Doesn't Like His Patent Examiner

Dear Rich: I'm having a hard time with a patent examiner. I've tried to be reasonable but it seems like the examiner is just rejecting various claims because he can. What do I do if I'm stuck with a bum examiner? Most applicants or their attorneys bite the bullet and try to deal with the examiner as best they can. You can find advice on responding to unfavorable office actions in David Pressman's Patent It Yourself(Whatever you do, you don't fire off angry missives about the examiner's mental state because those can quickly go viral in the patent world.) If you get a final adverse ruling, you can appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). You can browse past hearings or documents at the PTAB's site. If you're not happy with the PTAB's decision,  you can appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit located in Washington, D.C. By the way, a new site Reed Tech Patent Advisor advertises that, for a fee, it can provide you with a background analysis of any USPTO patent examiner including all kinds of info -- for example, the average time the examiner takes to issue a patent.

Should I File My Own Patent Application?

Dear Rich: I read the article about doing one's own patent application and not needing an attorney. I have an invention for a product that I know will generate great interest. It's a method for treating metal surfaces that greatly will improve material strength at high temperature applications. Based on the article I assume that once I obtain a patent I will not have to worry about enforcing the patent. I have read how so many issued patents become invalid or that a court determines that the application is not broad enough to cover all aspects of the invention. I assume that cannot happen if as you say the patent office will help me with my claims. Is that correct? In the meantime, based on the legal advice I have read on your site I will prepare and file my application and save on legal fees. Assuming that this is the article to which you refer, the following info may help you.
You will have to worry about enforcing your patent. Having a patent doesn't relieve you from the obligation of enforcing it, just the opposite. As this article (and as David Pressman explains in his book Patent it Yourself), a patent is merely a license to go after infringers. Unfortunately, you will have to finance that enforcement out of your own pocket.
Don't rely on the patent examiner for your claims. Patent examiners have an obligation to assist applicants and the article includes two first-person accounts: one in which the applicant dissed the competency of the examiner; and the other in which the applicant was assisted in claims drafting by the examiner. (You can probably find many other comments about patent examiners by trolling the web or reviewing sites such as bustpatents.com.) In any case, though examiners can and may assist, you should draft and understand your claims before and after any modifications by the examiner. It would be best if you can have your patent claims reviewed by a patent expert (although practically, most patent attorneys will want to review the whole thing).
No matter who drafts your claims, it's always possible that a patent may be declared invalid.  Don't assume that your patent will survive all attacks just because an examiner helps you with your claims. (By the way, the same is true even if a patent attorney drafts your application; the difference being that you can sue the attorney for malpractice but not the examiner). Nobody can guarantee that an issued patent won't be later determined to be invalid, or too narrowly drawn to cover infringements. That often depends on the evidence that's uncovered, the tenacity of each party in the dispute, and the whims of the legal system.
"Based on the legal advice I have read on your site ..." Not to put too fine a point on it, Nolo and the Dear Rich Staff shy away from providing legal advice. Whether or not you should handle your own patent application depends on your resources -- time, money, and technical abilities --  as well as your personality (are you the type of person who can manage a fairly complex project?) If you need further information on whether you are suited (or whether it's worth pursuing a patent), check out Pressman's Patent it Yourself.

When is Abandoned Trademark Abandoned?

Dear Rich: I would like to use a trademark that was first used 2/2007 and has been deemed 'abandoned' since 8/2008. On your blog you note that the trademark is deemed abandoned if the owner does not use it for an extended period of time with the intent not to resume use. How can I find out if the owner intends to use it? What did the owner do/not do that caused the trademark to be deemed 'abandoned'? Thank you for your help! And thank you for triggering an ancient memory of watching "Seduced and Abandoned" in the local art theater with my dad. What a great movie -- even though it was a comedy, it was kind of scary, too.
Right, you had a question. There are three types of trademark abandonment:

• an abandoned trademark -- this refers to the loss of trademark rights due to nonuse and it occurs when there is sufficient evidence that the owner intends to discontinue use of the mark. Under the Lanham Act, a mark registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is presumed abandoned if it is not used for a continuous period of three years or more.
• an abandoned trademark application -- this refers to an application that is ditched during the application process.  We're guessing that's what your question is referring to because it fits best with your timeline. If you're wondering why a trademark application has been abandoned, you can do the detective work and find the reasons by checking the TARR status of the mark, or if necessary by reading through the documents you can access for free via the USPTO's TDR (Trademark Document Retrieval). This is accomplished by clicking around and reading the PDFs associated with the applicant's file. By reviewing the documents in the application file you can learn whether the applicant just ran out of steam at the USPTO or whether the  USPTO examiner had a good argument as to why the mark shouldn't be registered. Keep in mind that if an application was abandoned because an examiner objected to registration that could be a strong indicator that you will run into problems with the same mark.
• an abandoned trademark registration -- this refers to a trademark registration that is canceled, usually because the owner failed to follow certain formalities such as a renewal. Again, you can find the reasons by searching trademark records. The most common reason is that the owner didn't file a statement of continued use, resulting in cancellation. Often it's okay to step in and begin a similar use but you should always check the marketplace to confirm that the previous owner is not still claiming rights even without the registration.

As for determining whether a company abandoned its use of a trademark, you need to do old-fashioned research. Check retail stores, search online, or -- as we used to do back in the day -- call the company and asking whether you can still buy the product or acquire the service.