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Intellectual Property Research: Patents

Patent Statutes

35 USC §1 et seq;  

Consolidated Patent laws: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/consolidated_laws.pdf   

LexisNexis: 15 USCS; Westlaw: USCA Title 35: Patents

See also 15 USC Ch 63 (Technology Innovation)

LexisNexis: Patent Law Statutes & Legislation

Westlaw: USCA-Title 35: Patents

Patent Law Treatises

Patent Law Interferences & Decisions

Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences

•Westlaw: FIP-BPAI

Commissioner of Patents / Director of the USPTO

•Westlaw: FIP-PTO

 

Sources of Patent Law

Statutes

Patent Act of 1790 – First Patent Act

Regulations

Chapter 37 Code of Federal Regulations:

Cases

Patent infringement cases arise under Federal patent law over which the Federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. See § 1338(a) of Title 28 of The United States Code.

Current Patent Law

Patent Act of 1952, 35 U.S.C. §§ 1-376 (2000), July 19, 1952, ch. 950, Pub. L. No. 82-593, 66 Stat. 792.

Eases the standard for patentability, abolished the requirement that invention occur in a “flash of creative genius”, made patents presumptively valid, defined the term process to include new uses of old inventions, and delineated and eased the patent misuse/contributory infringement standards.

Amendments to the Patent Act of 1952: 

•Process Patent Amendments Act of 1988, Pub. L. No. 100-418, 102 Stat. 1563 (1988). 
•Uruguay Round Agreements Act, Pub. L. No. 103-465, 108 Stat. 4989 (1994).
•American Inventors Protection Act of 1999, Pub. L. No. 106-287, 114 Stat. 909 (1999).
•Patent and Trademark Office Authorization Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-273, 116 Stat. 11758 (2002).
•Cooperative Research and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) Act, Pub. L. No. 108-453, 118 Stat. 3586 (2004).

Beginning your Research

Researching Patents

FreePatentsOnline and Google Patent Search let you search and retrieve the full text of patents. Additional free sources are posted at WPI Libguide

Other Relevant Patent Law Statutes

•added an "earlier invention" defense for business method patents; authorized Publication of US patent applications for foreign published applications; gave Patent term restoration for delays caused by the Patent and Trademark Office, and Disclosure Requirements for Invention Promotion Firms.
•(University and Small Business Patent Procedures Act) (1980), 35 U.S.C. § 200-212, 37 C.F.R. 401. gave US universities, small businesses and non-profits intellectual property control of their inventions and other intellectual property that resulted from such funding 
•(1951), 35 U.S.C. § 181–188. Designed to prevent disclosure of new inventions and technologies that, in the opinion of selected federal agencies, present a possible threat to the national security of the United States