The document is a presentation about patent basics given by Peter Grant, a librarian. It covers types of intellectual property including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. It defines these concepts and provides examples. It discusses the three types of patents - utility patents, design patents, and plant patents. It also covers provisional patent applications, patent costs, the patent process, filing strategies, and free search tools on the USPTO website like APPFT, PATFT, and PAIR.
Tech Startup Growth Hacking 101 - Basics on Growth Marketing
Patent Basics Presentation Mesa Thinkspot 2016
1. Arizona State Library,
Archives and Public
Records
Presented by:
Peter Grant, Librarian
State Library, Archives & Public Records, a division of the Secretary of State
PATENT BASICS 2016
2. Arizona State Library,
Archives and Public
Records
OUTLINE
Types of intellectual property
Requirements for patentability
3 types of patents
Provisional applications
What it costs
Steps
Search
Sources for free help
Tips for working with an attorney or agent
3. Arizona State Library,
Archives and Public
Records
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Four basic types:
Trademarks
Copyrights
Trade Secrets
Patents
5. Arizona State Library,
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Records
WHAT IS A TRADEMARK?
A trademark or service mark includes any word,
name, symbol, device, or any combination, used
or intended to be used to identify and
distinguish the goods/services of one seller or
provider from those of others, and to indicate
the source of the goods/services.
Lanham Act (Trademark Act of 1946). Passed
by Congress on July 5, 1946. Took effect July 5,
1947
8. Arizona State Library,
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WHAT IS A COPYRIGHT?
“Copyright is a form of protection provided to the
authors of "original works of authorship" including
literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other
intellectual works, both published and unpublished.”
“The copyright protects the form of expression rather
than the subject matter of the writing.”
U.S. Constitution: Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8
“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.”
9. Arizona State Library,
Archives and Public
Records
WHAT IS A COPYRIGHT?
Sonnett Number 18
William Shakespeare
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of
May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course
untrimmed:
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,
Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his
shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st,
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
11. Arizona State Library,
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WHAT IS A TRADE SECRET?
“all forms and types of financial, business, scientific, technical, economic, or
engineering information, including patterns, plans, compilations, program
devices, formulas, designs, prototypes, methods, techniques, processes,
procedures, programs, or codes, whether tangible or intangible, and whether or
how stored, compiled, or memorialized physically, electronically, graphically,
photographically, or in writing if—
(A) the owner thereof has taken reasonable measures to keep such information
secret; and
(B) the information derives independent economic value, actual or potential,
from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable through
proper means by, the another person who can obtain economic value from the
disclosure or use of the information.”
Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016
14. Arizona State Library,
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WHAT IS A PATENT?
The grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the
United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A patent obtained in the U.S. gives the patent holder the
right, for a limited time, to exclude others from making,
using, offering to sell, selling, or importing into the U.S.
the subject matter that is within the scope of protection
granted by the patent.
U.S. Constitution: Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8
“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.”
15. Arizona State Library,
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Records
WHAT DOES A PATENT COVER?
“…any new and useful process,
machine, article of manufacture, or
composition of matter, or any new
and useful improvement thereof…”
16. Arizona State Library,
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PATENTABILITY REQUIREMENTS
“…any new and useful process, machine, article
of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any
new and useful improvement thereof…”
Process - a process, act, or method, and
primarily includes industrial or technical
processes
Composition of matter - chemical compositions
and may include mixtures of ingredients as well
as new chemical compounds
17. Arizona State Library,
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NOVELTY
“the claimed invention was patented,
described in a printed publication, or in public
use, on sale, or otherwise available to the
public before the effective filing date of the
claimed invention”
“the claimed invention was described in a
patent issued [by the U.S.] or in an
application for patent published or deemed
published [by the U.S.], in which the patent or
application, as the case may be, names
another inventor and was effectively filed
before the effective filing date of the claimed
invention.”
