Fundamentals of Patenting and Licensing for Scientists and Engineers (2nd Edition)

363 Pages·2015·7.147 MB·English

by  Matthew Y Ma

Fundamentals of
Patenting
and
Licensing for
Scientists and
Engineers
second edition
8734_9789814452533_tp.indd 1 26/1/15 4:44 pm
May2,2013 14:6 BC:8831-ProbabilityandStatisticalTheory PST˙ws
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Fundamentals of
Patenting
and
Licensing for
Scientists and
Engineers
second edition
Matthew Y Ma
Scientific Works, USA
World Scientific
NEW JERSEY • LONDON • SINGAPORE • BEIJING • SHANGHAI • HONG KONG • TAIPEI • CHENNAI
8734_9789814452533_tp.indd 2 26/1/15 4:44 pm
Published by
World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
5 Toh Tuck Link, Singapore 596224
USA office: 27 Warren Street, Suite 401-402, Hackensack, NJ 07601
UK office: 57 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9HE
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ma, Matthew Y.
Fundamentals of patenting and licensing for scientists and engineers / Matthew Y. Ma
(Scientific Works, USA). -- Second edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-9814452533 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Patents. 2. Patent laws and legislation. I. Title.
T339.M255 2015
346.04'86--dc23
2015000055
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Copyeditor: Liliana E. Ma
Cover Designer: Margaret K. Ma
Copyright © 2015 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval
system now known or to be invented, without written permission from the publisher.
For photocopying of material in this volume, please pay a copying fee through the Copyright Clearance
Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. In this case permission to photocopy
is not required from the publisher.
Printed in Singapore
Steven - Fundamentals of Patenting (2nd Ed).indd 1 4/2/2015 2:26:08 PM
To my wife Katherine for 25 happy years of marriage.
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TThhiiss ppaaggee iinntteennttiioonnaallllyy lleefftt bbllaannkk
Contents
Foreword ................................................................................................ xix
Preface.................................................................................................... xxi

PART 1 The Basics ................................................................................. 1
Chapter 1 The Basics of the Patent System .............................................. 3
1.1 Patent Rights Are Granted by the Government ........................... 3
1.1.1 The Purpose of the Patent System ..................................... 3
1.1.2 The Foundations of the Patent Examination ..................... 4
1.1.3 The First-to-file and the First-to-invent ............................ 5
1.1.4 The PTAB after the AIA in the U.S. ................................. 6
1.2 Ideas to Assets: The Patent Value Chain ..................................... 7
1.3 Patent Rights, Patent Infringement and Patentability .................. 9
1.3.1 Exclusive Right ................................................................. 9
1.3.2 Patent Infringement ........................................................... 9
1.3.3 The Right to Build ........................................................... 10
1.3.4 Patentability ..................................................................... 11
1.3.5 Exclusive Right and Patentability ................................... 12
1.3.6 Product Clearance and Cross-licensing ........................... 13
1.4 Patent Portfolio Strategy ............................................................ 14
1.5 Trade Secrets and Patenting ....................................................... 15
1.5.1 Trade Secrets and Patent Protection ................................ 15
1.5.2 Can I First Keep a Trade Secret, but Later File
a Patent? .......................................................................... 16
1.5.3 Secrecy Measures in Patenting ........................................ 17
1.5.4 IBM’s and Tesla’s Open Policy ...................................... 18
1.6 Patents and Research Papers ...................................................... 19
1.6.1 Evaluation Processes ....................................................... 19
1.6.2 Goals ............................................................................... 21
1.6.3 Considerations ................................................................. 21
vii
viii Fundamentals of Patenting and Licensing for Scientists and Engineers
1.7 A First Glance at the Attorney’s Draft ....................................... 22
1.8 Patent Maturity Date .................................................................. 23

