HOW TO PREVENT SOMEONE FROM GETTING A PATENT
Your competitor has applied for a U.S. patent.
You have some information which you believe would prevent them from getting a patent.
What can you do?
If you know the name of the patent attorney who is representing your competitor in their patent application filing, you could anonymously send information, such as a prior art patent, to the patent attorney.
Assuming the information bears on patentability, the patent attorney in all likelihood, would have an obligation to disclose the information to the U.S. patent office.
The U.S. patent office, upon receiving this information, may reject the competitor’s patent application.
Let’s say you don’t trust the competitor’s patent attorney.
As of September 16, 2012, you can send in a pre-issuance third party submission under the America Invents Act. The AIA pre-issuance third party submission has various timing and other requirements.
All of the above actions may have special requirements, so you should consult with a registered patent attorney, such as Walter J. Tencza Jr., Esq., PATENTNOW.COM®.
