United States Utility Patents:Introductions and Orientation
Kristine H. JohnsonMacMillan, Sobanski & Todd, LLC
Welcome!
• Please always feel free to ask me
– To slow down
– To repeat information
– To explain more about a subject
– To be louder (or quieter!)
– To take a break
– To address your interests
Topical Orientation
• This presentation covers
– United States patents - practical & legal– Utility patent law– Obtaining utility patents – Some enforcement of utility patents– No licensing– Brief comments on utility patent interface with
other US and worldwide intellectual property
Geographical Orientation
USPTO
Cornell
Kristi
Geographical Orientation
United States Patent & Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia
Historical Orientation – US Patents
• 1641 Mass. court grants patent for salt making
• 1776 US Constitution enacted
• 1790 first US Patent Act enacted
• 1836 Patent Office formed
• 1887 US joins Paris Convention
• 1968 US signs Patent Cooperation Treaty
• 1995 US signs Uruguay Round Agreements Act
The US is a baby compared to Korea!
Patent-Related “Checks and Balances”
• Executive
• Legislative
• Judicial
Executive Branch 2010
• President (Barack Obama)
– Secretary of Commerce (Gary Locke)
Director of Patents (David Kappos)
◦ Commiss’r of Patents (Robert Stoll)
»Deputy Comm’r (Magaret Focarino)
-- Examiners
(hierarchy)David Kappos
Legislative Branch
• Founders; Constitution (Article I, §8,
clause 8 )
– House and Senate; Statutes (35 USC)
Patent Office, with Public Comment;
Regulations (37 CFR, chapter 1)
◦ Patent Office Only (Manual of
Patent Examining Procedure
“MPEP”)
Judicial Branch
• Supreme Court (D.C.)
– Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (D.C.)
U.S. Federal District Courts (11 districts)
US Federal Judicial Districts
Patent Service Industry
• Searchers
• Artists (Draftsmen)
• Sequence Listing Experts
• Preparers (Patent Agents & Attorneys)
• Maintenance Fee Docketers/Payers
• Enforcers (Litigation Attorneys)
Patents
• A patent is issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
• A patent provides the patent owner with the exclusive right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing an invention
• A patent has a term of up to 20 years
Patent Types
• Utility: a process, machine, product or composition of matter (e.g., combination toaster and microwave)
• Design: an ornamental design for a product (e.g., Apple iPod)
• Plant: new varieties of plants (e.g., Hawaiian Volcano Plant)
Questions?
Please Ask!
Thank you to Ms. Jenna Cogswell at MST who helped prepare these slides
Contact us at [email protected] or 419.255.5900 for permission to use these slides, or to ask questions. We are happy to let others use these slides, but we would like to know who they helped!
