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History Of United States Patent Law
The history of United States patent law started even before the U.S. Constitution was adopted, with some state-specific patent laws. The history spans over more than three centuries. Background The oldest form of a patent was seen in Medieval times. Medieval rulers would grant an exclusive right to a "monopoly." This was sometimes an attempt to raise funds without taxing, although taxes were still imposed. In England such grants took the form of " letters patent", issued by the sovereign to inventors who petitioned and were approved: a grant of 1331 to John Kempe and his company is the earliest authenticated instance of a royal grant made with the avowed purpose of instructing the English in a new industry. In 1474, in Venice, the first known patent law that granted inventors exclusive rights to their inventions was passed as a result of an economic policy. Thereafter, patents were a formal means of granting and restricting monopolies in Europe. The Venice statute had all the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A patent is not the grant of a right to make or use or sell. It does not, directly or indirectly, imply any such right. It grants only the right to exclude others. The supposition that a right to make is created by the patent grant is obviously inconsistent with the established distinctions between generic and specific patents, and with the well-known fact that a very considerable portion of the patents granted are in a field covered by a former relatively generic or basic patent, are tributary to such earlier patent, and cannot be practiced unless by license thereunder." – ''Herman v. Youngstown Car Mfg. Co.'', 191 F. 579, 584–85, 112 CCA 185 (6th Cir. 1911) In most countries, patent rights fall under private law and the patent holder mus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1836 U
Events January–March * January 1 – Queen Maria II of Portugal marries Prince Ferdinand Augustus Francis Anthony of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. * January 5 – Davy Crockett arrives in Texas. * January 12 ** , with Charles Darwin on board, reaches Sydney. ** Will County, Illinois, is formed. * February 8 – London and Greenwich Railway opens its first section, the first railway in London, England. * February 16 – A fire at the Lahaman Theatre in Saint Petersburg kills 126 people."Fires, Great", in ''The Insurance Cyclopeadia: Being an Historical Treasury of Events and Circumstances Connected with the Origin and Progress of Insurance'', Cornelius Walford, ed. (C. and E. Layton, 1876) p76 * February 23 – Texas Revolution: The Battle of the Alamo begins, with an American settler army surrounded by the Mexican Army, under Santa Anna. * February 25 – Samuel Colt receives a United States patent for the Colt revolver, the first revolving barrel multishot firearm. * March 1 – ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1836 Patent Act
The Patent Act of 1836 () established a number of important changes in the United States patent system. These include: *The examination of patent applications prior to issuing a patent. This was the second time this was done anywhere in the world. The only other time an examination period existed prior to this act was in the United States from 1790 to 1793 under the Patent Act of 1790. Prior to this, patents were issued on all applications, even if they were direct copies of earlier patents.Waltersheid, Edward C. (1998) ''To Promote the Progress of Useful Arts, American Patent Law and Administration'' Littleton: Rothman pp 3. It was left to the courts to decide validity in the event of a lawsuit. *The option of extending an existing patent's term for an additional seven years, making the maximum term of patent 21 years. (This was abolished in 1861 and replaced with a single 17-year term.) *The hiring of professional patent examiners. Initially only one examiner was hired, but soo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1790 Patent Act
The Patent Act of 1790 () was the first patent statute passed by the federal government of the United States. It was enacted on April 10, 1790, about one year after the constitution was ratified and a new government was organized. The law was concise, defining the subject matter of a U.S. patent as "any useful art, manufacture, engine, machine, or device, or any improvement there on not before known or used."U.S. Patent System Celebrates 212 Years''”. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. 9 Apr. 2002 It granted the applicant the "sole and exclusive right and liberty of making, constructing, using and vending to others to be used" of his invention. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interference Proceedings
An interference proceeding, also known as a priority contest, is an inter partes proceeding to determine the priority issues of multiple patent applications. It is a proceeding unique to the patent law of the United States. Unlike in most other countries, which have long had a first-to-file system, until the enactment of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) in 2011, the United States operated under a first-to-invent. The interference proceeding determines which of several patent applications had been made by the first inventor. The AIA switched the US to a first-to-file regime effective March 16, 2013, and interferences apply only to patent applications with an effective filing date prior to that change. Definition An interference proceeding is an administrative proceeding conducted by a panel of administrative patent judges ( administrative law judges sitting on the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First To File And First To Invent
