Patents Flashcards
How long does a patent last?
20 years from filing
Utilitarian framework of Patents
Limited patent protection encourages investment in innovation and inventions
The important provisions of patents
- Subject Matter & Utility §101
- Novelty §102
- Non-Obviousness §103
- Disclosure §112
Only get a 5 once you get the numbers correct
Patentable Subject Matter involves…
any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof
Patent Novelty
No prior art discloses all of the same claims/elements for the claimed invention
Statutory Bar for Patent Novelty
Was it filed before the cut-off date? (1 year grace period under certain circumstances)
When does prior public use occur under the Rosaire standard for prospecting oil?
When the public has access to the innovation, not just mere knowledge of its existence; experimental use is an exception to the prior use bar for novelty
Is a dissertation, possibly accessible by the public for a sufficently long time enough to preclude patentability?
Yes, in some cases. Focus on the possibilty of acess rather than actual public access.
The test to determine public use found in Egbert is…
- one well-defined case of public use is sufficient to bar patentability;
- whether it was public use does not depend on the number of persons whose use was known; and
- some inventions are only capable of use where they can’t be seen by the public eye because of the nature of the product, but that does not preclude a finding that the product was publicly used.
True or False: A bona fide continous experimental public use qualifies for an exception under City of Elizabeth
True
The main principles of novelty (3) are
- Novelty is determined at the time of filing
- Prior art includes: patented, printed publications, public use, on sale, available to the public
- Grace period §102(b) is an exception to novelty rule
