§101
background art section,
utility and the, 95
nonfunctional descriptive
material, 60
ordinary skill in
the art
examples, legal test,
60
ordinary skill in
the art test, and, 60
patentable subject
matter evaluation, 58
patentable subject
matter requirements, 59, 60
provisional applications,
and, 86
utility, 22
utility, definition
of, 58, 60
utility, description
requirement, 44
utility, establishment
of, 59
utility, theory of
operation, incorrect, 59
written description
requirement, and, 105
§102 (g)
characteristics, 72
§103, 75
§112 (1)
adiquacy,
presumption of, 102
best mode, 100
best mode, 101
best mode, 109
checklist, 106
complying with, 103
conflicts in disclosure,
105
enablement, 102, 122
examination procedure,
101, 102, 103
experimentation, undue,
101
inoperative embodiments,
111, 122
make and use, 101
patentable subject
matter, and, 105
summary list, 105
terms, undefined specification,
105
undue experimentation,
evidence of, 122
unpredictability in
the art, and, 105
unsupported elements,
123
variation in the art,
and high, 106
written description,
101, 102, 103
§113, 91
A
Abstracts, patent, 82
Admissions by Applicant, 70
Advanced information
claims, 114
detailed description,
drafting of, 120
drawings, issues regarding,
99
obviousness, requirements
for, 76
written description
requirement, §112 (1), 101
written description
requirement, §112 (1) issues in, 121
Agents, patent, 130
Alternative embodiments.
See Specification/embodiments
American Inventors Protection Act, 40
Application data sheet, 29, 30, 38, 39, 93,
138
Assignments, 35, See also Ownership
Attorneys,
patent, 130
B
Background art section, 94
checklist, 95
derogatory remarks,
95
drafting guide questions,
96
invention, do not
discuss your, 95
validity remarks,
95
writing style tips,
95, 108
C
Canceled matter, 64
Certificate of mailing
defined, 131
form, official, 171
Checklists
actions to take after
conception, 42
drafting background
art section, 95
drawings, preparation
of, 98
written description
requirement, satisfying, 106
Claim interpretation, 26, 101
Festo, 27, 79
Claims, 53, 56, 63, 66, 76, 79, 81, 82, 83,
See also Patents, and Provisional patent applications
defined, 131
drafting tips, 113
independent claims,
83
information, points
of, 114
process, 61
scope, 102, 103, 122,
See
tables in, 114
Co-inventors. See
Joint Applicants
Commercial potential evaluation.
See also Marketability
Compact disc application submissions, 94, 119,
125, 126, 127
Conception
afterwards, steps
to take, 42
date of, 65
documenting, 44
establishing, 72
proof of, 73
proving before diligence, 75
Constructive reduction to practice.
See Reduction to practice/constructive
Copyrights defined, 131
Correspondence address. See
Filing the provisional application/correspondence address
Correspondence with the USPTO, 30
Credit card, paying by. See
Filing the provisional application/credit card
Critical date, 67
Cross reference to
related applications, 129
D
Deadline for filing regular patent application,
129
Description of the invention.
See Specification
Design patents, 86
Detailed description of the invention.
See Specification
Diligence, 65, 67, 74
attorney, 74
degrees of, 75
engineering, 74
lack of, 75
when necessary, 72
Disclosure Documents, 44, 62
Doctrine of equivalents, 27, 66
Do-it-yourself. See
Pro se
Drawings
advanced issues, 99
analysis, patent drawing,
83
background section,
in, 95
brief description
section, 99
checklist,preparation
of, 98
formal, 97
informal, 96, 97
new matter, 97
not required if, 99
omitted figures, 99
software to use, 97
tips on preparing,
97
when required, 97
Duty to disclose, 84
E
Employer ownership of invention, 57
Enablement of the invention.
