How to Manage Above Ground Pools Properly

Nobody wants to swim in dirty above ground pools. If you own one and you want to maximize its use, you have to learn how to take care of it properly. This is something that you should pay attention to, especially during summer when it's hot and kids would like to go for a swim. Taking a dip in a dirty pool will bring about health problems that you don't want your children to suffer. To avoid these circumstances, you have to know how to manage it. Here are some tips on how to manage these things properly:

• Before you position above ground pools, make sure that you look for a place that has good shade. As much as possible don't put it directly under a tree, because you'll have a hard time cleaning the leaves that will fall from it. You also have to secure a flat surface for the pool, so that the water will maintain its balance.

• It's really important that you check your filter from time to time, because it helps in cleaning the pool water. If ever you encounter problems, the first thing that you should check is the plug. Make sure that you secure the socket well, so that it can function normally. You should also try to make sure that your timer is working properly. Set it up in a way that you can monitor it for a certain time, that way you'll know if it's working properly.

• Problems with your filters could sometimes be caused by a circuit breaker. Once you encounter this problem, the first thing that you should do is to reset the button. This will allow it to function normally. However, if this happens all the time, try to call your service provider for some assistance. To avoid aggravating the problems, don't manipulate something that you don't understand.

• Debris is a constant pool problem and one of the main reasons why you should clean the pool regularly. If you want to make sure that you won't encounter any more problems, try to clean every part of your vinyl liner pools. If it's clogging your filter, then it would be the best time to buy a new one.

• If you find brown spots in your vinyl liner pools, you have to put an algaecide right away. Clean it thoroughly by brushing all the walls with a steel brush and allowing the residue to go through the filter.

• Make sure that you monitor the chlorine level of your pool water. Try to get a test kit that will allow you to do this on your own. This will guarantee the safety of your water.

The simple idea of owning a pool comes with a lot of responsibilities. If you want to enjoy using it with your family and friends, you should learn how to maintain it well. The task may be tedious at first, but if you start doing it regularly, things will get easier. Keeping it clean for you and your kids will totally be worth it!

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What's In A Good SEO Campaign?

Before embarking on a Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) campaign, you must first do a lot of research, most especially on your use of keywords and key phrases. Keywords and key phrases are important because those are what will lead potential customers to your website through a search engine. To help you in your research, you can use the Google Keyword Search Tool and other similar software.

You will then do some research on your competitors, particularly those that appear in the first page of search results for your site's chosen keywords. You should take notice of your competitors' PageRanks, indexed pages, sitemaps, and other data points. A good tool that you can use for gathering this kind information is SEO Quake.

After having done the necessary research, it's time to do some in-page optimizations.

When optimizing your pages, always remember to provide content of the highest quality. Provide content that will keep people interested, solve their problems, make them want to share your pages to their friends, and make them want to keep coming back to your website. Simply put, provide content that you yourself would like to consume and to share.

It is also important to work on things "under the hood". Make sure to fill-in all your meta elements such as your description and keyword tags. Also provide meaningful alternate text to your images and make sure to use a proper headings hierarchy. These things will give search engine useful information as they score your website's relevance to the keywords that you chose.

Apart from in-page optimizations, another step that you should take in your SEO campaign is link-building. Search engines like Google take note of the websites that have back links to yours; the more of those links your site has from reputable websites, the more favourable the search engines are going to look at your website.

Linking-out to other websites that talk about the same subject as yours can also be helpful. But remember that linking to websites that have a better PageRank than your website is most helpful.

Finally, your SEO campaign should have a phase that is dedicated to website promotion. This is when you use social media and email to entice people to visit your website. Write an article, post it on your blog, and tell people about it on Twitter and on Facebook. Send the article as an email to your friends and hope that they will forward it to their friends, and so on.

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How To Use Google Keyword Tool For SEO - How To Improve The Number Of Visitors You Get To Your Page

Many people do not understand how to use the keyword tool for SEO ranking.

Some people do have a basic understanding about SEO but they do not know how to implement it effectively. They think that just having a keyword in their article or website will increase the number of people who view it.

Now this will help but only a limited amount.

So the question is how do I find a popular keyword that loads of people type into the search engine but has relatively low amount of competition?

Well the answer is in two parts and requires a bit of effort and research on your part.

