Applying for Patent Protection

A Georgetown-based patent litigator and licensing attorney, William Bryan Farney has over three decades of experience in the field of law. William Bryan Farney has also been acknowledged by Chambers U.S.A. repeatedly as one of the country’s top patent litigators.

By obtaining a patent, an inventor of a technology secures the right to prohibit others from using, selling, or making the technology throughout a specified period of time. Before an invention can qualify for a patent, it must satisfy a series of criteria, including novelty. An invention is considered novel if it has never been created before, or has one or more features that set it apart from similar inventions.

To obtain a patent, an inventor must apply for it through the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The application must be submitted within one year of public disclosure or announcement of the innovation (such as through sale offer or a publication).

An inventor or their attorney ideally should make a preliminary patent search to check if such a patent has not been obtained or applied for by another inventor, which may render their application invalid. If the result of the search shows that their application may result in a patent being issued, they can proceed with the application. The application and necessary fee will be tendered to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. After the application is submitted, it will be reviewed by a patent examiner. If the patent is granted, the inventor will pay an additional fee, and the invention’s description and use will be published by the federal government.

Two Broad Categories of Patent

Patent attorney William Bryan Farney possesses more than three decades of experience in the courtroom. After litigating several high-stakes patent disputes, William Bryan Farney is familiar with a range of patent infringement and intellectual property infringement matters.

According to United States patent law, a person can infringe upon a patent directly or indirectly. The most obvious form of infringement is direct infringement, which is selling, using, or importing a patented invention or idea without getting authorization from the patent owner.

The unauthorized version of the patented product or service will infringe if it meets the legal requirements of the claims of the patent owner's patent.

Unauthorized parties are held liable for direct infringement whether they were aware of the patent’s existence or not.

Indirect infringement occurs when an unauthorized party encourages or contributes to an infringing activity committed by a different entity. The product or service produced by the infringing entity generally must meet all, or the material portion of the limitations of at least one independent claim of infringement.

Two subcategories of indirect infringement are contributory and induced. In contributory infringement, generally, the unauthorized party knowingly provides a product or component to a third party which is a material part of an infringement. In induced infringement, generally, an unauthorized party knows about the patent and causes a third party to directly infringe upon it.

National Journal Commemorates Its 50th

Texas resident and intellectual property attorney William Bryan Farney is widely-known for litigating high-profile cases in the technological industry. William Bryan Farney was even cited by the National Journal for his representation of Gateway in a case against Lucent Technologies, Inc. and was named to the journal’s “Defense Hot List.”

Last year, the National Journal commemorated its 50th year anniversary with its NJ50-List of 50 People Who Are Changing the Way Washington Works. The National Journal has long been considered a trusted source of information for policy professionals and government affairs. The hope is that the journal will continue to offer readers valuable insights, data, and information in the years to come.

The special report includes legal professionals from diverse backgrounds. Attorneys were selected for their outstanding work in the following areas: election processes, policymaking, lobbying, political advising, and reforming Washington, DC so that the powerful are held accountable, among others. Those who want more information can visit the National Journal site at nj50.nationaljournal.com.

Some Characteristics of Generic Drugs

An attorney with more than 25 years of federal courtroom experience, William Bryan Farney focuses on patent law and litigation. William Bryan Farney has dealt with a number of different kinds of patent matters, including those involving generic pharmaceuticals.

When a brand name drug is covered by patents, which typically is the case, generic companies can file for FDA approval, and choose to certify that they will wait to enter the market until the brand's patents expire, or, instead, that they seek to enter the market immediately, on grounds that the brand's patents are not infringed or are invalid. The generic medications generally will have the same active ingredients as the brand name drug in order to receive approval from the FDA. The active ingredients have already been proven effective and safe. So the companies producing the generic products do not need to fund similar testing to the brand name drug manufacturer. This also means that the generic medications cost much less money.

For consumers, lower costs are among the main benefits of using generic drugs. Because their health benefits are equivalent to those of brand name varieties, they are much more cost effective to use. In connection to this, patients who start on generic medications are much less likely to eventually abandon them than patients who start on brand name drugs.

A Look at Two Popular Monetization Strategies

Top patent litigation and licensing attorney William Bryan Farney has worked as a partner with Texas-based firm Farney PC since 2011. With upwards of 30 years of experience in his field, William Bryan Farney is particularly skilled in patent and intellectual property litigation, even counseling other investors on issues like patent licensing and monetization strategies.

The term “monetization” can have different meanings, and can include monetization of a business idea, or related intellectual property, including trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, or patents. Broadly speaking, the term refers quite simply to the process of achieving revenue through a product or service, or its related intellectual property. Two broad categories of monetization strategies that can be used are the following:

1. Subscriptions - Offering a subscription for your products can be an excellent way to generate consistent revenue. Be cautious when introducing this model, however, as many users may be unwilling to pay if your product or service has previously been offered for free. Consider the value, your audience, and what aspects of your particular product or service differentiate it from other similar products on the market.

2. Adding Services - If your business primarily sells a product, consider adding a service that you can sell as well, which could be complementary to your product. Adding a service can offer added value to your current and future customer base and give you an additional way to generate revenue.