Blueprint of a gear train.

 Robert J. Yarbrough
Patent Attorney

 Patents - Inventions - Trademarks 

portrait of Robert J. Yarbrough

Selected Patent Projects

I am licensed to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and assist clients in the protection of their inventions and other intellectual property through patents, copyrights and trademarks.  The following is a brief description of a few recent patent projects.

      •     I obtained U.S. patents for a measuring instrument on behalf of a small business engaged in the manufacture of machined parts for the automobile industry.  I also oversaw the filing of foreign patent applications in several foreign countries.  I prepared distribution agreements for the measuring instrument.  The measuring instrument currently is on sale throughout the U.S. and in countries around the world.  Sale of the patented invention is helping to free the small business from a dependence on contract manufacturing.  I am particularly fond of machine tool inventions and working with machinists and manufacturers.  

      •       I prepared patent applications on behalf of two established U.S. government defense contractors for several different national defense-related inventions.  The pending patent applications and issued patents assist the contractors in securing and maintaining government contracts.

      •     I obtained patents for a beverage dispensing system on behalf of an individual inventor-entrepreneur.  The issued patent and patent applications assisted the inventor in starting a business installing and supplying the beverage dispensing system in restaurants and nightclubs.  The invention is currently operating in several restaurants and nightclubs and the inventor has received large orders from a familiar national beverage manufacturer and a national beverage distributor. 

      •       I obtained U.S. and foreign patents for a consumer product.  The inventor is currently completing design of the finished product and is seeking venture capital to begin production.

     •     The success of my clients' products has periodically inspired pirates to copy and sell my clients' patented inventions.  I have developed strategies and worked with the inventors to successfully stop the piracy.

      •       I performed due diligence to evaluate a patent portfolio of a business on behalf of an investment group seeking to acquire the business.  The due diligence allowed the buyers to determine how the patent portfolio should be valued in setting a price for the business and in closing the transaction.
    
      •       I prepared several provisional (temporary) patent applications for consumer products to provide the inventors with relatively low-cost protection for their inventions while the inventors engage in product development and explored marketability of their inventions.
 
      •       I prepared a patent application for a computerized medical device on behalf of a start-up business.  The start-up business has obtained financial backing, completed product development and placed the medical device on the market. 
 
      •      I prepared a patentability opinion and non-disclosure agreement for an individual inventor concerning a mechanical invention for a consumer product.  The opinion and agreement assisted the inventor in marketing his invention to a supplier.

      •      I obtained several design patents for consumer products.  The products are now on sale.
 
      •     I prepared a patent application for the late H.T. Hammel, Ph.D., a research physiologist. Dr. Hammel made fundamental and important advances concerning the nature of osmosis.  The patent application addresses high altitude pulmonary edema ("HAPE") and presents one practical application of Dr. Hammel's ideas.  Follow this link to an introduction to Dr. Hammel's ideas about osmosis.  Follow this link to the application.

      •     I prepared patent applications for numerous inventions in the mechanical, electrical and computer arts. AV (preeminent) rating by Martindale-Hubbell