intellectual property boston college law school february 11, 2009 patent - subject matter, utility
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Intellectual Property
Boston College Law School
February 11, 2009
Patent - Subject Matter, Utility
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Historical Background
• 1474 – Venetian Senate Act• 1500s – English Patent Acts• 1600s – Colonial Patent Acts• 1790 – First U.S. Patent Act• 1863 – Major Revision of Act• 1952 – Current Patent Act
– 1960s – Low water mark for enforcement
– 1982 – Creation of Federal Circuit
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Requirements
• (1) Patentable Subject Matter
• (2) Novelty
• (3) Utility
• (4) Nonobviousness
• (5) Enablement
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Rights Obtained• Rights
– Prevent others from: • making, using, selling• offering for sale, importing
– Independent invention is not a defense
• Term – 20 years from date of application– Formerly 17 years from issuance
• Approval– Must get approval from U.S. PTO
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Approval Process
• File application w/ PTO
• Review by PTO for patentability
• Back and forth between applicant and PTO
• Publication of some patent applications
• Issuance or rejection of patent
• Appeal to review board, CAFC
• Reexamination procedure
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Sample Patent
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Theories
• Economic theory– Solve basic public goods problem
– Questions re: proper scope and structure• Benefits?
– Incentives for inventive activity
– Disclosure of inventions
• Costs?– Higher prices for consumers
– Restrict other inventors who build on invention
– Licensing costs
– Administrative costs
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Subject Matter
• 35 U.S.C. § 101– “any … process, machine, manufacture, …
composition of matter, or … improvement thereof.”
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Diamond v. Chakrabarty
• Three claims– Process for producing
bacterium
– Combination of bacterium & carrier
– Bacterium itself
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Subject Matter
• Not patentable subject matter– Laws of nature– Physical phenomena– Abstract ideas– Printed matter
• Formerly not patentable; now patentable– Software– Business methods
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State Street Bank v. Signature
PooledMutualFund
A data processing system …comprising: (a) a computer processor means for processing data; (b) storage means for storing data …; (c) first means for initializing the storage medium; (d) second means for processing data regarding assets in the portfolio and each of the funds from a previous day and data regarding increases or decreases in each of the funds’ assets and allocating the percentage share that each fund holds in the portfolio; ….
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Business Method Patents?
• Should business methods be patentable?
• Some hypotheticals:– FedEx overnight delivery?
– Netflix DVD rental?
– New type of tax shelter?
– More efficient athletic maneuver?
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Requirements
• (1) Patentable Subject Matter
• (2) Novelty
• (3) Utility
• (4) Nonobviousness
• (5) Enablement
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Utility
• General Utility
• Specific Utility
• Moral Utility
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Utility?
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Utility?
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Administrative
• Next Assignment– Read into IV.B.4 – Nonobviousness
• Through “Combining References”