Patent Law

This course provides an in-depth study of the substantive patent law of the U.S. Although the Patent Office procedure to obtain a patent is not covered in this course, the conditions for a valid patent are reviewed, such as inventorship, the date of the invention, the novelty requirement, statutory bars other than novelty, and the requirements of utility and non-obviousness are explored. The types of patentable subject matter, what constitutes infringement of a patent, and the litigation procedures, remedies, defenses, and judgments as they relate to patent infringement matters are reviewed. Various property and contract interests in patents and inventions such as assignments, licensing, recording, and shop rights are studied, as are antitrust, misuse, and fraud insofar as they may limit patent owners' rights.