| Patentability of Business Methods |
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| In the latter part of the 20th century, there was a slow realization that the basis for rejecting business method patent applications was not because the invention to be patented was a business method but because the subject matter of the application did not meet the fundamental requirements for patents such as novelty and non-obviousness. With the widespread use of computers and the development of business methods involving computers, courts were forced to reexamine the question of whether a business method could be patented or, as they had been treated by the USPTO, were inherently unpatentable. In 1998, the federal court that hears all appeals of patent decisions ruled once and for all that business methods could be patented if they produce a "useful, tangible, and concrete result." The court concluded that a system that used a computer to calculate a mutual fund share price from a complex set of parameters was not an abstract idea but rather a machine--embodied by the computer--that produced a useful result--the share price. More... |
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| Provisional Patent Applications |
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| For many years, there was only one type of patent application, which required the submission of a specification, which is a detailed description of the invention; a claim or claims, which delineate the specific aspects of the invention for which patent protection is sought; any necessary drawings; an oath or declaration that the inventor believes him or herself to be the original and first inventor of the invention; and the filing fee. In 1994, the Uruguay round of negotiations on the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade, commonly known as "GATT," resulted in the formation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), to which the United States became a member and signatory, respectively. TRIPS requires that WTO members provide strong intellectual property rights and, in the context of patents, provide foreign inventors with access to their patent systems and the full protection of their patent laws. One important aspect of TRIPS was that a foreign inventor could establish a priority date in other TRIPS-member countries upon the filing of a patent application in his or her own country as long as a regular patent application was filed within the TRIPS-member country within a certain amount of time. More... |
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| Patent Claims and the Definiteness Requirement |
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| An applicant for a patent must include in the specification accompanying the application for the patent one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his or her invention. Patent claims serve two functions. First, they define the invention for the purpose of applying the conditions of patentability, the statutory bars, and the disclosure requirements. Second, they define the invention for the purpose of determining infringement. More... |
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| Patents |
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| A patent is a right granted by the federal government to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the subject of the patent for a limited period of time, whether it be an invention, process, composition of material, or other patentable article, without the permission of the patent owner. Conduct that interferes with the right of exclusion is called infringement.
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| Patents |
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| A patent is a right granted under federal law that allows the patent owner to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the subject matter of the patent without the inventor's permission for a period of 20 years from the time of the patent application. An activity involving the patented invention that violates that right is said to infringe the patent, for which the patent owner may bring a lawsuit to collect monetary damages and to stop the infringing activity. There are several defenses to patent infringement. One defense that will completely insulate an alleged infringer from liability is patent misuse. More... |
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