Chapter 2 What You Should Know about Patent Law .......................... 27
2.1 Types of Patents and Patent Examination .................................. 27
2.1.1 Type of Patents and Terms .............................................. 27
2.1.2 Patent Examination and Patent Prosecution .................... 28
2.2 Patent Dates ............................................................................... 29
2.2.1 List of Patent Dates ......................................................... 29
2.2.2 Priority Date .................................................................... 29
2.2.3 Chain of Priority Date ..................................................... 30
2.3 Invention Date: Conception, Diligence and Reduction
to Practice................................................................................... 32
2.4 Patentability ............................................................................... 33
2.4.1 Patentable Subject Matter................................................ 33
2.4.1.1 Statutory Categories of Invention ...................... 33
2.4.1.2 Exceptions to Statutory Categories
of Invention ........................................................ 34
2.4.2 Conditions for Patentability ............................................ 35
2.4.2.1 Novelty .............................................................. 35
2.4.2.2 Nonobviousness ................................................. 36
2.5 Inventorship ............................................................................... 36
2.5.1 Inventorship as Legal Issue ............................................. 36
2.5.2 Correcting Inventorship after Patent Is Allowed ............. 38
2.5.3 Case Studies of Inventorship ........................................... 38
2.5.3.1 Research Corporation Technologies v.
Microsoft ............................................................ 38
2.5.3.2 Ethicon Inc. v. United States Surgical Corp. ..... 39
2.5.3.3 Correcting Inventorship in Xerox Patent ........... 40
2.6 Patent Ownership ....................................................................... 42
2.6.1 Patent Ownership ............................................................ 42
2.6.1.1 If You Are an Independent Contractor or
Freelancer .......................................................... 43
2.6.1.2 If You Are a Full-Time Employee ..................... 43
2.6.1.3 If You Are a University Researcher ................... 44
2.6.2 Patent Assignment ........................................................... 44
2.6.3 Patent Owner’s Rights ..................................................... 45
2.7 Inventor’s Rights ........................................................................ 46
2.7.1 Inventor’s Financial Rewards.......................................... 46
Contents ix
2.7.2 Inventor’s Declaration and Oath ..................................... 46
2.8 Accelerated Examination ........................................................... 47
2.9 Patent Search .............................................................................. 48
2.10 Duty of Disclosure ..................................................................... 49
2.10.1 What Is Materiality? ........................................................ 50
2.10.2 What Is Intent to Deceive? .............................................. 50
2.10.3 What Needs to Be Disclosed? ......................................... 51
2.10.4 Who Has a Duty to Disclose? ......................................... 51
2.10.5 When Do You Need to Disclose and How? .................... 51
2.11 International Treaties ................................................................. 52
2.11.1 The Paris Convention ...................................................... 52
2.11.1.1 National Treatment ......................................... 53
2.11.1.2 Independence of Patents ................................. 53
2.11.1.3 International Priority ....................................... 54
2.11.2 The Patent Cooperation Treaty ....................................... 55
2.11.2.1 International Filing and Priority Date ............. 55
2.11.2.2 National Stage ................................................. 55
2.11.2.3 Preliminary Search and Written Opinion ........ 56

Chapter 3 How to Read a Patent ............................................................. 58
3.1 Anatomy of a Patent ................................................................... 58
3.1.1 Patent Cover Page ........................................................... 58
3.1.2 Patent Drawings .............................................................. 61
3.1.3 Patent Specifications ....................................................... 62
3.1.4 Patent Claims .................................................................. 63
3.2 Understanding the Embodiments of a Patent ............................. 64
3.3 Patent Claim Basics ................................................................... 64
3.3.1 Independent and Dependent Claims ................................ 64
3.3.1.1 An Example ...................................................... 66
3.3.1.2 Why Dependent Claims? .................................. 66
3.3.2 Patent Claim Structure .................................................... 67
3.3.2.1 The Preamble .................................................... 68
3.3.2.2 The Transitional Phrases .................................. 68
3.3.2.3 The Main Body of Claims ................................ 69
3.4 Different Types of Claims ......................................................... 70
3.4.1 System Claims ................................................................. 70
3.4.2 Product-by-process Claims ............................................. 72
3.4.3 Method Claims ................................................................ 73
3.5 Understanding the Scope of the Invention ................................. 74