Ryan Dodd

Background

About Ryan Dodd

Currently on Sabbatical} Over a dozen years of Examining Applications for Patent at the United States Patent and Trademark Office has honed my attention to detail in areas of mechanical design research, law, and negotiation. My focus in mechanical and automotive technology allows me to see the wheel being constantly re-invented. I am privileged to research clutches, planetary gearing transmissions, and control systems, which also encompasses materials science, hydraulic systems, electric motors and engines, continuously variable transmissions, and a multitude of things that spin or rotate such as drills, reels, and other unexpected technologies. My negotiation style involves preparation, preparation, and preparation. Next, asserting a firm position which protects various stakeholders, including myself. Then, a bit of "letting go", listening, and allowing negotiation to progress at the pace dictated by the Applicant for Patent. What a Patent is: A Patent grants an exclusive right to make, use, and sell an invention in a certain country for around fifteen years. In return, the public gets to see a brief explanation as to how the thing works. Ideally, this means that competitors and innovators are able to benefit from the Public Domain, and even to subsequently enter the market if they are able to substantively alter the existing state of technology, in a new and non-obvious way. What an Examiner does: The Examiner researches the invention of the Application, interprets the language in the claims, researches and compares thousands of relevant prior patent publications, and makes a factual determination on the merits of the Application within a framework of statutory and judicial law.