Although this takes a bit of extra effort, you will increase your page rank on the search engines and get more hits to your web site or article.

So how do you go about doing this?

Here is how to use Google keyword tool for SEO.

Let's start at the first stage: finding appropriate keywords relative to the subject about your article or web site.

The first thing you need to do is to use the Google keyword tool. You can find it by typing in Google keyword tool into the Google search engine.

It should be one of the first results that come up. It should say something like "Keyword tool-ad words-Google UK"

Click on this to access the keyword tool.

You may have to sign up to use it but it is FREE which everyone loves.

Let's assume you now have the keyword tool.

You then type in what you think is a popular keyword that a lot of people will be searching for in word or phrase box at the top of the page.

Above the blue search box symbol you will see a locations box.

In this box you can set the area that you want it to cover.

If the keyword is local to a certain area then type in that area, for example united states.

If you do not want it to be location specific then type in "all countries".

Having done this click on search.

This will give you ideas for other keywords.

Now open up Google.

Type in the specific keyword you want to see how much competition it has.

Now the trick here is to put the exact keyword or phrase in inverted commas like this:

"my keyword"

Doing this will display the amount of competition those exact keywords have.

If you get too much competition, over about 60,000 results then chose a different keyword.

Do this until you find a popular keyword that has less than 60,000 competitors.

You now have a great keyword that is appropriate to your site.

Learning how to use Google keyword tool for SEO will give you an advantage over your competition.

Best wishes,

Stephen Hart

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How To Make The Best Use Of Online Marketing With SEO

Can online marketing change the fortune of web stores? Is it possible for them to get maximum traffic which bears the fruit of revenue? Can anyone get the desired benefits after reaching the linked website? Internet marketing has seen a tremendous increase in Search Engine Optimization popularity as people are able to get connected to them.

There are internet marketing tools which can turn the fortune of product companies. Developers are making maximum use of SEO for the purpose. Every person looking for a service will first type in the words on the search engine page. You might be looking for a product and its availability in the region. You might also be interested in providing the services and benefits accruing through it. SEO is aimed towards providing the best and effective content or writings which could assist in building a positive link between buyer and seller. Content contains certain words referred as keywords which work comfortably for search engine optimization purposes. Tracking the words, the search engine displays the pages which are quite close to what has been asked by the person who is interested in the product or service.

SEO is also responsible for giving free public audience to the web store. People start venturing into the website and develop interest. For instance, newspaper journals are one of the most commonly Search Engine Optimization searched websites. If the information is provided with facts or relates to some controversy, many people start reading the story. Product advertised on such websites is instantly getting open support and preference from the viewers.

There are a number of other tools used by online marketing companies to keep the audience hooked to their client websites. Apart from SEO, Social Media Marketing is one of them. It is easy to share your things, messages and videos with friends, colleagues and family when you are a part of any social networking website. Similarly, clients use fan page to get connected to their customers. Customers provide their comments. Healthy and positive comments work as a sales booster with people stepping forward to try products and services. Social media marketing services are available free of cost. You can give every possible detail of the product or service with the help of social media marketing. People are interested in getting a fair idea about something which entertains them. Graphic design also helps in making the content of website appear effective. If dynamic pages are used on the website, no one would hesitate to gain information which works as catalyst in building good rapport. Graphic Design software is regularly updated to take into account the changes which would render best results.

Internet Marketing is just one tool to keep people close to each other. Buyers and sellers come together and make a bond, leading to long-term and effective relationship. The buyer is able to obtain the desired product or service while the seller is able to retain and accentuate his sales and revenue. SEO achieves this purpose for sellers quite effectively.

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What Happened in the Penguin SEO Update?

Black and white and a little on the wobbly side, penguins are cute, cuddly and considered to be relatively harmless. However, when we're talking about a Google Penguin, we're talking about a real angry bird. After the huge Penguin update (some call it an overhaul), there are more than a few web experts spreading the word that SEO is quickly dying on the vine.

Google has never shied away from making huge updates to their entire format. Since Google owns the lion's share of Internet searching, almost every online businessperson in the world (outside of China) relies heavily on Google for their search results, traffic, clickthroughs, sales, etc. But the problem Google has always had is that they focus on the larger, able-to-pay-millions advertisers, while the little guys get thrown under the bus. Enter Penguin.

