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1. PATENTS 101
ОСНОВЫ ПАТЕНТНОГО ПРАВА
Марк Белобородов ДЛЯ ИЗОБРЕТАТЕЛЕЙ,
5 ноября 2012 ПРЕДПРИНИМАТЕЛЕЙ, И ИНВЕСТОРОВ

2. About Me
Mark L. Beloborodov, Esq.
Senior Intellectual Property Counsel at
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
Prior to Philips
Intellectual Property Counsel at Color Kinetics (Boston, MA)
• a pioneer in LED lighting, acquired by Philips in Aug’07 for ~$800M
Patent Attorney at two major Boston law firms
• represented adidas, Agfa, Boston Scientific, e-Ink, RSA Security, and
many other technology companies in IP matters
2

4. Agenda
Блок 1
• Введение
• Что такое "патент"?
• Анатомия патента
• Юридические требования для
получения патента
• Популярные заблуждения о патентах
Блок 2
• Успешная IP стратегия и примеры из
мира бизнеса
• Практические советы по защите
Вашего изобретения
4

5. What is “Intellectual Property”?
Protectable product of
intellectual labor
• distinct types of creations of the
mind for which a set of exclusive
rights are recognized by law
5

6. Intellectual Property Subjects & Rights
Intellectual Property Subject Intellectual Property Right
Text, images, sound Copyright
Shape, appearance Design Patent
Distinguishing attribute Trademark
Know-How Trade Secret
Technical solutions Utility Patent
6

7. Design Patents
7

8. Trade Secrets
Any proprietary information
that provides a competitive
advantage, for example,
• Customer lists
• Marketing strategy
• Undetectable unpatented
inventions
• Formulas and recipes
• Manufacturing processes and
best practices
• Other “know-how”
8

9. Trade Secrets
As long as reasonably kept No protection, if secret information
secret, the proprietary is
information is legally protected • independently developed
against improper appropriation - reverse engineering is OK,
• potentially infinite duration unless specifically prohibited
by contract
• accidentally disclosed to public
9

10. ЧТО ТАКОЕ "ПАТЕНТ"?

11. Что такое "патент"?
 Документ дающий экслюзивное право на внедрение или
использование Вашего изобретения
 Сертификация Вашего изобретения государством
 Научная статья о результатах Ваших новаторских
исследований
 Техническое описание работающего прототипа Вашего
изобретения
11

12. Что такое "патент"?
Временная монополия на техническое решение согласно
"формуле изобретения", а именно
• право запретить другим производить, использовать, продавать,
внедрять или импортировать устройства, вещества, и методы
защищенные патентом, независимо от того были ли они
скопированы или независимо изобретены
• Установленная государством в обмен на полное и
инструктивное описание изобретения
• "Срок годности" - 20 лет с момента подачи заявки
• Вступает в силу после выдачи и только в стране где выдан
12

13. АНАТОМИЯ ПАТЕНТА

14. Anatomy of a U.S. Patent
• Title Page
• Figures
• Specification
("Техническое описание“)
• Claims
("Формула изобретения“)
14

15. Title Page
• Patent Number
• Issue Date
• Title
• Names of inventors
• Assignee
• Filing Date
• Abstract
• List of “prior art” references
considered by the USPTO
during examination
• Representative Drawing
15
15

16. Figures
• Required when necessary to
understand the invention
• Provide helpful outline for describing
the invention
• Legal protection is not limited by
what is illustrated, if the patent
application is drafted properly
16
16

17. Specification
• Background of the Invention
• Summary of the Invention
• Description of the Drawings
• Detailed Description
17
17

18. Claims
• Define the protectable invention
• similar to “metes and bounds” of a
deed to a plot of land, i.e. anything
that meets the definition of the
claims infringes the patent
• Each claim includes a list of
elements that make up the
invention, and relationship
between them
• Two types:
• independent claims
• dependent claims
18
18

