Research Workshop:
Patent Law Research
Presented by:
Elizabeth Farrell
Fall, 2007
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Patent Law Research
Overview
• Patent law & practice in a nutshell
• Finding patents
• Patent-related legal materials
• Treatises & practice guides
• Current awareness tools
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Patent law & Practice
in a nutshell
• Patents grant an inventor the right to exclude others from
producing or using the inventor's discovery or invention for
a limited period of time.
• Patent law is federal law and federal courts have exclusive
jurisdiction. Patent infringement appeals go to the Federal
Circuit.
• U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) is the federal
agency charged with administering patent laws.
• Decisions of the USPTO can be appealed to the agency’s
Board of Patent Appeals & Interferences (BPAI)
• 3 requirements for patentability: novelty, utility, nonobvious
• 3 types of patents: utility, design, plant
• Term of patent protection: 20 years from date of application
(after 1995)
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Finding Patents
• Search full-text databases for key
terms. Also can search by inventors,
companies.
• Use patent classifications to guide
your search
– Index to US Patent Classification
(alphabetical)
– Manual of Classification (numerical)
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Finding Patents
• USPTO (free!): full-text & images,
goes back to 1790
• Lexis: full-text & images, goes back
to 1790. Plus: PDF of official patents
• Westlaw: full-text & images, goes
back to 1976.
• Google Patent: full-page images,
back to 1790. No applications
• In print: find a patent depository
library
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
www.uspto.gov
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
LexisNexis
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Official Patent
PDFs available
in Lexis
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Legal Materials
• Federal Statutes – Title 35, U.S.C.
– Legislative histories of important patent legislation
• LN Congressional: US Serial Set Collection
• Chisum on Patents treatise
• Also: search law review articles
• Federal Regulations – Title 37, C.F.R.
– Federal Register & Official Gazette of the USPTO
– Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP)
>>>Secondary Source: Horowitz, Patent Office Rules & Practice
• Patent Office Rules & Practice - MPEP
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Legal Materials
• Agency Decisions –
– USPTO Board of Patent Appeals & Interferences
Decisions
– USPTO Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks
Decisions
• Court Decisions –
– Federal District Courts > Federal Circuit (after 1982) >
Supreme Court
Sources:
(coverage varies)
Online – USPTO, Lexis, Westlaw, BNA
Print – West Reporters, BNA’s USPQ
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Treatises & practice guides
>>>Lots of great secondary sources<<<
• Chisum on Patents (Lexis)
• Moy's Walker on Patents (West)
• Landis on Mechanics of Patent Claim
Drafting (LN & WL)
• Patent Law Practice Forms (West)
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Current Awareness Tools
• BNA Newsletters
– Patent, Trademark & Copyright Daily
– BioTech Watch
– World IP Report
• Mealey’s Newsletters (Lexis)
• USPTO’s Official Gazette
• Patent law blogs
– http://blawgsearch.justia.com/
– http://www.blawg.com/
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Questions?
Florida State University College of Law Research Center