US Patent Law for European Patent Professionals

United States patent law, like the European Patent Convention (EPC), is based on a hierarchical code of statutes, regulations and administrative guidelines. However, there are numerous important distinctions, knowledge of which is crucial to successfully protect and leverage intellectual property in the United States. In this highly practical, one-of-a-kind book, European patent professionals will find, detail by detail, exactly what is required at every stage of a patent proceedings in the United States. Using a directly comparative presentation, the coverage includes such details of patent law and procedure as the following: · drafting applications and filing them at the US Patent Office; · provisions of the America Invents Act of 2011; · possible responses to a Final Office Action; · US definitions of novelty and inventiveness; · types of patents recognized in the United States; · structure of the US Patent Office and the US court system; · variations in the definitions of basic patentability criteria; · types of US post-grant proceedings and third-party submissions; · appeal proceedings at the US Patent and Trademark Office; · inventors oath; · foreign filing license; · cost and time periods for various procedural acts; · the work of US patent attorneys, agents and examiners; · uses of the US Manual of Patent Examination Procedure (MPEP); and · the US provisional application procedure. Every step in the process is described and directly compared as it operates under both the EPC and US patent law. There is no other available source of such instantly accessible information for European patent lawyers, in-house counsel, or EPC or national patent office officials, to all of whom this book will be of immeasurable value and usefulness. Intellectual property law academics and students will also benefit from the books rigorous comparative approach.