r/Patents

Hi everyone,

I recently filed a provisional patent for a new small arms design and I'm hoping to work with any firearms company to develop or license it.

Has anyone here approached companies like Glock, SIG Sauer, Beretta, or FN with a provisional patent? Do they accept submissions from independent inventors, and is a provisional patent enough to start that conversation?

I'm looking for advice on the best way to approach manufacturers and whether anyone has experience with this process. The design has some promising features, including its ability to handle high chamber pressure, reduced load-bearing components, and compatibility with lighter bullets, which is one reason I believe it could be a good candidate for development.

Rn me and my frnd is working on a startup related to medical and dental,kind of educational purpose thing,
Rn we are stuck with the patent process,if somebody can help us with it we will be happy

I recently came across a Notice of Imported Citations being issued by the USPTO in a U.S. non-provisional application.

As I understand it, this notice informs the applicant that prior art references from a related (typically parent) application have been automatically imported into the record of the current application as part of the USPTO's Access to Relevant Prior Art (RPA) Initiative.

From what I have been able to gather, this initiative began in late 2018 as a pilot program covering a limited number of art units. It now appears that the USPTO may have expanded the initiative to additional art units.

Has anyone else been seeing these notices issued in U.S. non-provisional applications recently?

Also, does anyone have any insights on the following?

• Has the USPTO formally expanded the RPA Initiative to a broader range of art units?
• Do you foresee any impact on current IDS practices or internal procedures?
• I am also wondering whether any disclaimer or communication to the USPTO would be appropriate in situations where a client specifically instructs that references from the parent application should not be cited in the child application, or whether the automatic import under the RPA Initiative makes that unnecessary.
• Under the new IDS size fee rules effective January 19, 2025, do references imported by the USPTO under the RPA Initiative count toward the cumulative IDS reference thresholds (50/100/200), or are only applicant-submitted IDS references counted? If imported references are excluded, this could significantly reduce the need to re-file parent IDSs in continuation applications.

I would appreciate hearing your thoughts or experiences.

If the inventor files non-provisional on time, auction cancels; if not, highest bidder takes it.

Does this make sense to buyers?

What kills interest the most: lack of diligence (no full content pre-bid), validity risk, or liquidity?

What minimum criteria would you require before bidding?

I would really appreciate guidance on the Below at the earliest

Our patent application was originally filed in India with a provisional specification, and before filing the complete specification, the application was officially post-dated by 6 months by the Indian Patent Office. The complete specification was then filed based on the post-dated timeline.

Subsequently, we due to unavoidable circumstances we missed the 12-month PCT priority deadline (shifted deadline) calculated from the relevant priority date. We have now filed a petition with the International Bureau (WIPO, Geneva) requesting restoration/consideration of our right to file a PCT application, approximately one month after the PCT deadline.

Our questions are:

1. If the International Bureau accepts our request and allows the PCT application to proceed, does this effectively restore our PCT timeline for all designated States?
2. Or, even after restoration by the International Bureau/Receiving Office, is protection still subject to each individual designated country's decision on whether it recognizes the restoration of the priority right?
3. Does the fact that the Indian application had been post-dated by 6 months before filing the complete specification have any bearing on the PCT restoration process or on how designated States may assess the restoration request?

I’ve recently been exposed to the world of copyright infringement and have been personally frustrated that public information around some cases (think Hollywood) is completely inaccurate. Not only do people actively post falsehoods about case status, but ai search picks those comments up and perpetuates them.

I built a site that tracks suits and makes it easy to see the actual status of the case, aggregates news articles regarding, and has watchlists so you can be notified if a party shows up in another case.

I know newsletters like law360 or simply scouring courtlistener are solves, but is there anything more robust/is it necessary?

I currently have a US patent pending on a product I am currently selling. Doing about $50,000/year in revenue. Looking to get out of the business and wanting to sell the patent. Can anyone recommend patent brokers or other avenues of seeking a buyer for a patent?

Hi all,

I’m exploring freelance or part-time opportunities in patent docketing / IP paralegal work. I have hands-on experience managing global patent portfolios, handling annuities, and working with multiple jurisdictions (US, EP, JP, CN, etc.). I’m also familiar with major docketing systems like FIP, CPI, and Anaqua.

Does anyone know platforms, agencies, or firms that typically outsource patent docketing/paralegal tasks on a freelance or part-time basis? Any leads, referrals, or advice from those who’ve done this would be really appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

I wanted to check if anyone here is aware of individuals, consultants, researchers, specialize in identifying novel, patentable ideas in emerging technology domains such as AI, Blockchain, Cloud, Cybersecurity, IoT, and related fields.

To clarify, I'm not looking for patent attorneys or patent filing services. The primary requirement is someone who can:

• Conduct deep market and technology research
• Identify gaps in existing products, solutions, and patents
• Validate whether a concept already exists or not
• Help uncover genuinely novel ideas that may have patent potential, particularly for the US market

Essentially, I'm looking for expertise in researching and discovering innovation opportunities rather than drafting or filing patents.

If you've worked with someone offering this service, or know of any agencies, innovation consultants, R&D specialists, or technology scouts who do this professionally (even on a paid engagement basis), I'd greatly appreciate any recommendations.

Thanks in advance!