1. Florida State University College of Law Research Center Research Workshop: Patent Law Research Presented by: Elizabeth Farrell Fall, 2007

2. Florida State University College of Law Research Center Patent Law Research Overview Patent law & practice in a nutshell Finding patents Patent-related legal materials Treatises & practice guides Current awareness tools

3. Florida State University College of Law Research Center Patent law & Practice in a nutshell Patents grant an inventor the right to exclude others from producing or using the inventor's discovery or invention for a limited period of time. Patent law is federal law and federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Patent infringement appeals go to the Federal Circuit. U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) is the federal agency charged with administering patent laws. Decisions of the USPTO can be appealed to the agency’s Board of Patent Appeals & Interferences (BPAI) 3 requirements for patentability: novelty, utility, non- obvious 3 types of patents: utility, design, plant Term of patent protection: 20 years from date of application (after 1995)

4. Florida State University College of Law Research Center Finding Patents Search full-text databases for key terms. Also can search by inventors, companies. Use patent classifications to guide your search –Index to US Patent Classification (alphabetical) –Manual of Classification (numerical)

5. Florida State University College of Law Research Center Finding Patents USPTO (free!): full-text & images, goes back to 1790 Lexis: full-text & images, goes back to 1790. Plus: PDF of official patents Westlaw: full-text & images, goes back to 1976. Google Patent: full-page images, back to 1790. No applications In print: find a patent depository library

6. Florida State University College of Law Research Center www.uspto.gov

7. Florida State University College of Law Research Center LexisNexis

8. Florida State University College of Law Research Center Official Patent PDFs available in Lexis

9. Florida State University College of Law Research Center Legal Materials Federal Statutes – Title 35, U.S.C. –Legislative histories of important patent legislation LN Congressional: US Serial Set Collection Chisum on Patents treatise Also: search law review articles Federal Regulations – Title 37, C.F.R. –Federal Register & Official Gazette of the USPTO –Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) >>>Secondary Source: Horowitz, Patent Office Rules & Practice Patent Office Rules & Practice - MPEP

10. Florida State University College of Law Research Center Legal Materials Agency Decisions – –USPTO Board of Patent Appeals & Interferences Decisions –USPTO Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks Decisions Court Decisions – –Federal District Courts > Federal Circuit (after 1982) > Supreme Court Sources: (coverage varies) Online – USPTO, Lexis, Westlaw, BNA Print – West Reporters, BNA’s USPQ

11. Florida State University College of Law Research Center Treatises & practice guides >>>Lots of great secondary sources<<< Chisum on Patents (Lexis) Moy's Walker on Patents (West) Landis on Mechanics of Patent Claim Drafting (LN & WL) Patent Law Practice Forms (West)

12. Florida State University College of Law Research Center Current Awareness Tools BNA Newsletters –Patent, Trademark & Copyright Daily –BioTech Watch –World IP Report Mealey’s Newsletters (Lexis) USPTO’s Official Gazette Patent law blogs –http://blawgsearch.justia.com/ –http://www.blawg.com/

13. Florida State University College of Law Research Center Questions?