18. Arizona State Library,
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NON-OBVIOUSNESS
“…must be sufficiently different from what
has been used or described before that it
may be said to be non-obvious to a person
having ordinary skill in the area of technology
related to the invention.”
“For example, the substitution of one color
for another, or changes in size, are ordinarily
not patentable.”
19. Arizona State Library,
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NON-OBVIOUSNESS
“…Nikon does not
explain
persuasively why a
person of ordinary
skill in the art could
not have....”
Case IPR2013-
00362 (p26)
20. Arizona State Library,
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WHAT CANNOT BE PATENTED
Laws of nature
Physical phenomena
Abstract ideas
Mere ideas or suggestions
“A complete description of the actual
machine or other subject matter for which
a patent is sought is required”
21. Arizona State Library,
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SOUNDEX
“Index where names entered are
grouped phonetically, rather than
alphabetically”
“Names with the same sound, but
different spellings will be grouped
together”
Stewart = S363
Stuart = S363
1 = b, f, p, v
2 = c, g, j, k, q, s, x, z
3 = d, t
4 = l
5 = m, n
6 = r
24. Arizona State Library,
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UTILITY
…may be granted to
anyone who invents or
discovers any new and
useful process,
machine, article of
manufacture, or
composition of matter,
or any new and useful
improvement thereof;
Term: 20 years from
date of filing
25. Arizona State Library,
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DESIGN
…may be granted to
anyone who invents a
new, original, and
ornamental design for
an article of
manufacture;
Term: 15 years from
date of filing
Patent Law Treaties Implementation Act
(PLTIA) of 2012
26. Arizona State Library,
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PLANT
…may be granted to anyone who
invents or discovers and asexually
reproduces any distinct and new
variety of plant
Rooting Cuttings
Grafting and Budding
Bulbs
Apomictic Seeds
Division
Slips
Rhizomes
Corms
Nucellar Embryos
Tissue Culture
Runners
Term: 20 years from date of filing
“The present invention has been found to
retain its distinctive characteristics
through successive asexual propagations
via stolons.”
-US PP24,512
27. Arizona State Library,
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PLANT
PLANT PATENT (USPTO)
U.S. Plant Protection Act of
1930
Asexually reproduced
(excluding tuber)
20 years
PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION ACT (USDA)
Plant Variety Protection Act
of 1970
Sexually reproduced
(including tubers)
20 years
29. Arizona State Library,
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PROVISIONAL PATENT APPLICATION
Is not a “provisional patent”
Is not examined
Not required to have a formal patent claim
Provides the means to establish an early effective
filing date in a later filed nonprovisional patent
application
Allows the term "Patent Pending" to be applied in
connection with the description of the invention
Utility only – no provisional design patents
12 months from the date the provisional application is
filed
30. Arizona State Library,
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PROVISIONAL PATENT APPLICATION
To be complete, a provisional application must
also include the filing fee as set forth in 37 CFR
1.16(d) and a cover sheet identifying:
the application as a provisional application for patent;
the name(s) of all inventors;
inventor residence(s);
title of the invention;
name and registration number of attorney or agent and
docket number (if applicable);
correspondence address; and
any U.S. Government agency that has a property interest
in the application.
31. Arizona State Library,
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PROVISIONAL PATENT APPLICATION
“A filing date will be accorded to a provisional application only when
it contains a written description of the invention, complying with all
requirements of 35 U.S.C. §112(a).”
35 U.S.C. §112(a)”
In General.— The specification shall contain a written description of
the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it,
in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person
skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly
connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best
mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out
the invention.
http://www.uspto.gov/patents-getting-started/patent-basics/types-
patent-applications/provisional-application-patent
35. Arizona State Library,
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USPTO FEES
Regular Small Micro
Filing:
Provisional
$260 $130 $65 (optional)
Filing: Non-
provisional utility
$280 $70 $70
Search Fee $600 $300 $150
Examination Fee $720 $360 $180
Issue fee $960 $480 $240 ($640)
Maintenance
Fee 3.5 years
$1600 $800 $400
Maintenance
Fee 7.5 years
$3600 $1800 $900
Maintenance
Fee 11.5 years
$7400 ($15420) $3700 $1850 ($3790)
36. Arizona State Library,
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MICRO ENTITY
Qualify as a USPTO-defined small entity.