First to file (FTF) and first to invent (FTI) are legal concepts that define who has the right to the grant of a patent for an invention. The first-to-file system is used in all countries. There is an important difference between the strict nature of the FTF under the European Patent Office, European Patent Office (EPO) and the FITF (First inventor to file) system of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The USPTO FITF system affords early disclosers some "grace" time before they need to file a patent, whereas the EPO does not recognise any grace period, so early disclosure under the FITF provisions is an absolute bar to later EPO patent. First to file In a first-to-file system, the right to the grant of a patent for a given invention lies with the first person to file a patent application for protection of that invention, regardless of the date of actual invention. First to disclose The concept of a grace period ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leahy–Smith America Invents Act
The Leahy–Smith America Invents Act (AIA) is a United States federal statute that was passed by Congress and was signed into law by President Barack Obama on September 16, 2011. The law represents the most significant legislative change to the U.S. patent system since the Patent Act of 1952 and closely resembles previously proposed legislation in the Senate in its previous session (Patent Reform Act of 2009). Named for its lead sponsors, Sen. Patrick Leahy ( D- VT) and Rep. Lamar Smith ( R- TX), the Act switches the U.S. patent system from a "first to invent" to a "first inventor to file" system, eliminates interference proceedings, and develops post-grant opposition. Its central provisions went into effect on September 16, 2012 and on March 16, 2013. Provisions First to file and grace period The law switched the U.S. rights to a patent from the previous "first-to-invent" system to a " first inventor-to-file" system for patent applications filed on or after March 16, 2013. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Court Of Appeals For The Federal Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (in case citations, Fed. Cir. or C.A.F.C.) is a United States court of appeals that has special appellate jurisdiction over certain types of specialized cases in the Federal judiciary of the United States, U.S. federal court system. It has exclusive appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal cases involving patents, trademarks, government procurement, government contracts, veterans' benefits, public safety officers' benefits, federal employees' benefits, and various other categories. Unlike other federal courts, the Federal Circuit has no jurisdiction over cases involving Federal crime in the United States, criminal, Bankruptcy in the United States, bankruptcy, Immigration to the United States, immigration, or State law (United States), U.S. state law. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Federal Circuit was created in 1982 with passage of the Federal Courts Improvement Act, which merged the United States Court of Cus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patent Act Of 1952
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A patent is not the grant of a right to make or use or sell. It does not, directly or indirectly, imply any such right. It grants only the right to exclude others. The supposition that a right to make is created by the patent grant is obviously inconsistent with the established distinctions between generic and specific patents, and with the well-known fact that a very considerable portion of the patents granted are in a field covered by a former relatively generic or basic patent, are tributary to such earlier patent, and cannot be practiced unless by license thereunder." – ''Herman v. Youngstown Car Mfg. Co.'', 191 F. 579, 584–85, 112 CCA 185 (6th Cir. 1911) In most countries, patent rights fall under private law and the patent holder mus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Department Of Commerce
The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for business and government decision making, and helping to set industrial standards. Its main purpose is to create jobs, promote economic growth, encourage sustainable development and block harmful trade practices of other nations.Steve Charnovitz, "Reinventing the Commerce Dept.", ''Journal of Commerce'', July 12, 1995. It is headed by the Secretary of Commerce, who reports directly to the President of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet. The Department of Commerce is headquartered in the Herbert C. Hoover Building in Washington, DC. History Organizational history The department was originally created as the United States Department of Commerce and Labor on February 14, 1903. It was subsequently renamed the Departme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagion began around September and led to the Wall Street stock market crash of October 24 (Black Thursday). It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. Between 1929 and 1932, worldwide gross domestic product (GDP) fell by an estimated 15%. By comparison, worldwide GDP fell by less than 1% from 2008 to 2009 during the Great Recession. Some economies started to recover by the mid-1930s. However, in many countries, the negative effects of the Great Depression lasted until the beginning of World War II. Devastating effects were seen in both rich and poor countries with falling personal income, prices, tax revenues, and profits. International trade fell by more than 50%, unemployment in the U.S. rose to 23% and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
