Daniel Farkas

Abstract: What we know today as a “utility patent” can be traced back to Renaissance Italy. Over the 500+ years since then, patents have become widely recognized as beneficial to society in many ways. As a result, most countries in the world today have a patent system and the number of patents issued annually continues to grow exponentially. In the first part of this talk, I will review the basics of what a patent is, including its components, how to get one, and some of the ways they are used to protect inventors (and their employers). In the second part of the talk, I will discuss what is and is not patentable by law, showing many examples from history of unusual patents and court cases that have shaped modern-day patent law. Of note is the recent explosion in artificial intelligence and machine learning, technologies that are particularly difficult to patent in the United States.

Biography:

Dr. Daniel Farkas earned his Ph.D. in atomic, molecular, and optical physics from Harvard University and a BS in physics (magna cum laude) from Yale University. He completed postdoctoral fellowships at Yale University and JILA (University of Colorado, Boulder). Dr. Farkas is a registered US patent agent at Cozen O’Connor, where he assists with patent prosecution, patentability determinations, and infringement analyses. Prior to patents, he was lead physicist and manager at ColdQuanta (now Infleqtion) in Boulder, where he was a principal investigator on several government R&D contracts to develop quantum technologies for quantum computing, atomic clocks, and accelerometers.Outside of work, Dr. Farkas has spent many years volunteering for Colorado FIRST, including as a coach for FIRST Lego League, a judge for FIRST Robotics Competition, and a volunteer at several other regional and state-level robotics events.

Address:Colorado, United States