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OBVIOUSNESS
Obviousness is perhaps the most important issue of patent law.
Patents are not to be granted or enforced if the alleged invention is obvious. The
obviousness determination is central to decisions by the U.S. Patent Office on whether to
grant a patent. The. U.S. Supreme Court established guidelines for determining
obviousness in its landmark decision, KSR v. Teleflex.
MORE
RUMBLING IN THE FIELD OF COMPUTER AND SOFTWARE PATENTS
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
took the unusual step of ordering on its own initiative, reexamination of a prominent
software patent (the Eolas Patent No. 5,838,906). Microsoft, encouraged, reverses course.
WHEN TO
FILE THAT PATENT APPLICATION
To ensure that inventors promptly file their patent applications,
the U.S. patent law, (35 U.S.C. §102(b)) requires that a filing be made within one year
of the date an invention is placed in public use or on sale in the U.S. Unfortunately, the
judicial standards for an "on sale" bar can be difficult to apply and inventors
may be uncertain as to their deadline for filing a patent application.
WHAT DOES THAT PATENT MEAN, LITERALLY?
The day after Memorial Day 2002 the U.S. Supreme Court killed the
controversial patent standards announced by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
(CAFC). The CAFC has almost exclusive appellate jurisdiction in patent matters. This
article summarizes the larger issues resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court:
PATENT OFFICE STRATEGIC PLAN
In a document entitled "The 21st Century Strategic Plan"
the U.S. Patent and Trademark office ("PTO") proposed on July 5, 2002 a number
of very important changes to the U.S. patent system. Some of the proposals are meeting
with opposition. All owners of intellectual property should be aware of these
controversies and make their views known. Some of the more controversial proposals are
outlined in this article. |