A practical guide to the doctrine of equivalents: the two equivalence tests, the all-elements rule, and the limits that decide whether a near-miss product infringes.
Patent Term Extension: 6 Essential Rules
A patent term extension under 35 USC 156 can restore years a drug or device patent lost during FDA review. Here are the six rules that govern it.
Paris Convention Priority Claim: 7 Essential Rules
A Paris Convention priority claim links a later foreign filing back to your first application. Here are the seven rules that decide whether it survives.
PCT Divisional Application: 5 Essential Facts
A PCT divisional application does not exist in the international phase. Here is how unity of invention really works and when to split out inventions.
Patent Continuation Application: 6 Proven Filing Tips
Your patent is about to grant, but you want broader claims or room to chase competitors. A patent continuation application keeps the door open. Here’s how to use it.
Divisional Patent Application: 7 Smart Rules to File
The examiner issued a restriction requirement and you elected one invention. A divisional patent application is how you keep the rest. Here are the rules that matter.
Euro-PCT Regional Phase Entry: 6 Steps to the EPO
Taking a PCT application into Europe means one route, one office, and one unforgiving 31-month deadline. Here is exactly what the EPO needs and when.
EPO Grant Procedure: 7 Steps After the Rule 71(3) Notice
Once the EPO signals it intends to grant, a non-extendable four-month clock starts. Miss it and the application is deemed withdrawn. Here is exactly what to do.
Utility Model vs Patent: 7 Key Differences for 2026
A utility model can protect your product in months for a fraction of a patent’s cost, but it comes with real trade-offs. Here is when each one wins.
EPO Third-Party Observations: 6 Smart Rules for 2026
A competitor’s European patent application is heading for grant. You don’t have to wait for opposition. Here is how EPO third-party observations work, and how to use them well.
Patent Grace Period: 6 Essential Rules for 2026
Disclosed your invention before filing? In the US you may still have time. Here is how the patent grace period works, where it fails, and how not to lose your rights.
European Patent Validation: 6 Smart Steps for 2026
Grant is not the finish line in Europe. Here is how European patent validation works, the deadline you cannot miss, and how to keep translation costs under control.
EPO Appeal Proceedings: 7 Essential Rules for 2026
An Examining Division refusal or an opposition loss is not the end. Here is how EPO appeal proceedings work, the deadlines that decide them, and how to win.
EPO Divisional Application: 7 Costly Traps to Avoid
A practical guide to the EPO divisional application: the pending deadline under Rule 36, the current 2026 rules, the back-renewal cost trap, and the added-matter and double-patenting pitfalls.
EPO Opposition Proceedings: 6 Proven Steps to Win
A practical guide to EPO opposition proceedings: the unforgiving 9-month deadline, the three grounds under Article 100 EPC, the procedure, costs, and how to build a winning case.
Unitary Patent and the UPC: 7 Smart Choices for 2026
A practical, founder-facing guide to the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court: deadlines, the single renewal fee, opt-out strategy, and when to choose it.
Patent Subject Matter Eligibility: 2-Step Alice Test
A practitioner’s guide to patent subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. 101 and the two-step Alice/Mayo test, with eligible vs ineligible examples and drafting tactics that beat a 101 rejection.
Patent Opinion of Counsel: 6 Reasons You Need One
What a patent opinion of counsel does, the three kinds, and how it protects you from enhanced damages for willful infringement.
Patenting AI Inventions: 7 Essential Rules for 2026
AI now writes code, designs molecules, and proposes circuits. But the rules for patenting AI inventions changed twice in two years. Here is what actually holds up in 2026.
Continuation-in-Part Application: 5 Smart Filing Rules
When your invention has evolved, a continuation-in-part application can protect the improvements, but only if you understand the priority and patent-term traps.