If you follow Australian government or are interested in filing for copyright abroad, you've probably noticed a lot of recent discussion on fair use. But what does it mean?
People often call our office and ask "is it possible to patent my app idea?" normally followed by "what if the app isn't developed yet?" The short answer: Yes. The app you're wanting to protect simply needs to be a new, inventive idea that was never publicly disclosed or only disclosed within the past year. Also, it cannot merely be computerizing longstanding economic practices.
There is a myth in the US that anyone can prepare and file a patent themselves (we call this a pro se filing) and receive meaningful protection. Inventors sometimes file academic papers outlining their findings, for example, and attach a basic claim. While an early patent filing that provides a full disclosure can, during prosecution, be amended by a professional to have a reasonable scope of claims, once issued, the patent is difficult and costly to rectify, if this is even possible.
Top Considerations regarding European Patent Law from a US perspective