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Not relevant to the article but, I've got a piece of user interface I want to patent - sure patents are evil but the underlying tech is kind of easily deducible / re-creatable once seen (it's a human-aided optimization system, the method of human interaction is obviously on display). So I feel I need that protection to even show it to anyone. Again not too relevant but, does anyone have experience with protecting 'fragile' tech?

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Sign an NDA with everyone who you share the idea with?

I have an NDA drawn up you can have if you want it, email me.

the $$$ question is, is it unobvious?

(assuming qs 1-3 from Pressman's Patent It Yourself are 'yes'.)

Or can you or your lawyer phrase it so that it seems unobvious, or does the prior art set a very low bar for what is unobvious?

I say that having thoroughly examined biotech patents in the area of PCR and there are some patents that someone educated in the field would most definitely find to be obvious. The worst is the patent for PCR for medical diagnostics... as the main use of PCR is for medical diagnostics, it's pretty damn obvious.

Well it's hard to say. It took me a while to get it in the form it is now, but once you know how it works it might _seem_ obvious. Thanks for mentioning the book, I'll have to check it out.

I would also recommend the Nolo Press books on the topic.

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