Not be named on more than four previously filed
applications.
Not have a gross income more than three times
the median household income in the previous
year from when the fee(s) is paid.*
Not be under an obligation to assign, grant, or
convey a license or other ownership to another
entity that does not meet the same income
requirements as the inventor. *2014 Median household income: $53,657
(Reported by U.S. Census, September
2015)
37. Arizona State Library,
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ATTORNEY FEES
Attorney Rate (Median 2012)
All $350 / hr.
Private firm partner $425 / hr.
Solo practitioner $288 / hr.
Original nonprovisional
application on invention of
minimal complexity
$6500
US design patent
application
$1500
Novelty Search $2000
AIPLA Report of the Economic Survey 2013
38. Arizona State Library,
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WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
ATTORNEYS AGENTS
*USPTO June, 2016
33,354* 11,103*
Passed the Patent Bar
(Technical qualification)
Passed the Patent Bar
(Technical qualification)
Passed a state bar No state-level licensure
Juris Doctorate degree No Juris Doctorate
Patents, trademarks,
contracts, court proceedings
Patent prosecution only
40. Arizona State Library,
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PATENT PROCESS
1. Search
2. Type of patent / application
3. Filing strategy
4. Drafting of application
5. USPTO examines
application
6. Patent is granted
http://www.uspto.gov/patents-getting-
started/patent-process-overview#step1
http://www.uspto.gov/patents-getting-started/patent-basics/types-patent-applications/utility-patent/patent-process-0
42. Arizona State Library,
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FILING STRATEGIES
Faster Examinations - USPTO
Petition to make special: Age and Health
Prioritized Examination
Accelerated Examination
Expedited Examination of a Design
43. Arizona State Library,
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FILING STRATEGIES
Prioritized
Examination
Accelerated
Examination
Expedited
Examination of a
Design
Placed ahead of
other filings
Ahead of other
filings and faster
examination
process
Ahead of other
filings and faster
examination
process
No pre-exam
search
Pre-examination
search required
Pre-examination
search required
Non-provisional
Utility only
Non-provisional
Utility only
Design
44. Arizona State Library,
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FILING STRATEGIES
Foreign Filings
PCT Application
Common application for 148 countries
Where do you plan to make it?
Where do you plan to sell it?
47. Arizona State Library,
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APPFT - HTTP://PATFT.USPTO.GOV/
Published patent
applications
All published patent
applications since
March 2001
All patent
applications are
automatically
published after 18
months, unless
applicant opts-out
(5.9%)
Coverage
48. Arizona State Library,
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PATFT - HTTP://PATFT.USPTO.GOV/
Published United
States Patents
Full text searching
1976-present
1790-1975
searchable by Issue
Date, Patent
Number, and Current
Classification
Coverage
49. Arizona State Library,
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PATFT - HTTP://PATFT.USPTO.GOV/
Quick search (choose
field)
Advanced Search
(build a query)
Search field
explanations and
search tips
Help
Features
50. Arizona State Library,
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PUBLIC PAIR - HTTP://PORTAL.USPTO.GOV/PAIR/PUBLICPAIR
Issued or published
patent applications
Foreign priority
documents referred
to by a U.S.