What Penguin is and How it Will Affect SEO Going Forward

In short, Google's Penguin update was supposedly an attempt to clean up how search engine optimization is performed and how sites are subsequently ranked. Starting to hit sites directly via search results in April of this year, Penguin has crippled many. But is it really all bad? Well, that depends on how you perform SEO.

The Good:

Take a negative SEO campaign for example, wherein you seek to implement tactics to drive your competitors down while increasing your ranking simultaneously. Penguin affected this practice directly. If your competitors are instituting poor quality SEO, you can increase the effectiveness of your campaigning, primarily because Google now provides a stiff penalty for three key factors:

Ratio of non-moderated, poor links on junk blogs

Ratio of on-site activity versus a site's inbound links

Ratio of anchor text that matches exactly in low-quality articles

This signals to the SEO world that Google, with Penguin, has put its proverbial foot down on the messiness of online advertising practices. They're seeking to clean the game up, and this also means increased penalties for black-hat SEO practitioners.

While it's good to get rid of the messy guys out there who stuff junk links into any and everything they find, this means that Penguin has its eye directly on you! If you're not overly careful-and willing to over-optimize your site-you do run the risk of taking a penalty hit and losing rank.

The new need for incredibly strong brand links means you may have to work extra hard to ensure your links are relevant, high-quality and that they match niche, site activity, and that they're not just simply strewn about the Internet.

Unlike the previous Panda update, which focused primarily on content, Penguin puts its focus more on links. This is yet another change Google is making in its linking practices, forcing older methods like link-farming and exchanging out. Hence the cries that SEO is dying.

The Bottom Line:

If you create high-quality content already, you should have little to worry about. It's estimated that Penguin only affected 3% of sites thus far. That's not to say Penguin's done; not by a long shot. But if you're willing to adapt and to create better links, you shouldn't have any issues.

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Which Patent Should You File? Patents in Plain English

Do you know why you might want to file a provisional patent instead of a non-provisional patent? Each has its advantages and disadvantages. And today you're going to learn which one is best for your needs.

First, a little history behind the creation of the two-patent system we enjoy today.

Up until 1995, there was only one way to file a patent. You filled out the application in its entirety (hoping your invention was absolutely perfect) and then wait months or years to see if the patent office would accept your idea as useful, novel or non-obvious enough to be awarded a patent.

That all changed on June 8, 1995.

On that date the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) introduced the provisional patent, a revolutionary concept that allowed inventors to acquire patent-pending status faster...with less up-front attorney costs...and allowed the inventor a full year to tinker and perfect their invention before submitting it for final approval.

Here's how it works:

Imagine a patent containing two parts, an A and a B. The A part is the specifications (or how your invention works). And the B part is the claims (or what your invention does).

The old way you had to submit the A and the B part together at the same time. And that's that.

With the introduction of the provisional patent, the USPTO allowed inventors to submit the A part first...and then allowed them a full year to submit the B part.

This new way gives inventors a few advantages. For example:

Quicker Filing: Since you are only submitting Part A, there is less paperwork for the patent attorney and the application is completed sooner. This means you can file in 4-6 weeks (instead of the usual 6-8 weeks for non-provisional patents).

Lower Up-Front Fees: Because the application is broken up into two parts (Part A filed now, Part B filed a year from now), you can break the fees up into a percentage now...and the rest at the end of the year when you file Part B.

(WARNING: some unscrupulous people will offer to file Part A of a provisional patent for a very low fee WITHOUT telling you about Part B. Then, they will call you a few months before your one-year deadline and say you will lose your patent rights if you do not file Part B...usually for an outrageous sum of money. BEWARE!)

Flexibility: You have one full year to make minor improvements to your design. Unlike the non-provisional patent, where everything you write is set in stone.

You can still file a non-provisional patent today. But I believe the provisional patent is the ideal way for mom-and-pop inventors to go in most situations.

China Could Stop Corruption and Piracy Theft Quickly - If the Chinese Government Really Wanted Too   Patent Application and Examination Process Explained   Learning How to Get a Patent on Your Product   Protecting Your Invention From Illegal Claims - Provisional Patent   Patent FAQ: How Can Technology Entrepreneurs Avoid USPTO Backlog Using Accelerated Examination?   Using Inducement of Infringement to Protect Patent Rights   

Halloween Costume or Patented Product for Horses?

