- Subjects
- Genres
- Law for laypersons
Handbooks and manuals - Published
-
Berkeley, CA :
Nolo Press
[1985-]
- Language
- English
- Other Authors
- ,
- Item Description
- "Nolo Press self-help law."
Some issues accompanied by CD-ROM.
Subtitle varies. - Physical Description
- volumes : illustrations ; 28 cm
- Publication Frequency
- Irregular.
- Bibliography
- Includes index.
- ISBN
- 9781413329971
- ISSN
- 15549925
- Your Legal Companion
- A. You Don't Have to Use a Patent Attorney
- B. A Layperson Can Do a Quality job
- C. Using an Attorney
- D. Should You Do It Yourself?
- E. How to Use Patent It Yourself
- 1. Introduction to Patents and Other Intellectual Property
- A. Intellectual Property-The Big Picture
- B. How Intellectual Property Law Provides Offensive Rights" (and Not Protection) to inventors
- C. Alternative and Supplementary Offensive Rights
- D. Patents
- E. Trademarks
- F. Copyrights
- G. Trade Secrets
- H. Unfair Competition
- I. Acquisition of Offensive Rights in Intellectual Property-Summary Chart
- J. Summary of Legal Remedies for Misappropriation of Various Types of Intellectual Property
- K. Invention Exploitation Flowchart
- L. Summary
- 2. The Science and Magic of Inventing
- A. What We Mean by "Invention"
- B. Inventing by Problem Recognition and Solution
- C. Inventing by Magic (Accident and Flash of Genius)
- D. Making Ramifications and improvements of Your Invention
- E. Solving Creativity Problems
- F. Contact Other Inventors
- G. Beware of the Novice Inventor's "PGL Syndrome"
- H. Don't Bury Your Invention
- I. Summary
- 3. Documentation and the PPA
- A. Introduction
- B. Documentation Is Vital to the Invention Process
- C. Documentation Has Legal Implications
- D. Trade Secret Considerations
- E. Record Conception and the Building and Testing of Your Invention
- F. How to Record Your Invention
- G. Another Way to Record Conception or Building and Testing-The Invention Disclosure
- H. Don't Sit on Your Invention After Documenting it
- I. Don't Use a "Post Office Patent" to Document Your Invention
- J. The Provisional Patent Application-A Substitute for Building and Testing, With Some Disadvantages
- K. Summary
- 4. Will Your Invention Sell?
- A. Why Evaluate Your Invention for Salability?
- B. Start Small But Ramp Up
- C. You Can't Be 100% Sure of Any Invention's Commercial Prospects
- D. Take Time to Do a Commercial Feasibility Evaluation
- E. Check Your Marketability Conclusions Using the Techniques of Consultation and Research
- F. Now's the Time to Build and Test It (If Possible)
- G. The Next Step
- H. Summary
- 5. Is It Patentable?
- A. Patentability Compared to Commercial Viability
- B. Legal Requirements for a Utility Patent
- C. Requirement #1: Subject Matter Eligibility
- D. Requirement #2: Utility
- E. Requirement #3: Novelty
- F. Requirement #4: Nonobviousness
- G. The Patentability Flowchart
- H. Don't Make Assumptions About the Law
- I. Summary
- 6. Search and You May Find
- A. Why Make a Patentability Search?
- B. When Not to Search
- C. The Two Ways to Make a Patentability Search
- D. The Quality of a Patent Search Can Vary
- E. How to Hire a Patent Professional
- F. How to Prepare Your Searcher
- G. Analyzing the Search Report
- H. The Scope of Patent Coverage
- I. Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Computer Searching
- J. Classification Searching
- K. How To Computer Search
- L. Problems Searching Software and Business Inventions
- M. Summary
- 7. What Should I Do Next?
- A. Fig. 7A-Invention Decision Chart
- B. Drop It If You Don't See Commercial Potential (Chart Route 10-12-14-X)
- C. File an Application and Sell or License It If You See Patentability (Chart Route 14-16-18-20-22-C)
- D. Manufacture and Distribute Your Invention Yourself, Keeping It as a Trade Secret (Chart Route 20-32-D)
- E. File Patent Application and Manufacture and Distribute Your Invention Yourself (Trade-Secret Protectable Invention) (Chart Route 20-32-34-E)
- F. File Patent Application and Manufacture and Distribute Invention Yourself (Non-Trade-Secret Protectable Invention) (Chart Route 20-32-34-E)
- G. Try to Sell Invention to Manufacturer Before Obtaining a "Regular" Patent Application (Chart Route 10-12-14-16-18-B)
- H. If You Have Commercial Potential Without Patentability, License or Sell Your Invention to a Manufacturer Without Filing (Chart Route 16-24-26-28-30-B)
- I. Make and Sell Your Invention Yourself Without a Utility Patent Application (Chart Route 16-24-26-28-30-A)
- J. Summary
- 8. How to Draft the Specification and Initial Drawings
- A. Lay Inventors Can Do It!
- B. What's Contained in a Patent Application
- C. What Happens When Your Application Is Received by the PTO
- D. Do Preliminary Work Before Preparing Your Patent Application
- E. Flowchart
- F. Your Written Description Must Comply With the Full Disclosure Rules
- G. Software, Computer-Related Inventions, and Business Methods
- H. First Prepare Sketches and Name Parts
- I. Drafting the Specification
- J. Review Your Specification and Abstract Carefully
- K. Checklist for Your Patent Application Draft
- L. Specification of Sample Patent Application
- M. Summary
- 9. Now for the Legalese-The Claims
- A. What Are Claims?
