Intellectual Property (IP)
Research Competencies
Compiled by:
Members of the PLL&IP SIS IP Caucus
Luci Barry
Lucy Curci-Gonzalez
Alina Kelly
Diana J. Koppang
Sarah Mauldin
Submitted to :
Jean O’Grady / PLL&IP Summit Research Audit (July 2014)
July 16, 2015
General Competencies
• Find primary and secondary resources
• Identify specific IP area
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Patent
Trademark
Copyright
Some subgroup
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Trade secret
Licensing
Social Media
Privacy
• Understand the differences between paid and free resources
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Availability
Cost
Coverage
Timeframe
Level of Confidence
Using what is available where you are
Patent Research Basics
• Find a patent (examples of U.S., WIPO, and EP) –
and where to find (fee-based or free)
• Has the patent been litigated (Federal, ITC, and
PTAB)?
• What is a file history and how to find and order it
• Find prior art/non-patent literature and
understand limitations, copyright law restrictions
• Find the assignment history and renewal history
for a patent.
• Find a patent family
Trademark Research Basics
• Find a trademark and its filing history
• Has the trademark been litigated (Federal and
Administrative Proceedings)?
• Search TTAB filings/actions and where to find
reported case law
• What is a file history and how to find it
• Identify primary trademark resources – treatises
• Trademark Counterfeiters – using social media,
eBay, domain name records for research
• Find the assignment history
Copyright Basics
• Find a copyright record
• How to order a copyright file history
• Has the copyright been litigated?
Key Treatises
(*Indicates must have title, electronic or print, for subject area)
• Trademarks
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*McCarthy on Trademarks and Unfair Competition
Gilson on Trademarks
*Guide to TTAB Practice
Law of Unfair Competition, Trademarks and Monopolies
(Callmann)
– Product Comparison Manual for Trademark Users (Pinckney)
• Patents
– *Chisum on Patents
– Moy’s Walker on Patents
– Post-Grant Proceedings Before the Patent Trial and Appeal
Board
Key Treatises – Cont.
(*Indicates must have title, electronic or print, for subject area)
• Copyright
– *Nimmer on Copyright
– Goldstein on Copyright
– Patry on Copyrights
• Trade Secrets
– *Milgrim on Trade Secrets
• Privacy
– *Proskauer on Privacy
• Domain Names
– *McGrady on Domain Names
Procedural Manuals
(available online and in print)
• Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure
(TMEP)
• Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Manual of
Procedure (TBMP)
• Manual of Patent Examining Procedure
(MPEP)
• Official Patent Trial Practice Guide
Key Websites and Databases
(Italic = Fee-based)
• Patent Searching
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USPTO.GOV
FreePatentsOnline.com
Espacenet
WIPO Country Files (links to foreign patent database)
Thomson Innovation
Lexis Total Patent
Minesoft PatBase
Questel
Key Websites and Databases – Cont.
(Italic = Fee-based)
• Patent Litigation (Federal, ITC, and/or PTAB)
– PTAB (ptabtrials.uspto.gov)
– PTAB/BPAI Reading Room of Final Decisions
– Docket Navigator
– BNA (PTAB Navigator) and Bloomberg Law
– Lexis CourtLink
– Lexis
– Westlaw
Key Websites and Databases – Cont.
(Italic = Fee-based)
• Trademark Searching
– USPTO.gov
– WIPO Country Profiles (links to foreign trademark
databases)
– Corsearch
– Thomson Reuters Saegis/Serion
– TrademarkVision
Key Websites and Databases – Cont.
(Italic = Fee-based)
• Trademark Litigation
– TTABVUE
– TTAB Reading Room of Final Decisions
– BNA and Bloomberg Law
– Lexis
– Westlaw
Key Websites and Databases – Cont.
(Italic = Fee-based)
• Patent Analytics/Metrics
– Docket Navigator (patents only)
– Innography (patents only)
– Lexis Patent Advisor (patents only)
– Thomson Reuters Monitor Suite (all I.P.)
– Lex Machina (primarily patents, some trademark
and copyright coverage)
Key Websites and Databases – Cont.
(Italic = Fee-based)
• Copyrights
– U.S. Copyright Office
• Domain Names and Domain Name Disputes
– WhoIs websites (various)
– National Arbitration Forum (NAF)
– World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
– BloombergLaw
Other Skills/Knowledge
• Find licensing royalty rates
• Research social media and limitations
• Find the registrant of a website and search for domain
name dispute information
• Using trademark searches to find holding companies
for a company’s patent portfolio
• Identify non-practicing entities, intellectual property
holding companies (f/k/a “patent trolls”)
• Secretary of State records
• Other DBA company resources
• M&A due diligence (ownership, lien data)