Patent Law Firm
KWD: 12/460 = 2.60%
Patent Law Firm
Patent law firms are skilled and experienced in the procedures of the U.S. Patent. Patent law firms can provide inventors with insightful advice on how to go about their patent application and what it takes to make the patent application successful. Patent law firms can provide highly specialized support in all areas of patent law, including the application work and preparation for patents, patent licensing and patent infringement litigation (at both the trial court and appellate levels). Lawyers for patent law firms often have intimate working knowledge of the technology and the law in order to obtain the maximum benefit and protection that they afford.
The work of patent law firms start when the inventor describes his invention. Patent law firms evaluate the utility, novelty and obviousness of the invention, and based on that evaluation, advises the client as to whether a patent application should be filed on the invention. The evaluation generally consists of an in-depth investigation into the technical field involved, including study of the closest prior patents and references and a comparison with the invention to identify differences.
If the decision is to apply for a patent, the patent law firm drafts a patent application for filing in the USPTO. After the application has been filed in the USPTO, it is assigned to a patent examiner, and the issues surrounding patentability are defined. The patent law firm seeks to obtain favorable final action for the applicant. If the patent law firm succeeds, a patent issues on the application, conferring on the patent owner the right to exclude others from making, using and selling the invention in the U.S. for a term which is normally twenty years for the date of filing of the patent application, unless extended under certain exceptional circumstances. On the other hand, if the examiner decides that the invention is not patentable, the applicant, with the lawyer’s assistance, may appeal the decision to the USPTO’s Board of Appeals. If the Board’s decision is unfavorable, a further appeal may be taken to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
In court, throughout the trial and discovery phases, knowledge of technology and of the patent law is obviously important. Only those in patent law firms that understand the technology should be entrusted with evaluating technical documents and interrogating technically trained witnesses. Moreover, unless the attorney understands the subtleties of patent law, he or she may not grasp the significance of the documents and testimony being obtained.
Most patent law firms have relationships with foreign patent firms throughout the world. These foreign associates assist in the international filings of patent applications on behalf of their clients including national stages for applications filed under the Patent Cooperative Treaty, as well as direct filings.