In the United States, patent laws vary from state to state or even from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Thus, California patent laws are unique to California. California patent laws are still both clearly defined and as technically difficult as other states. Patent infringement is basically defined the same everywhere.

The manufacture, use, sale, offer to sell, or import and existing or patented device, product, material, or other conceivable invention constitutes patent infringement. Patent infringement lawyers basically have three jobs.

The first job of a patent infringement lawyer is to protect people's right to carry, and exclusively market their patent for the time frame of the patent. A patent infringement lawyer also helps throughout the development process in determining whether or not a patent already exists or has been applied for. Finally, a patent infringement lawyer will defend those accused of patent infringement.

California patent laws state that, just like all other states, the only person who is permitted to apply for the patent is the actual inventor. Thus, even if the inventor is currently employed by a company who creates and develops new products, the inventor is the only one who can sign the patent.

However, with the help of a patent infringement attorney, the inventor can be "bought out". This means that a patent infringement attorney can facilitate a negotiation between the inventor and the company to purchase from the inventor the rights to produce, market, and sell the invention or product without the threat of a patent infringement lawsuit.

This also means that the company has to be willing and able to purchase the idea from the inventor. For example, Kodak did not, as a company, invent the disposable camera. An employee of the company invented the disposable camera. Two patent infringement attorneys, one for the employee and one for the company, negotiated the reasonable amount of money the inventor was willing to accept in exchange for his invention. California patent laws state that this is perfectly reasonable and acceptable provided that the inventor is not coerced, threatened, or forced into this agreement, which can include the threat of a job loss.

California patent laws also state that while an inventor is the only individual who is permitted to apply for a patent, an the event that for whatever reason the individual determines that he or she does not wish to apply for the patent or can not be located, an interested party may file for a patent on that individual's behalf.

Thus, if Mary Alice has created in her basement in her spare time the ultimate software but doesn't wish to apply for a patent, her friend Janet can take the information to a patent infringement attorney and provided that there is not another patent on file, Janet and the patent infringement attorney can file for the patent on behalf of Mary Alice.

Mary Alice will still hold the rights to the patent, and Janet doesn't financially benefit from this at all. In fact, she is now responsible for the patent infringement attorney's fees. Hopefully Mary Alice is just as good of a friend and will buy Mary Alice a house or something when the software patent rights are purchased by a major software company.

California patent laws have clarified rights for people who don't wish to file patents, rights of filing for patents for the legally insane, and exclude employees of the patent office from having any interest whatsoever in a patent, with the exception of inheritance.

California patent laws still of course require the constantly patent educated patent infringement attorneys to interpret the fine details. California patent laws can be segregated into three basic categories. One for plants, one for utilities, and one for design.

Patent infringement attorneys are typically well versed in all three categories, however most patents fall under utility patents. Utility patents encompass pretty much everything that was ever invented outside of plants (which aren't really invented anyway) and designs. Patent infringement attorneys are able to represent any of these three categories for a client if the need arises.

California patent laws prevent the application process for a patent based solely on an idea, however, patent infringement attorneys are still often asked to do clearance or patent searches when the only thing the inventor has is an idea.

California patent paws require that the patent applied for has a functioning version of the item being applied for and may very well request to see it. California patent laws are fairly stringent and are a constant fluid entity. Patent infringement attorneys are often confused with the final approval of a patent. Not so.

The U.S. Patent Office has the last say as to whether or not a patent will be issued. Patent infringement attorneys are valuable in interpreting and keeping up with California patent law changes, but have no final direction in whether or not a patent will be granted for any particular invention.