With over 9 million horses in the United States and over 58 million horses worldwide, many savvy entrepreneurs have sought patent protection for their equine related inventions. For example, horses can be severely bothered by flies and other insects especially when the insects fly into the horse's eyes. The headlined photographs illustrate two examples of "fly masks" which could be used to combat such eye irritation, at least one of which was patented. But what can be patented? This is a question that inventors, such as equine equipment manufacturers, veterinarians, farriers, equine enthusiasts and all other inventors should be asking. This article introduces some of the considerations and resources available to help address the question of patentability.

United States patent law defines five statutory classes of patentable subject matter, namely, any new and useful processes, machines, manufactures, compositions of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof. 35 U.S.C. §101. Thus an invention must be: 1) new and useful, and 2) fit into one of the five statutory classes of patentable subject matter to be patentable. To help assist inventors, patent practitioners and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) examiners in navigating through the analysis of patentability, the USPTO has established a patent classification system.3 The classification system categorizes an invention disclosed in a patent application within one or more technology "classes" and further refines each technology class with a number of "sub-classes."

To help understand the scope of patentable subject matter, several classes and subclasses of equine related inventions defined in the USPTO classification system, are introduced herein. One of the largest equine related patent classes is Class 54 for "harnesses for working animals." Class 54 includes inventions related to bridles, reins, riding saddles, strirrups, girths, pads, tail holders, blankets, fly nets, and spurs. There have been almost 1500 U.S. patents issued in these subclasses, and over 100 patent applications are pending.4 Class 59, subclasses 36-69 are related to various methods or processes of making horseshoes. Class 168 is related to farriery in general and includes horseshoes, sole pads, soft treads, fasteners, boots, medication applicators and shoeing stands. In addition, there are many other classes and subclasses in the equine field including veterinary, animal husbandary, medicines and feed.

Once an inventor conceives or reduces an invention to practice and it fits within one of the five statutory classes of patentable subject matter, one of the next steps is to determine whether the invention is "new" and "non-obvious." To make this determination, a search can be conducted to uncover any publications such as patents and published patent applications that disclose the invention before the conception or reduction to practice by the new inventor. However, with over seven million issued U.S. patents and over 400,000 new U.S. patent applications filed each year, such a search could be like finding a needle in a haystack or bale of hay.5 Thus the searches are generally focused on the USPTO classes and subclasses relating to the invention.

Typically, the inventor and their patent attorney review the search results to determine the likelihood of the USPTO finding that the invention is new and non-obvious.

China Could Stop Corruption and Piracy Theft Quickly - If the Chinese Government Really Wanted Too   Patent Application and Examination Process Explained   Learning How to Get a Patent on Your Product   Protecting Your Invention From Illegal Claims - Provisional Patent   Patent FAQ: How Can Technology Entrepreneurs Avoid USPTO Backlog Using Accelerated Examination?   Using Inducement of Infringement to Protect Patent Rights   

How Patent Landscaping Can Help in Making Right Decisions About Research and Development Investments

1) Do the market evaluation a. A market evaluation is the first step towards taking decisions whether to jump into the market or not. In market evaluation companies must look into the number of products already exists in the market to know how crowded the opportunity is. Companies must also look into what are the features in the products and see if some white spaces available. There are number of distributors in the world who sells products, companies must have data of these distributors and seller companies to know how they are going to distribute the product if they make it. There are many other factors which can also be take into account like - In which countries which products are successful and what is the current and future market potential of the product in that country, also what are the regulatory norms of a particular country if a product has to be launched etc.

2) Do patent landscape a. See what is there in the patents market. There are number of technologies there which are still available for licensing and some are being already licensed. Try to figure out some trends i.e. past, present and future trends. Note that there is less chances of getting noticed if you use past technologies. Also see if you are investing in present technology what will be your timeline of making the product, make sure that when you launch the product it should meet the standards of the technologies of that time, not of the time when you decided to invest. Make sure that you always eye on future technologies and also investments already going in these technologies. b. See if you find any strong patent in the area of small company and the patent is still available for licensing. You can look for a merger or an acquisition or licensing of that company. Doing this will help your company reducing R&D costs of development. c. See how major players in the market go after the technology advancements. Are they using old technologies and still generating revenues? OR they have rapidly switched to newer technologies. See if there are any new players planning to come in the market or not.

