United States Patent office (USPTO) that the patent examiners are human. An examiner interview is a conversation between your attorney and the USPTO examiner to review your application.  This discussion usually occurs over the phone.  Examiner Interviews are usually requested after an Office Action from the USPTO is received.

Actually speaking to a USPTO patent examiner enables better communication.  It makes your attorney able to listen to how the examiner reacts to certain arguments and/or observations. It also enables your attorney to adjust claim amendments in real time by adapting to the views and suggestions of the patent examiner.  An examiner interview can also help clarify concepts by using exhibits and visual aids to help the patent examiner with areas they are confused about.  An effective examiner interview can reduce the pendency and associated costs by eliminating subsequent Office Action Rejections in the application process. 

Requesting an Examiner Interview after the first Office Action is received is fine but the effectiveness of an interview at this early stage may be limited due to the nature of the rejection. If prior art rejections could be countered with claim amendments and/or arguments that require no further explanations, then the benefit of conducting an interview might not be significant.  But, if you are dealing with a second Office Action, then an interview could be helpful.  Even if your attorney and the examiner cannot reach an agreement, the interview result may provide guidance for the next steps to take.

Your attorney should lead the interview and sometimes it is even better if your attorney just happens to be a former examiner so he/she knows not only the inner workings of the USPTO but how an examiner may think.  On some occasions, it could also be helpful if the inventor could participate in the interview so they can demonstrate certain features of the patent.

It may be useful for the attorney to set the stage by summarizing key points of novelty that distinguishes the invention over the prior art instead of immediately diving into proposed claim amendments. By talking about the background, the examiner and attorney may suggest a number of claim amendments that aim to capture these key points and distinctions.

Have you heard of the Madrid Protocol in relation to trademarks?  You are probably wondering what it is.  

The Madrid Protocol is one of two treaties that comprises the Madrid System for international registration of trademarks.  The Madrid protocol makes it possible to protect a trademark in a large number of countries by obtaining an international registration that is effective with each of the designated contracting parties. A Contracting Party is a country or intergovernmental organization that is a member of the Madrid Protocol.

An international trademark registration may be filed by a person or legal entity having a connection with the Contracting Party to the Agreement or Protocol through establishment, domicile or nationality.  The mark may be the subject of an international application only if it has been registered with the trademark office of the Contracting Party with which the applicant has connections.  This is referred to as the office of origin.  Where all the designations are effected under the Protocol, the international application may be based simply on an application that was filed with the office of origin.  The international application must be presented to the International Bureau of WIPO through the intermediary office of origin.

An international trademark registration must designate one or more Contracting Parties in which trademark protection is sought. Subsequently, further designations could be effected.  A Contracting Party may be designated only if it is a party to the same treaty as of the office of origin’s Contracting Party.  

Once the international application is received by the International Bureau, the Bureau carries out an examination in compliance with the requirements of the Agreement, Protocol and their Common Regulations.  The examination is restricted to certain formalities, such as the classification and comprehensibility of the list of goods and services for the trademark.  If there are no irregularities in the application, the International Bureau records the mark in the International Register, publishes it in the WIPO Gazette of International Marks and notifies each Contracting Party. 

The international registration is effective in each designated Contracting Party from the date of the international registration.  If no refusal is filed or issued within the applicable time limit or if a refusal is withdrawn, the protection of the mark is from the date of the international registration. This is the same as if it had been registered by the office of the Contracting Party.   An international registration is effective for 10 years.  It may be renewed for further periods of 10 years with payments of fees.

There are several advantages for this filing method. This provides a cost effective and efficient way for trademark holders to receive protection for their marks in multiple countries with the filing of just one application with a single office, in one language and with one set of fees, in one currency.

If you are interested in filing an international trademark application, it is best to contact an attorney to help you understand the process and file it.

Have you heard of an X-Patent?  I think you will find this information to be interesting.  An X-Patent are all of the patents that are issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) from July 1790 to July 1836.  The first patent was issued in 1790.  The inventor was Samuel Hopkins of Pittsford, Vermont. He was the first person to be issued a patent in the United States. Advances in science and technology are strongly correlated with X-Patents. X-Patents are also linked to the rist of the American Industrial Revolution. The actual number of these patents is not known but the best estimate is around 9,957.

The only major government building that survived the British invasion of Washington, D.C., during the war of 1812 was the Patent office. Dr. William Thornton, who was building a musical instrument in the same building, persuaded British officers that shared intellectual records of mankind would be destroyed if these patents were burned.

In December 1836, these patent records were burned in a fire while being held in temporary storage while a new fireproof facility was being built. Nothing was maintained by the government at this time and in order for the collection to be reconstructed, inventor’s copies had to be used.  The United States Congress immediately passed a law aiding to re-issue the missing patents after the fire. About 2,800 patents were recovered and about 1,989 are online. 

Five months prior to the first, the U.S. patents had not been numbered but were identified by titles  and dates. The first patent that used the serial numbering system that is still in use today was issued on July 13, 1836.  The patents that were recovered by the fire are also numbered from 1 but these numbers have an X on them.  The first patent had the X added to the beginning of the number but the X was generally added to the end after the first patents.  This is why they are called X-Patents.

