PUBPAT RELEASES FREE FINDING PRIOR ART FOR AN ISSUED PATENT PROGRAM

Transcription

1 PUBPAT RELEASES FREE PROGRAM NEW YORK -- May 11, The ("PUBPAT") released a free program today that details how to find prior art for issued patents. The hour long audio recording with supporting written materials uses a model patent as the basis for examples during the session. PUBPAT's program is made available as part of the organization's ongoing efforts to inform the public and provide advocacy about the patent system. "One of the biggest problems with the patent system today is that it is not capable of being easily understood by the general public, because it has been intentionally made overly confusing and complex, highly non-intuitive, and extremely expensive for anyone to know what it all means and how patents impact them," said Dan Ravicher, PUBPAT's Executive Director and the author of the Finding Prior Art for an Issued Patent program. "The program we released today is one way in which PUBPAT is enabling the general public to better understand the patent system and defend itself from the harms caused by wrongly issued patents." More information about PUBPAT's education and advocacy activities, including links to the Finding Prior Art for an Issued Patent program, can be found at PUBPAT > Educating and Advocating [Pior art athttp:// ### Publisher s Note The referenced slides follow this press release. The audio can be accessed through the Audio bookmark. From pubpat.org/finding_prior_art.htm 1 16 August 2006

2 FINDING PRIOR ART FOR AN ISSUED PATENT Executive Director 1375 Broadway, Suite 600 New York, NY (212) (212) fax

3 Overview Identifying the Target Types of Prior Art Searching for Prior Art

4 Identifying the Target Patent Claims and Specification File History Extrinsic Evidence

5 Patent Claims and Specification U.S. Pat. No. 6,592,925, Drantch et al. What is claimed is 1. An edible dough product, comprising an edible dough free from particles, comprising a fat selected from a group consisting of one or more of a single fractionated fat, a double fractionated fat, cocoa butter or mixtures of a single fractionated fat, a double fractionated fat and cocoa butter wherein the fat selected has an SFI falling within one or more of the following ranges: [ranges].

6 Patent Claims and Specification U.S. Pat. No. 6,592,925, Drantch et al. What is claimed is 1. An edible dough product, comprising an edible dough free from particles, comprising a fat selected from a group consisting of one or more of a single fractionated fat a double fractionated fat cocoa butter or mixtures of a single fractionated fat, a double fractionated fat and cocoa butter wherein the fat selected has an SFI falling within one or more of the following ranges: [ranges].

7 Patent Claims and Specification U.S. Pat. No. 6,592,925, Drantch et al. - Column 3, lines 64-67: As used herein, the term "fat bearing particle" refers to chocolate chips, flavor chips and other particles having a confectionery fat concentration of about 27 to 28% by weight. - Column 5, lines 28-29: Another term describing melt profile is SFI, that is solid fat index.

8 Further Defining the Patent Claims File History Extrinsic Evidence Dictionaries Prior Art Experts

9 Types of Prior Art Prior Invention: 102(a) Accessible to the Public for a Year: 102(b) Prior Application: 102(e) Obviousness: 103 Double Patenting: 101 and Obviousness-Type

10 102 Prior Art 102(a): Prior to Target Invention Date: known or used by others in this country, or patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country Determining Target's Invention Date Inherent uncertainty / susceptibility

11 102 Prior Art 102(b): More than 1 Year Prior to Target Application Date: patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country or in public use or on sale in this country Determining Target's Application Date

12 102 Prior Art 102(e): Prior to Target Invention Date: an application for patent filed by another in the United States that resulted in a granted patent Determining By another

13 102 Prior Art: A Comparison Target: App. Dt ; Issue Dt [irrelevant] Reference 1 (App. Dt ; Issue Dt ) Prior Art under 102(a), (b), or (e) Reference 2 (App. Dt ; Issue Dt ) Prior Art under 102(a) or (e), but not (b) Reference 3 (App. Dt ; Issue Dt ) Prior Art under 102(e) only, not (a) or (b)

14 103 Obviousness A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious (i) at the time the invention was made and (ii) to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains.... Defining identically disclosed : Obviousness vs. Inherency

15 103 Obviousness Exception for 102(e) art: Subject matter developed by another person, which qualifies as prior art only under.. subsection[] (e)... of section 102 of this title, shall not preclude patentability under this section where the subject matter and the claimed invention were, at the time the invention was made, owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person. Determining Same person

16 Double Patenting Same Invention (101): Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title. Obviousness-Type (courts)

17 Searching for Prior Art Available Databases and Tools Ways to Find Patent Prior Art Ways to Find Publication Prior Art

18 Searching for Prior Art Available Databases and Tools Free USPTO: EPO: ep.espacenet.com Aggregation: For Fee M CAM DOORS : Lexis / Westlaw

19 Searching for Prior Art Ways to Find Patent Prior Art Boolean Classification Relational Ways to Find Publication Prior Art Boolean Relational

20 Review Identifying the Target Types of Prior Art Searching for Prior Art

21 Thank You Executive Director 1375 Broadway, Suite 600 New York, NY (212) (212) fax

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32