See §112 (1) enablement
Evaluations
commercial potential, 46
inventorship, 56
ownership, 57
patent analysis, 82
patentable subject
matter, 58, 60
provisional application,
deciding if appropriate, 87
Experimental use
factors indicative
of, 71
Express mail service, 125
F
Fees
nonprovisional applications,
21
provisional application,
filing, 127
small entity status. See
Small entity status
Filing the provisional application, 125
after filing, issues,
129
checks, payment by,
127
confirmation number,
128
correspondence address,
29, 30
cover sheet, 92
credit card, paying
by, 125
date accorded, 21,
25, 97, 102, 105
filing receipt, 33,
128
forms, official filing,
162
general information,
29, 31
incomplete applications,
31, 32
inventorship issues,
35
postcard receipt,
128
Power of Attorney, 125
requirements, 91
small entity status. See
Small entity status
Filing the provisional patent application,
30
First-to-invent, 65
Flowcharts. See Specification/flowcharts
Foreign patent priority claim, 21
claim, including at
least one, 112
filing receipt, and,
34
issues, common, 25,
29, 33, 35, 42, 63
on sale prohibition,
and, 69
Paris Convention deadline, 22
postcard receipt,
and, 128
Forms, filing, 162
G
Glossary of patent terms, 130
I
Incorporation by reference
application secrecy
exception, 79
how to, 96
submissions, 121
Information disclosure statement, 94
Information disclosure statements, 91, 95
Information, lists of.
See also Advanced information, and Summaries
abandonment, invention, 73
claim novelty, 66
diligence, 74
drawings, application,
97
first-to-invent, characteristics
of, 72
inventorship, correction
of, 35
obviousness, invention,
75
on-sale prohibition,
issues in, 69
patentability issues,
62
patentable matter
requirement, §101, 59
post filing issues,
129
prior-art, 85
provisional patent
applications, 24
provisional patent
applications, filing of, 29
public knowledge,
what is, 64
public use issues,
67
submissions to USPTO,
requirements for,, 126
title of the invention,
93
International issues. See
Foreign patent priority claim
International patent rights, 63
Internet search engines, useful, 80
Invention
abandonment of, 72,
73
assignment of. See
Agreements/assignments
concealment of, 72
date of, 62, 71
dedication to the
public, 73
definition of, 65
embodiments. See Specification/embodiments
first-to-invent, definition
in, 73
inherent properties. See
Specification/inherent matter
marketing. See Marketing
Patent Pending status, 129
protection, 23
theft of, avoiding,
129
theory of operation,
understanding of, 114
title. See Title of
the invention
when complete, 72
where done matters,
71
Inventor
duty to disclose,
84
multiple inventors. See
Joint Applicants
non-signing inventor. See
Non-signing inventor
Inventor’s notebook, 52, 62
reasons to maintain,
53, 65, 72
Inventorship, 34, 52
correction of, 34,
35, 93
deceptive intent,
53, 55
evaluation, 56
facts, 54
issues, 55
J
Joint Applicants
contribution statement,
53
inventorship issues,
55
joint owner’s agreement,
53, 54
name order immaterial,
93
Joint inventors. See
Joint Applicants
Joint owner’s agreement, 53
L
Laboratory notebook. See
Inventor’s notebook
Litigation. See Patents/litigation
M
Mailing address, 30
Manual of Patent Examining Procedure, online,
133
Marketability, 22, 43
evaluation of, commercial
potential, 46
Marketing, x, 16, 21, 53, 69, 70, 74, 84, 89,
100, 129, See also Invention/marketing
expert analysis, 3rd
party, 51
performance factors,
invention, 51
Money saving tips, 94
MPEP. See Manual of
Patent Examining Procedure
Multiple inventors. See Joint Applicants
N
Name of the invention. See Title of the invention
New matter, 23, 101, 105
assignments, 36
best mode, and, 105
consequences, 23
drawings exception, 120
drawings, in the, 97
general information, 123
submissions, compact disk, 127
submissions, substitute, 127
Nonprovisional patent applications
claiming priority, 36, 37, 38
claiming priority examples, 39
claiming priority late, 39
claims, 102
confidentiality, 85
drafting fees, 21
effective filing date, 21
general information. See Patent applications,
general
legal issues, 26
new matter, 23, 120
office actions, 102
priority date, 21
publication of, 85
reverse conversion, 37
Non-signing inventor, 55
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O
Obviousness
analogous art, 81
basic points, 75
motivation to combine,
77
requirements for,
76
secondary considerations,
76
test of, 76
Office action. See
Nonprovisional patent applications/office actions
Opinion practitioner, when needed, 78, 84,
88
Ordinary skill in the art, 101
examples, legal
test, 92, 102, 103, 105, 106, 107, 114, 122, 123
Ownership
assignments, 57
employment issues,
57
evaluation, 57
first-to-invent
competition, and, 72
issues, 57
joint owner’s agreement,
53, 54
obviousness test,
in, 76
patentability, and. See
Patentability:ownership
prohibited events,
61
P
Patent
claims. See Claims
patent enforcement,
21
priority date, 21
Patent applications, general
abandoned, 86
confidentiality
exception, 64, 79
nonprovisional patent applications.