Do you have a great idea for a new product? There are companies that will assist you with obtaining a patent or marketing your invention but it is important to be very careful if you decide to work with invention promotion companies. These companies often promise free information, tell you that they will help you patent your idea, make your invention, and/or market your product.  Unfortunately many inventors have learned the hard way about these companies and have paid thousands of dollars to invention promotion firms or companies. You should be very careful when dealing with companies that offer to help you to both obtain your patent and market your invention.  As a general rule, the professionals who are trustworthy do one or the other but not both..

Unfortunately, these invention promotion companies do have a high success rate but the United States Patent office will accept complaints against invention promotion companies. The Patent Office will not investigate complaints or participate in the legal proceedings against invention promotion firms but they will post the complaints together with any responses received.

Remember these general rules to save yourself heartache and money: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is; invention promotion scams usually offer money-back guarantees, no money down but when the money is discussed, they only charge a certain amount to begin; once you are hooked, you will likely be asked for $8,000 to $12,000 or more; do your research and know who you are getting into a business relationship with by asking for references or doing some searches; and do not make a rush decision and send money quickly. 

Always check the invention promoter or promotion firm’s reputation before committing or sending money.  You could visit the Federal Trade Commission website to conduct a search to see if the company has been investigated or fined by the Federal Trade Commission.  Also look for complaints listed on the USPTO Published Complaints web page.  You could also consult the Better Business Bureau or the Chamber of Commerce in your area.  

If you are working with an attorney, you should ask your attorney about the invention promotion firm that you are thinking of working with but most likely your attorney will suggest you don’t work with the invention promotion firm.

Are you looking for some effective ways to market your product?  Here are some tips to help you.

Many product marketers seem to fall into the trap of “selling the product, not the experience.”  No one really wants a product but they want a solution to their problem. If you only talk about the benefits, features and facts, it will be hard to get people interested or engage with you about your product.  Try telling a story. By telling a story, and especially if your story features a character and intense emotions, you engage much more of the brain.  Tell a story about your products, but don’t just make one up.  Involve your customers or potential customers by taking them behind the scenes.

Also, many product marketing campaigns fail.  Big brands sometimes go too far outside their market’s perception.  For example, once Life Savers tried marketing soda  It did well in taste tests but once it was sold nationally, it tanked.  Customers thought they would be drinking liquid candy and the market did not like the idea.  Always consider your core audience carefully before you launch your new product.

Try doing what your competitors won’t do. Try something new and be willing to fail.  Sometimes your competitors want to “play it safe” by doing the same thing because they’re afraid they might lose their market position and never regain it.  Sometimes it is better to gamble just a little.

You can try marketing to your existing customers.  It is not always necessary to find brand new customers.  You can increase demand even among your loyal customers.

Create a completely new brand if you have multiple products.  This will help you overcome the barrier that could cause your market to think that you can’t possibly create different products.

You could also try making a “big promise” that you can deliver to your customers.  It is not important to come through on your exact promise but providing sensational value is important. Product marketers should make certain promises to get people excited about trying new products.  You should realize that there will be problems if your promise is a lie.

You should always make sure there is a market for your product before you make it.  If you don’t, it will probably fail.  Just remember that is ok if some of the new things you try do fail.  Also remember that big risks can help you gain big rewards.  

An attorney can always help you determine if your product is worth trying to patent and put into the market. 

Marketing your product via social media is inexpensive and you can reach billions of users in this way.  Social media has also been proven to be one of the most effective channels to market and promote your product.

The competition on social media has become very intense.  To best compete, you should leverage latest trends and techniques and promote your product creatively and consistently on social media.

Here are six techniques that could help you more leads for your product using social media.

You could run contests on social media to attract attention.  Having a contest is a subtle way to promote your product without advertising it. Make your contest fun, simple and offer giveaways.  This will help customers become loyal to your product and could help get you more leads.

Provide proof that your product is trustworthy.  Customer reviews and testimonials are important and act as an influencer that will promote your product to your customer in a good light. Let your consumer make an informed decision based on other customers’ experiences.

You should run deals and promo codes on social media.  A great way to promote products is to run deals and promo codes on social media. Make sure your customers remain engaged at all times by providing special deals regularly.  This will help your customers feel special.

You should also advertise your product to reach a wider audience.  People usually like your page on social media because they are interested in your product.  Social media ads boost your reach and can help you achieve new customers to view your ads and in turn can bring you more leads.

It is important to use images, videos and other visual content to help engage social media.  You can bring huge attention to your product by posting creative pictures or product demonstration videos on different social networks.

You should also join social media groups that are relevant to your product to help make other people aware of your product.  It is really important that you connect with group members, talk about their interests and be transparent when providing details about your product.  

Always make connections with your friends, family and acquaintances by commenting on their posts on their personal pages too and that will help them become more interested in your life and what you are marketing.  

Social media has emerged as an effective marketing channel to promote brands but in order for this to work for you, it is important to understand social media.  

Marketing your products and business has four critical elements.  These elements are the four P’s of marketing.