application
2001-present
Patent “wrap”
Application
Examiner search
Correspondence
Coverage
51. Arizona State Library,
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PUBLIC PAIR - HTTP://PORTAL.USPTO.GOV/PAIR/PUBLICPAIR
Retrieve by:
Application
Number
Patent
Number
PCT Number
Publication
Number
International
Design
Registration
Number
Features
52. Arizona State Library,
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NON-USPTO: ESPACENET, FREEPATENTS ONLINE
AND LENS
Free resources for your patent search
53. Arizona State Library,
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ESPACENET - HTTP://HTTP://WORLDWIDE.ESPACENET.COM/
Can search
CPC scheme
with
keywords
Help
Features
54. Arizona State Library,
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FREE PATENTS ONLINE
Search
tutorial: step-
by-step
Glossary
Alerts to new
patents
Features
55. Arizona State Library,
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THE LENS
Represents data
graphically
User-friendly
structured search
form
Hyperlinks to non-
patent literature (5
million)
Knowledge
database
Features
Patent Knowledge Quiz
How To Read a Patent
Boolean Logic Tutorial
57. Arizona State Library,
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KEYWORDS
Too broad
Too narrow
British spellings or
terms
Typos or OCR errors
Multiple meanings
Term of art may not
be used
Term of art may not
yet exist
Photo Credit:
Aqazi1411
Photo Credit: Albert Jankowski
58. Arizona State Library,
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MULTIPLE TERMS
Automobile
Vehicle body
Vehicle exterior
Vehicle
Passenger car
Automobile vehicle
Portion of a vehicle exterior
Motor car
Motor vehicle body
Motorcar
Sports car
Motor-vehicle
Exterior surface configuration of a vehicle
Surface configuration of a vehicle body
Surface configuration of a vehicle, toy and miscellaneous consumer products
incorporating the design
Design patent titles
59. Arizona State Library,
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CLASSIFICATION
Allows you to find
all of the patents in
a class together
Three major
systems
CPC
USPC
Locarno
61. Arizona State Library,
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CPC
Cooperative Patent Classification
System
All U.S. utility patents issued from
January 2015 CPC only
Used for U.S. Patents from January
2013
85% of world’s patents
http://www.cooperativepatentclassificatio
n.org/
63. Arizona State Library,
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USPC
United States Patent Classification
System
All U.S. patents issued up to January
2013
Concurrent with CPC until January 2015
Used for U.S. Design Patents
Static (No new classes being added)
http://www.uspto.gov/patents-application-
process/patent-search/classification-
standards-and-development
65. Arizona State Library,
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LOCARNO
Also known as the International Classification
of Industrial Designs
Began 1968, now on the 10th edition
32 classes, 219 subclasses
Alphabetical list of 7157 goods
Used by 53 countries (June 2014)
Hague Express database
http://www.wipo.int/classifications/locarno/en/
68. Arizona State Library,
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PATENT PRO BONO PROGRAM
Covers all 50 states
Administered through regional offices
Attorney or agent will draft and prosecute
your patent at no charge (USPTO fees still
apply)
http://www.uspto.gov/patents-getting-
started/using-legal-services/pro-
bono/inventors
http://www.calawyersforthearts.org/CIAP
69. Arizona State Library,
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PATENT LAW CLINIC
Lisa Foundation Patent Law Clinic (ASU)
Law students (under faculty supervision)
https://www.law.asu.edu/clinics/TheClinicalPr
ogram/LisaFoundationPatentLawClinic.aspx
70. Arizona State Library,
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PRO SE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Does not provide legal advice or draft your
patent
Dedicated personnel for assisting pro se
applicants
In-person assistance for the general public at
USPTO Headquarters
Targeted support to connect applicants with
relevant resources and information
http://www.uspto.gov/patents-getting-
started/using-legal-services/pro-se-assistance-
program
72. Arizona State Library,
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WORKING WITH AN ATTORNEY
How many patents have you
prosecuted?
What are the estimated costs?
How will you keep me
informed?
Do you have references?
http://www.uspto.gov/ip/boards/
oed/practitioner/agents/index.js
p
73. Arizona State Library,
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WORKING WITH AN ATTORNEY
Can search issued
patents by attorney,
agent or firm
Link on the
advanced search
page of PatFT for
how to structure
May be under
individual’s or firm’s
name (or both)