3) Search white spaces and evaluate their opportunities and costs a. See how crowded the patent landscape is. How many players are already there with how many patents? Note that large number of patents will increase the probability of having patent lawsuits in future. Do a freedom to operate search well before launching the product to avoid this possibility. Through categorization of patents figure out where patenting activity is less and how you can use the white spaces available. Here, we have to make sure that figuring out white spaces does not guarantee that you product will sell. You have to simultaneously figure out market potential of that white space. b. See the SWOT of the patent landscape, with the help of the SWOT analysis you will know what can be the factors like environmental, social etc. which can effect/make strong your advancement in particular technology. c. Calculate the costs of R&D efforts.

4) Match the market evaluation and patent landscape results a. Match white spaces from each. b. See if the match is taking results in fruitful directions or not. If not try to figure out why the results are not matching. May be companies with larger portfolios in the technological area are still not active/don't have any product in the market.

China Could Stop Corruption and Piracy Theft Quickly - If the Chinese Government Really Wanted Too   Patent Application and Examination Process Explained   Learning How to Get a Patent on Your Product   Protecting Your Invention From Illegal Claims - Provisional Patent   Patent FAQ: How Can Technology Entrepreneurs Avoid USPTO Backlog Using Accelerated Examination?   Using Inducement of Infringement to Protect Patent Rights   

How to Perform a Patent Search

There are two main arms of patent searching: search skills and technical knowledge. A quality search requires the expertise each of these areas. Often it is impossible for the innovator to complement his technical expertise with sufficient search skills. Thus, the innovator is required to hire an outside organization to help with the search.

Lack of foresight in the process of filing for protection of your intellectual property can be costly. One should be sure to embark upon the process with careful attention to details from the first step, the patent search. Patents are high stakes, high value, and high liability. Thus careful consideration is recommended when delegating the individual patenting tasks.

When starting a technology-based venture, or trying to protect your invention, the wisest approach is to hire a professional searcher or search firm to perform a quality patent search. A good patent search can determine whether the invention is novel, or whether it infringes upon any existing inventions. It can help the inventor or assignee avoid potential lawsuits; it may even provide information regarding competitors and the current state of the art.

A common mistake is for a technology-based venture to attempt its own patent searching or to hire a patent law firm for the searching process. Both methods (internal search, outsourcing to a law firm) are very risky. A less than adequate search can result in your patent becoming essentially worthless, or worse yet, a liability.

It is a common misconception that hiring a law firm for a patent search is safe. It is not. Law firms specialize in prosecution, not searching and thus, are relatively weak at searching. Further, their hourly rates are too high. Why pay top dollar to a law firm that is less experienced than professional search firms? The appropriate route for a venture to start the patenting process is to delegate the patent-related tasks to respective experts in the field: Patent searching should be delegated to patent search firms such as Landon IP, and patent prosecution should be delegated to patent law firms.

Do not risk expending resources on a bad patent, which would deem your invention worthless and possibly put your business at risk for infringement lawsuits. Patents are high stakes, high value and high liability. Protect yourself! To perform a patent search, hire a professional search firm.

China Could Stop Corruption and Piracy Theft Quickly - If the Chinese Government Really Wanted Too   Patent Application and Examination Process Explained   Learning How to Get a Patent on Your Product   Using Inducement of Infringement to Protect Patent Rights   

Should You Patent Your Product Idea?

Are you interested in mastering tips to get a patent on a product? Should you have a concept for a cool product, pulling all of these required pieces with each other can be a little bit daunting. One choice is actually to employ a patent lawyer that may remove the need to locate the information essential to find out how to get a patent. The legal professional will be able to answer all your questions as well as work with you with regards to filing the patent application. Lots of people, however, will probably choose to accomplish this procedure on their own.

Here are a few of the steps inventors will need to go through to in order to record a patent for a cool product.

Firstly, you have got to be sure that your product or service will certainly qualify for a patent. This criteria addresses the fact that your own invention idea is new as well as revolutionary. It must not really be just like any previous product created.

