Nolo's Patents for Beginners

by Stim, Richard

• ISBN13: 9781413310245
• ISBN10: 1413310249
• Edition: 6th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-06-22
• Publisher: NOLO

Summary

Nolo's Patents for Beginners is a must-have reference book for beginning inventors as well as educators, entrepreneurs, students, and business people who must deal with and understand patent law. Packed with plain-English explanations and step-by-step instructions, Nolo's Patent for Beginners defines clearly and simply what a patent is and why they are needed. The book shows you: how to document an invention for maximum protection, how to conduct a patent search, the patent application process, how to analyze disputes, and how to avoid patent infringement. Written by patent attorney and bestselling author David Pressman and Attorney Richard Stim, Nolo's Patent for Beginners is the book to have for newbie inventors wishing to learn the patent basics.

Author Biography

David Pressman has over 40 years of experience in the patent professionùas 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. 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 Patent, Copyright & Trademark, Wow! I'm in Business, and Music Law.

Table of Contents

Your Legal Companion
Patents and Intellectual Property Law
What Is a Patent?	p. 6
The Three Types of Patents	p. 7
Patent Rights	p. 8
The Requirements for Obtaining a Patent	p. 8
How Long Do Patent Rights Last?	p. 9
How Patent Rights Can Be Lost	p. 9
Intellectual Property-The Big Picture	p. 10
Trademarks	p. 11
Copyright	p. 12
Trade Secrets	p. 15
Unfair Competition	p. 18
Qualifying for a Patent
Legal Requirements for a Utility Patent	p. 20
Statutory Classes	p. 21
Utility	p. 25
Novelty and Prior Art	p. 27
Nonobviousness	p. 34
Legal Requirements for a Design Patent	p. 42
Legal Requirements for a Plant Patent	p. 45
Invention Documentation
The Importance of Documentation	p. 48
Lab Notebook	p. 49
Invention Disclosure	p. 52
Documenting Reduction to Practice: Provisional Patent Application	p. 52
Trade Secret Considerations	p. 54
Patent Searching
Principles of Patent Searching	p. 58
Hiring a Patent Searcher	p. 59
Do-It-Yourself Searching	p. 61
Reading and Writing Patents
Elements of a Patent	p. 75
Invention and Inventor Data	p. 75
Specification	p. 75
Claims	p. 86
Abstract	p. 91
Drawings	p. 94
Preparation of a Patent Application	p. 94
Patent Prosecution and the PTO
Patent Prosecution: The Road to Allowance	p. 108
Responding to a Final Office Action	p. 118
Additional Application Issues	p. 120
Design Patent Prosecution	p. 122
Patent Ownership
The Inventor Is Initial Owner of Patent Rights	p. 126
Employee Inventions	p. 126
Joint Owners	p. 131
Patent Infringement
What Is Patent Infringement?	p. 138
Who Can Sue, Who Can Be Sued?	p. 143
Stopping Patent Infringement	p. 144
Defenses to Patent Infringement	p. 149
Ending Disputes Without a Lawsuit	p. 153
International Patent Law
Introduction to Foreign Patent Treaties and Laws	p. 156
Putting It Together: The Most Common Route for U.S. Inventors Seeking Foreign Patent Coverage	p. 160
The Paris Convention and the One-Year Foreign Filing Rule	p. 160
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)	p. 162
European Patent Office (EPO)	p. 164
Locating Foreign Patent Agents	p. 165
Help Beyond This Book
Inventor Resources	p. 172
Patents and Intellectual Property Resources	p. 172
Working With an Attorney	p. 174
Glossary
Index
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