Articles filed under Patent Knowledge in our patent knowledge blog: practical guidance and case analysis.
A use-case guide to AI patent tools in 2026 — prior art search, drafting, FTO review and early-stage idea assessment — based on each vendor's public website.
The most dangerous design-around mistake is treating 'outside the literal scope' as safe. The doctrine of equivalents exists precisely for feature substitutions — understand the function-way-result test to know which design-arounds truly escape and which merely rename the same route.
Every year a huge volume of patents enters the public domain through term expiry or lapsed fees. These documents are written in more detail than papers and are newer than textbooks — the only questions are how to verify expiry and how to use them cleanly.
What a patentee said and amended to win the grant cannot be recaptured later through the doctrine of equivalents. Learn to read the file wrapper, and your design-around gains a map with far higher certainty.
Not everything can be patented, but more than you think. This comprehensive guide covers three patent types, patentability requirements, software patents, business method patents, and common misconceptions.
A patent attorney's test for software patents: what technical problem the algorithm solves, by what mechanism, and whether that mechanism is in the claim.
A patent attorney's test for ideas and products: is it genuinely different from what peers make, and would an outsider judge find that difference obvious?
Choosing the right patent attorney or agent is critical to your patent's success. This guide covers qualification checks, technical expertise matching, fee transparency, and communication standards.
Analyzing the 5G/6G patent landscape and how standard essential patents shape industry competition.
When product iteration in software/internet outpaces patent examination, how do you protect innovation?
The inherent tension between open source and patents, and strategies for companies navigating both.
A real mock examination where two examiners split on inventive step, and the order in which I prepare an application for that uncertainty.
Real data on patent grant rates in China and key strategies to improve your chances of approval.
Service and business models are not patentable as such. What you can protect is the technical mechanism behind them, framed as problem, mechanism, effect.
Green technology patent fast-track programs worldwide and strategies for eco-innovation patenting.
Tracking the DABUS case and global debates on AI inventorship with practical filing strategies.
Comparing patent laws on business methods in China, US, and Europe with practical filing tips.
Build a patent value assessment model to decide which patents are worth maintaining.
The most common reason I advise clients not to file: technology competitors cannot reverse engineer belongs in a trade secret, not a published patent.
How to apply for the China Patent Award and provincial patent awards with success tips.
How to design and leverage a patent wall in your corporate showroom to win client trust.
A patent attorney on clustering in patent maps: what it revealed for an industry leader, and why patent classes and industry categories don't line up.
A patent attorney on using citation chains in design-around and patent mining: why keyword-only searches miss high-risk patents that show up later in FTO.
Discover untapped innovation opportunities by analyzing technology gaps in patent data.
Step-by-step guide to creating a professional patent landscape analysis report.
How donating patents to universities or research institutions provides tax deductions.
Patents are intangible assets amortized over the shorter of their legal or economic life. Learn how this non-cash expense impacts financial reporting and taxes.
Comparing IP financing markets across the US, Europe, and China with emerging trends.
Systematic overview of five patent valuation methods with practical case studies.