Nolo's Patents for Beginners

by Pressman, David

• ISBN13: 9781413304558
• ISBN10: 1413304559
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-05-30
• Publisher: NOLO

Summary

What are patents? Why do you need one? How do you get it? This book provides a clear explanation of the entire process.

Author Biography

Attorney David Pressman has over 30 years of experience in the patent profession -- as a patent attorney, a patent examiner for the U.S. Patent Office and a university instructor. He is the foremost expert on the patent-filing process and has charted the path for over 100,000 inventors. His book Patent It Yourself is the most highly recommended guide to patenting an invention. David is co-author, with Fred Grissom, of The Inventor's Notebook and, with Patent Agent Jack Lo, of How to Make Patent Drawings. Attorney Richard Stim specializes in small business, copyright, patents, and trademark issues at Nolo. He practices law in San Francisco and has represented photographers, software developers, crafts people, publishers, musicians, and toy designers. He is the author of many books, including Whoops I'm in Business, Music Law, and License Your Invention.

Table of Contents

Introduction
A. Organization of Text	2	(1)
B. Icons Used in This Book	3	(7)
1 Patents and Intellectual Property Law
A. What Is a Patent?	10	(1)
B. The Three Types of Patents	10	(1)
C. Patent Rights	11	(1)
D. The Requirements for Obtaining a Patent	12	(1)
E. How Long Do Patent Rights Last?	12	(1)
F. How Patent Rights Can Be Lost	13	(1)
G. Intellectual Property—The Big Picture	13	(1)
H. Trademarks	14	(1)
I. Copyright	15	(3)
J. Trade Secrets	18	(4)
K. Unfair Competition	22	(3)
2 Qualifying for a Patent
A. Legal Requirements for a Utility Patent	25	(1)
B. Statutory Classes	26	(4)
C. Utility	30	(2)
D. Novelty and Prior Art	32	(8)
E. Nonobviousness	40	(8)
F. Legal Requirements for a Design Patent	48	(3)
G. Legal Requirements for a Plant Patent	51	(3)
3 Invention Documentation
A. The Importance of Documentation	54	(1)
B. Lab Notebook	55	(3)
C. Invention Disclosure	58	(1)
D. Documenting Conception: Disclosure Document Program (DDP)	58	(2)
E. Documenting Reduction to Practice: Provisional Patent Application	60	(1)
F. Trade Secret Considerations	61	(3)
4 Patent Searching
A. Principles of Patent Searching	64	(1)
B. Hiring a Patent Searcher	65	(2)
C. Do It Yourself Searching	67	(16)
5 Reading and Writing Patents
A. Elements of a Patent	83	(1)
B. Invention and Inventor Data	83	(1)
C. Specification	83	(11)
D. Claims	94	(5)
E. Abstract	99	(1)
F. Drawings	100	(3)
G. Preparation of a Patent Application	103	(13)
6 Patent Prosecution and the PTO
A. Patent Prosecution: The Road to Allowance	116	(10)
B. Responding to a Final Office Action	126	(2)
C. Additional Application Issues	128	(3)
D. Design Patent Prosecution	131	(3)
7 Patent Ownership
A. The Inventor Is Initial Owner of Patent Rights	134	(1)
B. Employee Inventions	134	(6)
C. Joint Owners	140	(7)
8 Patent Infringement
A. What Is Patent Infringement?	147	(5)
B. Who Can Sue, Who Can Be Sued?	152	(1)
C. Stopping Patent Infringement	153	(5)
D. Defenses to Patent Infringement	158	(4)
E. Ending Disputes Without a Lawsuit	162	(4)
9 International Patent Law
A. Introduction to Foreign Patent Treaties and Laws	166	(4)
B. Putting It Together: The Most Common Route for U.S. Inventors Seeking Foreign Patent Coverage	170	(1)
C. The Paris Convention and the One-Year Foreign Filing Rule	170	(2)
D. The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)	172	(3)
E. European Patent Office (EPO)	175	(1)
F. Locating Foreign Patent Agents	176	(6)
10 Help Beyond This Book
A. Inventor Resources	182	(1)
B. Patents and Intellectual Property Resources	183	(2)
C. Working With an Attorney	185
Glossary
Index