Through the entire process of getting a new product to showcase, you will want to maintain quite thorough documents about the new technology and also the changes you have made to it on the way. This may include things like some type of sketching as well as for a real physical item, it might be better to use a prototype created beforehand.

You also may wish to be sure that you are making good business decisions before you invest significant amounts of cash on the patent application form and growth and development of your merchandise. This can include some good original general market trends and evaluation of the selling possibilities of the merchandise.

You will want to perform a really comprehensive investigation of the present patents to ensure that you aren't patenting an invention that previously is available. You can start this investigation online and you may even want to go to a Patent and Trademark Depository Library to be sure of prior patents which have been processed.

Though the guidelines for you to get a patent can seem to be confusing initially, it truly is a matter of merely taking it one step at a time to attain your amazing dream of taking your products or services to the market place.

If you're someone who is just bursting with the latest and greatest fad idea, don't delay another day. Take the time to do a little research and definitely be wary of scams online as you will run across them being targeted towards the inventor who is new to the industry.

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Invention Licensing Tips

Licensing your invention is a good thing for two reasons - you are able to share it to the world and you will be making a lot of money. You must have spent a tremendous amount of time with that thing, beginning from the time you first had that spark of inspiration to create it. While other people would be happy with inventing something without making full use of it, having your invention licensed will be a good way to celebrate all that ingenuity and strength of character, considering you may have encountered one pitfall after another before you actually achieved perfection.

If you're about to put up your invention for licensing, it will not be all that easy, though. Again, you need to put in some hard work. There are many companies that may be interested in mass-producing your creation, but you have to do a good job convincing them that it's going to be worth it. Many things are invented each day, but not all of them get licensed, just because their inventors were not able to convince people of their true value. If you really believe in what you've made, then tell the world with the passion that drove you to create it. Of course, you'd like to begin with the very companies that might be interested to license your invention.

The first thing you need to emphasize to these companies is the promise of profit behind your invention. Remember that these people are here to make money, and if you can't convince them that your invention is going to help them do that, obviously, they won't even give it a second look. It is routine for these companies to keep looking out for bankable ideas, concepts and things to manufacture and offer to the consuming public. Your job will be to convince them that your invention fits their mold.

A second consideration you'd like to make is of the fact that companies are looking out for unique products to manufacture. By new, we mean the market must not yet be saturated with this type of item at the time that you are offering it for licensing. One of the most important criteria for these companies to license an invention is for it to be unique but widely useful. In fact, this is one of the most important requirements for a company to license an invention, so make sure you do a good job convincing them around this part.

China Could Stop Corruption and Piracy Theft Quickly - If the Chinese Government Really Wanted Too   Patent Application and Examination Process Explained   Learning How to Get a Patent on Your Product   Protecting Your Invention From Illegal Claims - Provisional Patent   Patent FAQ: How Can Technology Entrepreneurs Avoid USPTO Backlog Using Accelerated Examination?   Using Inducement of Infringement to Protect Patent Rights   

International Patent Application Vs Direct Overseas Patent Filings

It is often a question which is asked: should I file an international patent application ("PCT" or Patent Cooperation Treaty), or should I file directly in a number of overseas jurisdictions?

The typical scenario is that you, as the inventor, will have filed a local or domestic patent application in your home territory, such as the USA or the United Kingdom, in order to provide some initial patent protection for your invention. This then enables the inventor to start disclosing the idea in order to try and establish whether there is any merit in investing further funds into the invention, such as for product design and prototyping.

First filing in your home country also importantly allows you to start looking at possible markets overseas, without initially having to undergo the expense associated with filing patent applications there. The Paris Convention, to which nearly all major countries of the world and most of the minor countries are signatories, allows a 12 months grace period in which one can file an application in one member country, such as the USA or the UK, and then file in other overseas jurisdictions before the first anniversary thereby allowing retrospective or back dating of that later patent filing.

This is of great benefit, since an inventor need not go to the significant expense of filing in many countries straightaway before he or she has had some commercial feedback regarding the idea.

However, once the 12 month grace period for filing overseas does come to an end, what are the options?

