I Just Invented

I Just Invented a Generally Spherical Object with Floppy Filaments to Promote Sure Capture. Now What Do I Do? John Meier Science Librarian Pennsylvania State University

“ The Congress shall have the power to promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.” U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 8

Limited Time Is 20 Years for Utility Patents

So…
How to search patents for research or as an inventor?
How do you get a patent?
Resources available at the PTDL in the Physical and Mathematical Sciences Library on campus in 201 Davey Lab

Why search patents?
To find out whether something is patentable
To discover what resources are needed
To learn how things work
To revisit answers that others have found to your own technological questions.
To identify a research direction taken by a specific company or inventor
To research the history of inventions and inventors

Can’t I just browse through all the patents?
Not through more than 7,000,000 patents!
Starting on January 1st , and using 40-hour work weeks. A person browsing one patent per second would reach U.S. patent number 7,000,000 by...
The beginning of December!

Parts of a Patent
The “Front Page”
Patent Number
Filing Date and Issue Date
Title of the Invention
Inventor(s)
Assignee(s)
Field of Search and References Cited
Representative Drawing

Parts of a Patent
The Disclosure
Drawings (as needed for clarity)
Background of the Invention
Brief Summary of the Invention
Detailed Description of the Invention
Claim(s)

Search Tools
CASSIS or PubWEST – Computer software available at Patent Depository Libraries
U.S. PTO Website – Free database of U.S. patents – limited searching
esp@cenet – European patent office website that provides a search engine of worldwide patents
Google Patents – Full text searching of all patents along with PDF files for downloading

How to search? The 7 Step Strategy!
Classification
1. Brainstorm keywords related to the purpose, use and composition of the invention.
2. Look up the words in the Index to the U.S. Patent Classification to find potential class/subclasses.
http://www.uspto.gov/go/classification/uspcindex/indextouspc.htm
3. Verify the relevancy of the class/subclasses by using the Classification Schedule in the Manual of Classification .
http://www.uspto.gov/go/classification/
4. Read the Classification Definitions to verify the scope of the subclasses and note “see also” references

How to search? The 7 Step Strategy!
Access Full-Text
5. Search the Issued Patents and the Published Applications databases by “Current US Classification” and access full-text patents and published applications.
http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html
Review and References
6. Review the claims, specifications and drawings of documents retrieved for relevancy.
7. Check all references and note the “U.S. Cl.” and “Field of Search” areas for additional class/subclasses to search.

Invent something
Be the first to invent in the U.S. to receive a patent
Document your discovery (notebook, witness)
Explain how it works
Detailed written description
Drawings if necessary to understand the invention
As soon as you want to start the clock
File a Provisional Patent Application

First, search to see if your invention is novel
Look in the patent literature
Also look in non-patent literature in the subject such as trade journals, scholarly articles and newspapers
File a non-provisional Patent Application
Complete all the required elements
Claims are the legal scope of the patent
At every stage pay fees and respond to Office Actions!

How long does it take?
Application Filed
First Office Action Received
Response to Office Action Filed
Patent Allowed
Patent Issued
At this time it takes an average of 22 months .

How much does it cost?
The cost to obtain a U. S. Patent is about $20,000 (highly variable)
The U.S. PTO estimates a minimum of $4,000 over the life of the patent
Foreign patents can raise the expense to over $100,000 very easily
The patent holder is responsible for bringing legal suit against infringement. Cases are very slow and very expensive, costing millions of $$

Benefits
They give the inventor the opportunity to produce and market the invention himself, or license others to do so, and to make a profit .
A license agreement allows the patent owner to grant rights to a commercial entity that wishes to practice the patent in return for payment.
License enforcement can include collection of fees and royalties, auditing as needed, due diligence, renegotiation, termination, etc

Resources available at the PTDL

Resources available at the PTDL
CASSIS
PubWEST
Publications of the USPTO
Patent print indexes (historical)
Handouts and help sheets
Fee information (up to date)
Books on patents and inventing (not available to check out)

Websites Penn State University Libraries Patents Research Guide http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/findmaterials/patents.html Lisa Brownlee’s Following the Law blog, Centre Daily Times http://community.centredaily.com/?q=node/6190 US Patent and Trademark Office – Inventor Resources http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/iip/index.htm

I Just Invented

by John Meier on Oct 28, 2008

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