See Nonprovisional patent applications
nonstandard terms,
use of, 102
provisional patent applications.
See Provisional patent applications
regular patent applications.
See Nonprovisional patent applications
terms. See Specification/terms
Patent infringement, 26, 27
issues, loss of
protection, 111, 114
marketing, and,
49
Patent-pending status,
and, 129
search prior-art,
reasons to, 27
Patent Pending, 21
defined, 134
Patentability. See
also Obviousness
absolute novelty,
63
claims, analyzing
prior-art, 83
compounds and compositions,
of, 122
equivalency factors,
66
experimental exception,
62
foreign patents,
63
loosing rights,
65, 71, 74, 91, 102
must have a function,
61
not novel, what
if invention, 84
novelty, 66
overcoming bars, 37
ownership, and,
67
plants, of, 122
possession of the
invention, 107, 121
prohibited acts. See
Prohibited acts
prohibition of,
in "first-to-invent", 74
public policy, 62
subject matter,
58
theory of operation,
incorrect, 122
Patents
abstracts, 82
certificates of
correction, 85
claims, 82
evaluation of, 82
invalidity causes,
54, 84
licensees, 92, 108
litigation, 82,
88, 92, 102, 108, See also Patent infringement
loosing rights to attain.
See Patentability/
prosecution history
estoppels, 23
research. See Searching
Patents
terms in. See Specification/terms
validity, presumption
of, 102
Prior-art, 54
abandoned applications,
64
admission by applicant,
95
analogous, 81
confidentiality
exceptions, USPTO, 79
dating of, 86
drawings analysis,
83
drawings and pictures,
99
general infarction, 85
international, 86
obviousness test,
used in, 75
patents, evaluation
of, 82
pictures, 86
published, 64
reference date,
64
references, 66,
73, 79, 85
searching for. See
Searching prior-art
Priority competition
first-to-invent,
74
Pro se, 16, 88, 91, 92, 102, 121, See also
Provisional patent applications/quality
issues
saving money, 100
Prohibited acts, 61
process claim exception,
61
Provisional patent applications, 21, See
also Patent applications, general
abandoned, referencing
of, 73
abandonment, 28
access to, 29, 55
advantages, 22
after filing, issues,
129
amendment, 28
application numbers,
31
big picture, the,
92
characteristics,
22
claims, 81, 103,
112
confidentiality,
22
constructive notice,
30
conversion, 36
conversion to nonprovisional,
25
copies, 28
cover sheet, 92
deciding if appropriate,
steps in, 87
differences from
nonprovisional Patents, 91, 100
do-it-yourself. See
Pro se
filed without drawings,
32
filing of. See Filing
the provisional application
first-to-invent
competitions, and, 73
foreign filing license,
29
format requirements,
91
incomplete filings,
31
informal, 29
language requirements,
37
missing parts late
fee, 29
number, application,
128
Patent Pending. See
Patent Pending
Patent Pending status, marking of, 129
patent term, 28
pendency, 21
proof of filing
postcard, 33
quality,
23
quality
issues, 16, 17, 19, 23, 88, 92, 100
risks, 23, 24
secrecy order, 29
submissions, 126
Public disclosure
examples, 63
international patent
rights, 63
prior-art and, 62
Public knowledge, 63, 79
canceled matter,
patents, 86
prior-art and, 62
Public use, 67
prohibition proceedings,
68
Public, dedicating invention to.
See Invention:dedication
to the public
Publications of patent applications.