19. Claims
• Interpreted in view of – but not
limited by - the specification,
• e.g., improper to “read” particular
examples of the invention
disclosed in the description “into”
the claims
• If an idea appears in the
description, but is not covered by
claims, it is dedicated to the public
19
19

20. Example
Title of the invention:
• “Device for Elevated Sitting”
Background:
• Sitting on hard ground is uncomfortable
Detailed description:
• My invention is a device for supporting a person’s
hindquarters in a sitting position at a distance above
ground, substantially as described in FIG. 1
CLAIM: FIG. 1
1. A sitting device, comprising:
• a substantially planar member having a surface for
supporting a person’s hindquarters; and
• at least three legs, each directly coupled to and
supporting the planar member .
20

21. Infringing Products?
21
21

22. How to Study Patents of Others?
• To evaluate their relevance
to the invention you are
trying to protect:
- focus on the specification and
the figures, i.e. what the
patent discloses or “teaches”
• To see whether your product
infringes a competitor’s
patent (or vice versa)
- focus on the claims
22

23. ЮРИДИЧЕСКИЕ
ТРЕБОВАНИЯ ДЛЯ
ПОЛУЧЕНИЯ ПАТЕНТА

24. Legal Requirements for Patentability
Invention is patentable in the USA/EPC countries, if:
• It falls under one of several categories of “patentable subject matter”
• It is useful
• It is new
• It is not obvious / has inventive step
• It is adequately described and enabled
24

25. Patentable Subject Matter
35 USC 101
• “any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of
matter, or any new and useful improvements thereof”
• NOT ELIGIBLE:
 Laws of nature
 Mathematical formulas
 Abstract scientific principles
 Naturally occurring matter
25 25
25

26. Software and patent protection
Invention
Realization in
Realization in Realization in
hardware and
hardware software
software
Two-thirds of today’s high-tech inventions
involve software
26

27. Patentability of Software in the USA:
• State Street (Fed Cir 1998)
• claimed method invention, including software, is eligible for patent protection if it
involved some practical application and “produces a useful, concrete and tangible result”
• transformation of data by a machine into a final share price in State Street was a practical
application of an algorithm and is therefore patentable
• no “business method” exception to patentability
• In re Bilski (Fed Cir 2008)
• a claimed method of hedging risks in commodities trading is not patentable
• “a claimed process is patent-eligible under § 101 if: (1) it is tied to a particular machine, or (2) it
transforms a particular article into a different state” (= “machine-or-transformation”)
• the "useful, concrete and tangible result" test by State Street is inadequate
• business methods and software still patentable – if meet the MOT test (but unclear
whether general purpose computer qualifies as a “particular machine or apparatus”)
• In re Bilski (S.Ct. 2010)
• affirmed unpatentability of Bilski claims as “abstract ideas” based on early cases
• BUT reversed Federal Circuit exclusive reliance of MOT test as too restrictive
• refused to address the larger issues of software patentability,
leaving State Street intact
27

28. Patentability of Software in Europe:
EPC, Art. 51: Patentable Inventions:
(1) European patents shall be granted for any inventions, in all fields of technology
(2) The following in particular shall not be regarded as inventions …:
(a) discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods;
(b) aesthetic creations;
(c) schemes, rules and methods for performing mental acts, playing games or
doing business, and programs for computers;
(d) presentations of information.
(3) Paragraph 2 shall exclude the patentability of the subject-matter or activities
referred to therein only to the extent to which a European patent application or
European patent relates to such subject-matter or activities as such.
1998: T 1173/97: IBM
– Computer program product, i.e. software with further technical effect, is patentable
(beyond normal computer/software interaction)
28

29. Novelty
35 USC 102
• The invention is different from the prior art
• No single “prior art” document describes all of the elements of the invention
• “Prior Art” = evidence of what was known by others prior to the filing date
• Scientific or technical articles;
• Patents and published patent applications
• Commercially available products
• Inventor’s own public disclosure of the invention
before filing a patent application
 one-year limited grace period in the U.S. only
29