- B. The Law Regarding Claims
- C. Some Sample Claims
- D. Common Misconceptions Regarding Claims
- E. One Claim Should Be as Broad as Possible
- F. The Effect of Prior Art on Your Claim
- G. Technical Requirements of Claims
- H. Drafting Your Main (Independent) Claim
- I. Other Techniques in Claim Writing
- J. Drafting Dependent Claims
- K. Drafting Additional Sets of Claims
- L. Checklist for Drafting Claims
- M. Summary
- 10. Finaling and Filing Your Application
- A. The Drawings
- B. Finaling Your Specification for Paper Filing
- C. Finaling Your Specification for EFS-Web Filing
- D. File the Information Disclosure Statement Within Three Months
- E. Assignments
- F. Petitions to Make Special-Getting Your Application Examined Faster
- G. Filing a Design Patent Application
- H. Summary
- 11. How to Market Your Invention
- A. Perseverance and Patience Are Essential
- B. Overview of Alternative Ways to Profit From Your Invention
- C. Be Ready to Demonstrate a Working Model of Your Invention to Potential Customers
- D. Finding Prospective Manufacturers/Distributors
- E. "NIH" Syndrome
- F. The Waiver and Precautions in Signing It
- G. The Best Way to Present Your Invention to a Manufacturer
- H. Presenting Your invention by Correspondence
- I. Making an Agreement to Sell Your Invention
- J. Manufacturing and/or Distributing the invention Yourself
- K. Summary
- 12. Going Abroad
- A. Don't File Abroad Unless Your Invention Has Very Good Prospects in Another Country
- B. Foreign Filing: The Basics
- C. The Paris Convention and the One-Year Foreign-Filing Rule
- D. The World Trade Organization and TRIPS
- E. European Patent Office/Europäisches Patentamt/Office Européen des Brevets (EPO)
- F. The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
- G. Non-Convention Countries
- H. The Hague Agreement
- I. The Early Foreign-Filing License or Mandatory Six-Month Delay
- J. The Patent Laws of Other Countries Are Different
- K. Ways to File Abroad
- L. Rescind Any Nonpublication Request
- M. Foreign-Filing Resources
- N. Summary
- 13. Getting the PTO to Deliver
- A. What Happens After Your Patent Application Is Filed
- B. General Considerations During Patent Prosecution
- C. A Sample Office Action
- D. What to Do When You Receive an Office Action (OA)
- E. Format for Amending the Specification and Claims
- F. Drafting the Remarks
- G. Drawing Amendments
- H. Typing and Filing the Amendment
- I. If Your Application Is Allowable
- J. If Your First Amendment Doesn't Result in Allowance
- K. Derivation Proceedings
- L. Defensive Publication
- M. If Your Application Claims More Than One Invention
- N. The Public May Cite Additional Prior Art Against Your Published Patent Application
- O. NASA Declarations
- P. Design Patent Application Prosecution
- Q. What to Do If You Miss or Want to Extend a PTO Deadline
- R. Summary
- 14. Your Application Can Have Children
- A. Available Supplemental Cases
- B. Continuation Application
- C. Request for Continued Examination (RCE)
- D. Divisional Applications
- E. Continuation-In-Part and Independent Applications
- F. Reissue Applications
- G. Defensive Publications
- H. Substitute Applications
- I. Double Patenting and Terminal Disclaimers
- J. Summary
- 15. After Your Patent Issues: Use, Maintenance, and Infringement
- A. Issue Notification
- B. Press Release and Marketing
- C. Check Your Patent for Errors
- D. Patent Number Marking
- E. Advertising Your Patent for Sale
- F. What Rights Does Your Patent Give You?
- G. Be Wary of Offers to Provide Information About Your Patent
- H. Maintenance Fees
- I. Legal Options If You Discover an Infringement of Your Patent
- J. What to Do About Patent Infringement
- K. Product Clearance (Can I Legally Copy or Make That?)
- L. How to Cite Prior Art and Other Information in Patent Applications and Patents
- M. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC)
- N. Jury Trials
- O. Arbitration
- P. How Patent Rights Can Be Forfeited
- Q. Tax Deductions and Income
- R. Patent Litigation Financing
- S. Summary
- 16. Ownership, Assignment, And Licensing Of Inventions
- A. Inventor, Applicant, Owner
- B. The Property Nature of Patents
- C. Who Can Apply for a Patent?
- D. Joint Owners' Agreement
- E. Special Issues Faced by the Employed Inventor
- F. Assignment of Invention and Patent Rights
- G. Record Your Assignment With the PTO
- H. Licensing of Inventions-An Overview
- I. Universal License Agreement
- J. How Much Should You Get for Your Invention?
- K. Summary
- Appendixes
- 1. Abbreviations Used in Patent It Yourself
- 2. Resources: Government Publications, Patent Websites, and Books of Use and Interest
- A. Government Publications
- B. Patent Websites
- Glossaries
- A. Glossary of Useful Technical Terms
- B. Glossary of Legal Terms
- 4. Fee Schedule
- G. Mail, Telephone, Fax, and Email Communications With the PTO
- A. Patent and Trademark Office Mail Addresses
- B. Patent and Trademark Office Telephones and Faxes
- 6. Quick-Reference Timing Chart
- 7. How to Use the Downloadable Forms on the Nolo Website
- A. Editing RTFs
- B. List of Forms
- Index