Unless you know exactly where your overseas or foreign markets are going to be, and that you will never have any further markets abroad, then the international patent application ("PCT") route will keep your options open for patent protection in more than one hundred and forty countries worldwide. In other words, the PCT route keeps a significant number of 'doors' open for you worldwide while you try and decide which markets might be of interest.

The PCT route therefore provides flexibility and keeps your options open.

Furthermore, although an international patent application is a reasonable expense, it is also the cheaper option in the short term thus reducing your costs early on.

Additionally, if a competitor is monitoring your patent activity, the PCT route will keep them guessing due to large number of jurisdictions that the international patent application extends.

So what are the downsides to an international ("PCT") patent application? Firstly, no international or worldwide patent is granted. The application, if filed at or near to the first anniversary of your first domestic patent filing, will in essence 'buy' you an extra 18 months of time to explore market possibilities overseas. At the end of this further 18 months of time, you will have to choose which countries covered by the international application you actually want patent protection in, and then the international patent application has to undergo a conversion process to convert it into the chosen national patent application (i.e. a local patent application in the USA, UK, Australia, Japan, China, etc.), and/or the chosen regional application (i.e. application covering Europe, Eurasia, etc.). And there are reasonably significant costs at this conversion stage similar to those if direct filing.

Once converted, the international patent application effectively dies, and you pursue the converted national and/or regional patent applications before the respective local or regional patent offices in the normal way.

The other option, mentioned above, is to consider filing direct applications in your selected jurisdictions overseas instead of opting for the PCT route. Generally, this will be more expensive in the shorter term, but slightly cheaper in the longer run because you will have cut out the middle portion of filing the international patent application.

The downside to filing directly in overseas jurisdictions at your first anniversary of your local or domestic patent application is that the door of opportunity then closes should you later on find a new market opportunity becomes available that requires patent protection. Remember, outside of the first 12 months after your initial patent filing, you can no longer backdate any new application and your original application may consequently knockout your later filing if it is for the same invention.

However, if you do know exactly where your markets are going to be, and for British inventors these are often Europe and the USA, and you are happy to effectively give up the chance of any further patent protection in any other jurisdiction, then this will ultimately be your more cost-effective option in the longer run.

Of course, advice must be provided on a case-by-case basis, but the general outline provided above regarding the pros and cons of international patent applications versus direct overseas patent filings is extremely typical and one that we encounter on a daily basis in our busy patent practice.

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Pursuing Software Patents? Watch Out for This

In 2010 Google's innovative Android mobile phone technology was the target of no fewer than 12 infringement suits from rivals Apple, Oracle, Microsoft and others.

Part of the problem is the culture clash between old style devotees to intellectual property rights and adherents to the newer, more collaborative environment of open source. But the bottom line is always money: Billions of dollars are at play in what can only be described as the brokerage of intellectual capital.

The focal point in the patent war is the data center, the methods by which companies collect, analyze and store the vast amounts of information they accumulate over millions of transactions.

Recognizing that information is the new currency, Google recently purchased more than 1,000 database patents from IBM for an undisclosed amount of money. In keeping with the company's avowed commitment to open source, Google made some of that know-how public and Facebook promptly suborned it for use in their own data management technology.

The rules of engagement in the corporate food chain would dictate that Google must now come after Facebook for infringing on its patents.

Will that happen? Stay tuned.

Invention can put a company at the front of the line for the big bucks. Facebook, which launched in 2004 but became overwhelmingly popular in 2006, currently has a market valuation of $50 billion according to Goldman Sachs.

But Facebook like its fellow social media companies Twitter and LinkedIn, is vulnerable on the invention front: With only 12 patents in its portfolio, as compared to thousands in Microsoft's portfolio, unless Facebook wants to reinvent the wheel every time it tweaks a change, any software innovation the company wants to make to its platform is likely to be challenged in court.

Fortunes Can Be Made From Software Patents

Huge fortunes are at play in the software game. Silicon Valley-based Electronic Arts (EA), the biggest developer and distributor of digital games in the United States and the Western world with 16 percent of the total market share, recently purchased Seattle-based PopCap Games for a whopping $750 million in cash and stock. Not a bad return for the three founders who as recently as a decade ago were working out of their own homes.

The three had founded the company initially to promote an online strip poker game they called Foxy Poker. Fortunately for Bejeweled fanatics, Foxy Poker was too risqué for the home gaming market and not quite sleazy enough for the porn market. A short time later they created the amazingly addictive game Diamond Mind which Microsoft, which licensed the game for a time, renamed Bejeweled.