See Nonprovisional patent applications/publication
Q
Questions to answer,
guideline
background section,
drafting guide, 96
commercial potential,
invention, 46
detailed description
section, drafting guide, 108, 109, 110, 111
inventorship, determining,
56
patentable matter,
determining, 60
R
Reduction to practice
actual, 65
constructive, 65
date of, 65
experimental data,
including, 110
first-to-invent
date, and the, 71, 72
last to achieve,
74
multiple inventors,
and, 55
others, done by,
54
possession of the
invention, and, 121
proving, 72
provisional applications,
benefits of, 43
theft of invention,
and, 67
Regular patent applications.
See Nonprovisional patent applications
Research. See Searching
Patents
S
Searching. See Searching
Patents
Searching prior-art, 66, 81, See Searching
for prior-art
caveats, 85
embodiments, making
new, 84
evaluating patents,
82
no guarantee, 84
not novel, what
if invention, 84
optimization methods,
83
patents, strategies
for, 82
professionals, how
good are, 84
references cited,
84
search engines,
80
State-of-the-art search, 80
typical results,
84
SIR. See Statutory
invention registration
Small entity status, 28
Software
patentable matter,
and, 60
patents, 83
searching of, and,
80
Software Patent Institute, 80
Specification
avoid, things to,
107, 109, 111, 116, 121
best mode, 110,
See also §112 (1)/best mode
claims, supporting
dependent, 111
claims, supporting
independent, 109, 110, 111
complete disclosure,
103
computer program
listings, 120
conflicts in, 105
contradictions in,
92, 108, 109
critical elements,
description of, 107
data, inclusion
of experimental, 110
dependent claims,
supporting, 111
derogatory remarks,
95
detail, level of,
107, 108, 109, 110, 111
detrimental information,
inclusion of, 108
drafting examples,
93, 98, 109, 111, 112
drafting tips, 101,
109
embodiments, 60,
77, 78, 84, 86, 88, 101, 102, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 122
enablement. See
§112/enablement
essential elements,
110
examples, use of,
105, 106, 107, 110, 122
experimentation, undue.
See §112 (1)
flowcharts, 121
genus, 103, 106,
113, 122
hyperlinks, 121
illustrations, 121
incorporation by reference.
See Incorporation by reference
inherent matter,
77, 103, 105, 113, 123
introduction, drafting
the, 108
lexicographer, be
your own, 109
make and use requirement. See §112/make and
use
new matter, 123
objects of the invention,
109
possession of the
invention, showing, 107
prior-art, description
of, 109
quality
issues, 121
requirements, 100
scope of the invention,
94
spelling check,
116
style tips, drafting,
107
tables, 121
target audience,
92
terminology, 109
terms undefined
in, 105
terms, nonstandard
use of, 83, 85
trademarks, 120
written description requirement.
See §112 (1)
written description
requirements, 91
Statutory invention registration defined,
136
Summaries
assignments, invention,
57
drafting tip, provisional
application, 116
inventorship, correction
of, 35
new matter in applications,
123
provisional application
characteristics, 22
provisional application
practice, 28
written description
requirement, 105
T
Thesaurus, online, 81
Thomas Register, 80
Tips
background art section
drafting style, 108
background section,
drafting, 95, 96
claims drafting,
113
drawings, 96
drawings, preparation
of, 97
money, to save,
94
provisional applications,
drafting, 116
searching for prior-art,
on, 81
specification drafting
style, 107
specification,drafting,
101, 109
title, selection
of, 118
Title of the invention
inventor’s contribution
statement, and, 53
obscuring, 93
placement of, 93
referencing of,
35
selection of, 93
tips on picking,
118
Trade secret defined, 137
trademark defined,
137
Trademarks. See
Specification/trademarks
U
United States
Patent and Trademark Office. See
USPTO
USPTO
corresponding with, requirements in, 129
filing fee, provisional application, 127
forms, filing, 162
mailing address,
provisional application), 125
Patent Application Information Retrieval
(PAIR), 129
payment information,
127
phone number, customer
service, 127
website, 45
Utility patent defined, 137
W
Websites
marketing analysis,
expert, 51
MPEP online, 133
practitioners, USPTO
database of, 130
searching prior-art,
80
thesaurus, 81
USPTO, 125
Written description requirement.
See Specification
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