30. Statutory Bar to Patentability
If otherwise patentable invention is publicly disclosed before filing a
patent application
PATENT PROTECTION IN MOST COUNTRIES IS
NO LONGER LEGALLY POSSIBLE
• This includes non-confidential disclosures by the inventor himself!
• Publications (including over the Internet)
• Presentations
• Non-experimental use in public
• NDAs can help in some circumstances (unless breached)
30

31. Nonobviousness (“Inventiveness”)
35 USC 103
• Invention must be non-obvious to a “person of ordinary skill in the art” as of
the filing date
• Often the invention is examined in view of a combination of prior art
documents
• U.S. Supreme Court (2005)
 “Combination of familiar elements according to known methods is likely to
be obvious when it does no more than yield predictable results”
 Mere substitution of one element for its known equivalent with a
predictable result
 Selection of one of a limited number of options to solve a known problem
 Solution naturally flowing from a recognition of a problem
31

32. Written Description & Enablement
35 USC 112
• Invention must be sufficiently described such that
(1) it is clear that the inventor was “in possession” of the invention
(2) one of ordinary skill in the art is “enabled” or taught how to make
and use the invention without “undue experimentation”
• NOT REQUIRED:
- to have actually build a prototype,
- to prove that the invention works, or
- to submit a sample
 recall that the patent exclusivity is granted in exchange for
description of the invention to advance technical progress
32

33. ПОПУЛЯРНЫЕ
ЗАБЛУЖДЕНИЯ
О ПАТЕНТАХ
33 33

34. Популярные заблуждения о патентах
1. Можно запатентировать идею
2. Можно запатентировать только по-настоящему
новаторские изобретения
3. Можно запатентировать только работающие решения
4. Можно запатентировать все что угодно если работать с
грамотным юристом
5. Патентная заявка - это просто форма для заполнения
изобретателем
6. Самое главное - поскорее подать патентную заявку,
всегда можно ее потом дополнить и расширить
34

35. Популярные заблуждения о патентах
7. Патент дает эксклюзивное право на производство и
внедрение Вашего изобретения
8. Патент защищает Ваше изобретение от копирования
автоматически
9. Нельзя быть виновным в неумышленном нарушении
чьих-то патентных прав
10. Любой патент всегда можно обойти
11. Можно получить мировой патент
12. Конкуренты не имеют права патентировать
усовершенствования Вашего запатентованного продукта
35

36. УСПЕШНАЯ
IP СТРАТЕГИЯ И
ПРИМЕРЫ ИЗ МИРА
БИЗНЕСА
36 36

37. Patents can be:
1. asserted offensively, i.e. enforced against others
2. when sued, asserted defensively or used to invalidate other
party’s patents,
3. licensed or cross-licensed,
4. “assigned”, i.e. completely sold,
5. used as a collateral to raise capital
6. used to lend credibility to your company’s technology and
investments in R&D
37

38. IP Strategy
= alignment of your patenting efforts with your company’s
business objectives
• REMEMBER, patents are NOT inherently commercially valuable
Proactive plan to realize the value of the company’s patents
and leverage its investment in innovation by:
• protecting its profits and marketshare by excluding competition from
entering the market;
• generating royalties revenue via licensing;
• securing freedom to operate through cross-licensing and managing risks of
infringing of 3rd party patents;
• securing financing on favorable terms
38

39. IP Strategy – Start-Ups
1. foster a culture of market-focused innovation from Day 1
2. identify and protect key technologies and key opportunities in
alignment with business objectives
3. monitor technology trends to identify next generation of products and
applications
4. monitor patenting trends
5. protect investments in R&D through targeted enforcement
39
39

40. Evaluating Inventions for Patenting
COSTS
Inventors’ time
Drafting, prosecution, and maintenance
Licensing and enforcement
VS
VALUE AS BUSINESS ASSET
Exclusion of competition
Licensing Opportunities
Investment Value
40