Interestingly, PopCap co-founder and Chief Creative Officer Jason Kapalka admits that at least some of Bejeweled's core mechanics were lifted from the Russian game Tetris Attacks. No lawsuits are pending on that account, however.

Fortunes Can Be Lost In the Software Game

Fortunes can also be lost in the software game. Or potential fortunes. One of the primary ways is through patent infringement lawsuits.

Sweden-based Spotify is an online music streaming service that uses a modified peer-to-peer technology to allow users to listen to literally millions of songs as well as to share these songswith friends. Its market valuation has been put at roughly one billion dollars. Since 2008, it's attracted well over ten million avid European users, and when it recently announced plans to become available to American users, signed up 70,000 in the first week. Speculation about a possible Spotify/Facebook business development is a hotly debated topic in various financial circles.

But at the end of July 2011, Spotify was sued for intellectual property infringement by a software company called PacketVideo, the originators of a streaming music technology that was the Next Big Thing a decade ago.

Does the suit have merit?

Experts say the technology - U.S. patent 5,636,276 - is quite broad. Of course the broadness of its intellectual property claims have not mitigated Apple's position in its war against the Android phone, the chief rival to its own proprietary iPhone.

If courts find for PacketVideo in this case, every music streaming company could find itself in their gun sights, and the fabulous riches that eluded the company's founders a decade ago when they started the business could be theirs at last.

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Independent Inventors - 5 Top Things to Know!

The ability to invent a product however, does not guarantee you success. According to the U.S Patent Office only 3% of patents make the inventor any compensation. I'm going to inform you in on the most important steps you will need to take in order to ensure that your invention makes it onto the market and makes you money!

1. As soon as the idea hits you, make a record of it! - Make sure that you record the information in pen, You must include a clear description of your idea, the date that you thought of it, your signature, and the signatures of two witnesses sating that they have witnessed and understand your invention, with dates. This is crucial to the protection of your invention, this original documentation will prove absolutely necessary if any person tries to steal or duplicate your idea before you get the actual patent. An inventor, you really can't continue with the patenting process without completing this first step.

2. Make your prototypes as soon as possible- You as the inventor need to be able to assess whether or not you think that your product will sell successfully. You also need to be able to show possible investors, manufacturers, and marketing experts (only those that have signed a confidentiality agreement!) your idea. Taking your idea and turning it into an actual tangible product will help you immensely with selling your idea

3. Protect your invention- Do not pitch your idea to anybody until they have signed a confidentiality agreement or a nondisclosure agreement if you don't think that your idea is patentable. If you know that your idea is patentable, you can file a provisional patent application for $110. Be discreet; be careful who you discuss your invention with and any discussion of your product should be recorded. Keep signed logs of any activity involving your invention. Always make any and all witnesses sign at least confidentiality agreements or risk having your idea stolen.

4. Build a Great Team ASAP!- The most important step in getting your invention out there and on the market is assembling a team of experts that will benefit and guide you. To begin building your team, you must hire a reputable patent attorney to protect your rights and help you on the road to a patent. Next, you need to locate and hire a Marketing expert who suits your needs to get your product sold and make some money toward the actual patent. The marketing expert is the most important person on you team besides you. Your marketing expert will help you be certain that your product will sell, and help you immensely. If you want your product to be successful a marketing expert is absolutely necessary. The final team member that you need is a trustworthy manufacturer to begin actually producing your invention in bulk.

5. Get your Patent! - Take your time, do not be rushed into getting your patent. You must ensure that you have enough money and will make money. You want to wait until you have assembled your team to file for your patent because generally speaking, your investors and manufacturer will cover almost all of the cost of producing and patenting your idea. Have your patent attorney do a patent search and file your patent application. You will need drawings or photos.

China Could Stop Corruption and Piracy Theft Quickly - If the Chinese Government Really Wanted Too   Patent Application and Examination Process Explained   Learning How to Get a Patent on Your Product   Patent FAQ: How Can Technology Entrepreneurs Avoid USPTO Backlog Using Accelerated Examination?   Using Inducement of Infringement to Protect Patent Rights