The first P of marketing is product.  The goods and services you offer to your customers is your product. You need to have the right product to satisfy the needs of your customer that you wish to target.  Apart from the physical product itself, there are elements that are associated with your product that customers may be attracted to.  This could be the way it is packaged or the names of the products.  Other product attributes include quality, features, options, services, warranties and the brand name. Your customer is actually buying the appearance, function and support of the product.

The second P of marketing is price.  The price is how much you charge for your product or service.  It can be very tricky to determine the price of your product.  Small business owners often feel like they must have the lowest price around.  So they sometimes begin their business by creating an impression of bargain pricing.  But this could be a signal of low quality and not part of the image you want to portray. How you price your product should reflect the appropriate positioning of your product in the market but the result should neither be greedy nor timid.  Remember, whatever your price may be, it should cover your costs, contribute to your image by communicating the perceived value of your product, counter competition’s offer, and avoid deadly price wars.  Effective pricing is very important for the success of your business.

The third P of marketing is place.  Place refers to the distribution channels used to get your product to your customers.  Depending on what your product is will greatly influence your methods for distribution.  For example, if you own a small retail store or offer a service to your local community, then you will be supplying directly to the customer.  Characteristics of your product and your sales volume greatly dictates what inventories you should maintain and the best way to transport your products.  There are many combinations of distribution methods to have but whatever you decide, you should choose the method that you believe will work best for you and your product.

The last P is promotion.  Promotion refers to the selling and advertising aspect of your marketing.  It is how you let people know about sales.  Getting people to really understand what your product is, what it can be used for and why then want it is the purpose of promotion.  

There are many ways to advertise your product.  Your product can be advertised through the radio, television, print, web sites, word of mouth and generic.  Generic promotion is when no specific brand of product is being promoted, but rather a whole industry is advertised. 

Product, price, place and promotion should work together in your marketing mix.  Decisions on one element can influence the choices available in others.  Selecting an effective mix for your market will take alot of time and effort but will pay off as you satisfy your customers and create a profitable business.  Marketing is a part of your venture that will not end.

If you plan on turning your invention into a side business, product development and commercialization become a very small part of your success.  Your business plan and the actions you take to bring your product to market is most important.  You might think how do you even begin to get the word out to potential customers without having to spend a ton of money? Creative marketing doesn’t always have to break the bank. 

By  creating a clear, strong brand message and creatively communicating with your consumers could transform your marketing campaigns and your business’s profit margin could increase.

You could start by creating a website.  A website is a great way to help you tell your story in detail but if you are not actively advertising nobody will know to go to that website.  Rather than paying a lot for advertising, you could also use a combination of steps that may include visiting local dealers who might have an interest in my product.  You could also attend and speak at local interest groups, advertise on specialty forums and solicit previous buyers to spread the word or do testimonials online.  Another way to advertise is by way of social media.

You could also create fliers or information booklets.  Fliers are a great way to get word out about your business at a very cost. Remember you should make the fliers very appealing and don’t overload them with too much information.  Information booklets are more valuable and relevant to your customers than a simple sales pitch.  Think of ways in which your business or product can add value to your customers and design your promotional material accordingly.

You should also develop a strong focused marketing message.  You can do this by picking your strongest fact or argument and consistently emphasising it, reworking your writing to get your message across simply and clearly, supporting your claims with facts and evidence and creatively share your points so that people do not get bored. 

If your overall business model is low risk with sustainable growth, these advertising and marketing suggestions could work for you.

Some marketing strategies have been provided to you above if your budget is on the lower side.  If you need more marketing guidance, a patent attorney could help you or refer someone else for your marketing needs.

Marketing research is the systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of data as it pertains to marketing conditions.  The main reason for carrying out this research is to figure out the change in the consumer behavior due to the changing elements of the marketing mix (i.e., product, price, place, promotion).  The marketers should know about trends that are changing in the market and should explore changes in customer’s tastes and preferences, new products that are launching in the market and competitor’s product prices.

There are certain steps that should be taken when performing marketing research.  You can find the six steps below.

The first step is to define the problem.  The problem should be defined adequately because if the problem is too vague, this could result in wasting scarce resources. If the problem is too narrow, then it will be hard to reach an exact conclusion.

The second step is to develop a research plan. This step involves gathering types of information relevant to the research objective such as data sources, research approaches, sampling plan and contact methods.  

The third step is to collect information.  This can be one of the most expensive parts of marketing research.  The researcher must adopt the methods to collect the information and he may find it difficult due to people’s unwillingness to give answers or not at home.

The fourth step is to analyze the information.  Once the information is collected, the next step is to organize it so that analysis can be done. Researchers apply several statistical approaches to perform this analysis such as computing averages. Some advanced decision models are also used to analyze the data.

The fifth step is to present the findings. The findings should be shown to the top management levels at this point, such as the CEO, managing director, board of directors so that they can make the marketing decisions that should line up with the research.

The final and last step is to make the decision. Once the findings are presented to the top level of management, the management is to decide whether to rely on the findings and make decisions or discard the findings as unsuitable.

Marketing research is done to gather the information about the market and design marketing strategies.