Patent Law

American Patent and Trademark Law Center is a professional association of independent registered patent attorneys and specializes in patent, trademark, copyright and related business and government contract matters, such as licenses. We have both in house counsel and independent counsel who we may engage for clients in need of expertise in specific patent and trademark areas.

The States party to this Treaty (hereinafter called "the Contracting States") constitute a Union for cooperation in the filing, searching, and examination, of applications for the protection of inventions, and for rendering special technical services. The Union shall be known as the International Patent Cooperation Union.

United States patent law was established "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;" as provided in the United States Constitution. Congress implemented these protections as a first-to-invent patent legal framework. By contrast, all other national patent laws are first-to-file systems. The provisions of the law are laid out in Title 35 of the United States Code (U.S.C.) and give authority for the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This system is permitted by Article One, Section 8(8) of the U.S. Constitution.

Patents grant an inventor the right to exclude others from producing or using the inventor's discovery or invention for a limited period of time. U.S. patent laws were enacted by Congress under its Constitutional grant of authority to protect thediscoveries of inventors.

This page provides direct access to agency press releases and newsletters so that you can easily keep abreast of patent prosecution and legal developments worldwide. Additional substantive updates on important developments in patent law are provided via law firm memos and articles, and The Daily Patent Newsfeed. A regular visit to this page is a must for all patent lawyers and intellectual property managers.

Our goal is to provide you with the most diverse and current resource center for the professional patent law community and inventors. The Patent Law Portal is the definitive guide for patent information required by inventors and patent professionals alike.

The Trilateral Co-operation was set up in 1983 between * the European Patent Office (EPO), * the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and * the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) The majority of all patent applications filed worldwide, including PCT applications, are processed by the Trilateral Offices. Through harmonisation and development of industrial property administration and protection of industrial property rights, the Trilateral Offices strive to contribute to an increasingly efficient worldwide patent system in the 21st century.

The U.S. Patent Act is found in Title 35 of the U.S. Code and contains the federal statutes governing patent law in the United States. This version of the Patent Act was updated in November 2005. This index contains links to each of the sections of the Patent Act found in Title 35. A word index is also available, but this index is outdated (1995). Users are encouraged to use the full text search capabilities of Bitlaw on the bottom of every page of the site. The context of the search can be restricted to the U.S. Patent Act, or to patent materials in general.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is the Federal agency for granting U.S. patents and registering trademarks. In doing this, the USPTO fulfills the mandate of Article I, Section 8, Clause 8, of the Constitution that the Executive branch "promote the progress of science and the useful arts by securing for limited times to inventors the exclusive right to their respective discoveries." The USPTO registers trademarks based on the Commerce Clause of the Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3).

A patent is an instrument that is used to protect an invention. It is used by a Patent Office to prevent inventions being copied and reproduced. The State allows inventors to secure protection for their inventions provided that the inventor discloses the details of the invention to the Patent Office. The document that describes the invention is referred to as a patent specification.

The European Patent Office (EPO) provides a uniform application procedure for individual inventors and companies seeking patent protection in up to 38 European countries. It is the executive arm of the European Patent Organisation and is supervised by the Administrative Council.

Our mission is to maintain the protection of intellectual property rights to the highest international standards, so that Hong Kong, China remains a place where creativity and talent can flourish; to provide high-quality and responsive patent, trademark and designs registration services to the public in Hong Kong, China; to promote awareness of intellectual property rights of the individual, and a respect for the rights of others.

The aim of industrial property (IP) system (general term for patent, utility model, design, and trademark systems) is to contribute to the nation's industrial development through adequate protection and effective utilization of inventions and other forms of intellectual creations. To help promote science and technology, the IP system is expected to play an increasingly important role in Japan in the 21st century.

We are the official government body responsible for granting Intellectual Property (IP) rights in the United Kingdom (UK). These rights include: Patents, Designs, Trade marks, Copyright.

On March 12, 1993, in Moscow, a meeting of the heads of the Governments of the CIS countries was held, where the Agreement on measures concerning the protection of industrial property and the setting-up of the Interstate Council on the Protection of Industrial Property was signed.

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), a Special Operating Agency (SOA) associated with Industry Canada, is responsible for the administration and processing of the greater part of intellectual property in Canada. CIPO's areas of activity include: Patents cover new inventions (process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter), or any new and useful improvement of an existing invention.

The Inventors Assistance Center (IAC) provides patent information and services to the public. The IAC is staffed by former Supervisory Patent Examiners and experienced Primary Examiners who answer general questions concerning patent examining policy and procedure.

The National Association of Patent Practitioners (NAPP) is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting patent practitioner and those working in the field of patent law in matters related to patent law, its practice and technological advances.

The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) is a JPO proposal aimed at utilising accelerated examination in each Office to ensure the timely obtaining of search and examination results so as to improve quality and promote the mutual exploitation of work results between patent offices.

Public perception of the patent system has swung widely over the years from highs, such as those in the late nineteenth century when Mark Twain could write "a country without a patent office and good patent laws was just a crab and couldn't travel anyway but sideways or backwards" to lows in the mid twentieth century when it could be written "the only patent that is valid is one which this (the Supreme) Court has not yet been able to get its hands on." The value and philosophical basis underpinning the patent system has been a matter for debate over the years.

Patently-O is the most popular patent law blog and a daily read for over ten thousand patent law professionals from every major innovative corporation, IP Law Firm and world patent office.

Articles written by attorneys and experts worldwide discussing legal aspects related to Intellectual Property including: copyright, domain names, licensing law, patents, trade secrets and trademark.