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[simonrepro]

Hi,

I have come up with a way of filling an ink cartridge which involves a series of processors, can something like this be patented please?

Thanks for any help.

[DogDayPM 9er9er9er]

Hi,

I have come up with a way of filling an ink cartridge which involves a series of processors, can something like this be patented please?

Thanks for any help.

If you skim through the posts in this recent thread http://www.intelproplaw.com/ip_forum/index.php/topic,12028.0.html you'll get some idea as to the basic requirements of patentability, which I think is kind of where you're at.  The answer to "can I patent it" is, "yes, but only IF it's useful, novel (new) and also not obvious, and if you invented it yourself".

To start with, you'll probably want to at least find out if your process is new.  Suggest you could start doing searches at the US Patent Office's databases (below:  1st link to granted patents, 2nd link to published patent applications).  Try various keywords, like "Term 1" could be "ink cartridge" and at the same time "Term 2" the word "refill", and/or try variations on these or other words relevant to your question. 

You'll probably get a lot of hits, so skim the titles shown and open patents having titles that appear to be of interest, for example "7,571,995  Ink cartridge refill system for inkjet printers and method of refilling ink cartridges using the same".

(If you get "Sorry! MAX USERS" just keep trying - their servers have been having some problems the last week or so).
http://patft.uspto.gov/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html
http://appft.uspto.gov/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html

[simonrepro]

I liked your last response in the posing you told me to look at.  Thanks for your help!

[bartmans]

Since novelty (and inventive step) is not only judged against earlier US patents and applications, I would also recommend searching in the ESPACENET database at the European patent office (http://ep.espacenet.com/quickSearch?locale=en_EP andfurther possibly in databases comprising scientific or engineering publications.