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© Caveman Chuck Coker

The large fees and long wait times for patent applications can end up pushing some inventors to seek help from unscrupulous patent firms, but experts advise that they are better off negotiating with their patent lawyer. Good patent attorneys will make sure that interesting new ideas and inventions get to market. They should not be in it for an immediate payday.

The best patent lawyers will find a way to work with a client who has a cool invention and is determined to succeed, even if the payment has to wait. They will look for inventors who display a real passion for their inventions, because this is a good indicator their investment in that client will pay off at some point. It can take time to find patent attorneys who approach their client relationships in this manner. The best thing to do is compile a list of potential attorneys, start calling and talking to lawyers to feel them out and find one with the expertise and enthusiasm for your invention.

© Mr. T in DC

A Federal Circuit court has handed down a ruling on the inequitable conduct defense in patent law cases that in essence guts this defense. In Therasense Inc v. Becton, Dickinson & Co. the majority opinion was that to prevail on the defense of inequitable conduct, the accused infringer must prove that the applicant misrepresented or omitted material information with the specific intent to deceive the patent office.

Courts will now be required to determine whether the patent office would have allowed the claim if it had been aware of the undisclosed reference. This raisers the bar for what it takes to prove inequitable conduct, which is significant because as many as 80% of patent infringement cases include inequitable conduct allegations. Inequitable conduct has been referred to as the "atomic bomb" of patent law, because an inequitable conduct finding not only renders an entire patent unenforceable but it can also taint related patents.

© warrantedarrest

The latest Google news Canada is that the Canadian government may end up reviewing the sale of Nortel Networks patents for $4.5 billion to a group for foreign tech giants led by Google. Whether or not a review is required depends on the amount of the transaction, because Canadian law requires a review on foreign investments and acquisitions which exceed $324 million book value.

The intent of the review is to determine whether the deal will provide a net benefit to the economy of Canada, and the deal must be approved by the industry minister before implementation can proceed. According to people close to the deal,it may not meet the thresholds requiring government review. That's because the patent assets on Nortel's books were valued at zero. The amount of revenue generated by the patents also falls below the review threshold of $73 million per year.