41. Evaluating Inventions for Patenting
Questions to consider
• Relevant to company’s business objectives?
• Broadly patentable + infringement detectable?
- if not, keep as trade secret?
• How likely to be used by the company or 3rd parties?
• How easy to design around?
• Does it work?
• Need to protect R&D investment?
41

42. ПРАКТИЧЕСКИЕ СОВЕТЫ
ПО ЗАЩИТЕ ВАШЕГО
ИЗОБРЕТЕНИЯ
42 42

43. Patent Filing Considerations
• Do you have a patentable invention?
 new and unobvious?
 sufficiently developed, at least mentally?
• Scope of potential protection
 prior art considered?
• Useful life of invention vs. pendency of application and patent term
• Pursue patent or keep as a trade secret?
 detectable?
 key advantages protectable?
• Varying levels and aspects of protection
 printer having cartridge, cartridge, or ink for refilling the cartridge
• Geography of protection
 national /regional markets to protect sales
 competitors’ “back yard”
• Costs vs. Benefits
43

44. Patent Filing Considerations
Key Questions to Consider:
• What is the technical problem addressed by your invention or what
motivated you to invent?
• How, if at all, others tried to solved that technical problem
• What is your solution?
• How is it different?
• Why is it better?
• How is it detectable, if copied?
• How does it work, if implemented?
44
44

45. Best Approach to Defining Inventions
Problem-Solution Statement:
• Invention is a concept, not a thing
 focusing on specific implementation often leads to defining – and claiming!! - the
invention too narrowly
• PSS is a broad yet concise definition of the invention, setting forth the
problem and your conceptual solution to it in view of prior art
 the goal is to distill the invention to its essential elements, eliminating unnecessary
details
45

46. Patentability Search
• Helps determine if the invention can be patented at all and the scope of
potential protection
• Conducted before filing a patent application
• Optional
 Inventor is an expert in the field (often illusory)
 Inventor is in a rush
• Focuses primarily on novelty, less so on non-obviousness
• The quality of a patentability search depends on:
 Sufficiency of the invention disclosure
 Searcher’s skills
 Focus of the search
 Budget
46

47. Patentability Search
Important:
• Search helps evaluate the scope of prior art to obtain the broadest
protection for the invention
VS.
• Claims can be amended during examination, but new text can’t be added
to the specification
 Need to know about prior art when drafting the application
47

48. Searching for Patent Rights of Others
Freedom to Operate (“FTO”) and Landscape Study
WHY?
• Proceed to use your technology with reasonable confidence of lack
of infringement
• Avert potential crisis
• Identify potential competitors, licensees, and/or partners
• Reallocate the resources
• Monitor technology trends and navigate potential obstacles
48

49. Freedom to Operate Search
• Whether you are able to make, use, and sell products and services
implementing your inventions without risk of infringement
 proceed with confidence and avoid potential roadblocks
• What to search
 Issued Patents for currently enforceable patent rights
 Published Patent Applications for intelligence on potential future patent rights
 Expired patents for solutions already public domain (“safe harbor”)
• Where to search?
 in countries you are planning to market the product
• What to do if bad news?
 designing around third-party patents;
 in-licensing third-party patents; or
 developing arguments for non-infringement or invalidity of third-party patent claims and
obtaining a competent and comprehensive legal opinion to that effect to avoid treble
damages for willful infringement
49

50. Landscape Study
• State-of-the-art search
• Maps out past and present IP activity of various players in specified
technology areas
• Conducted to determine whether to enter a specific technical area
– Monitors market of interest
– Identify gaps in and improve your research and development
– Help to determine potential value of your patents
– Confirm which inventions are now in a public domain
– Better understand current competitors and identify future ones
50

51. Patenting Process
Priority 12 months
Application Drafting and Filing
(US or UA) of Regular
Application Paris
Convention
Cooperation
Patent
Treaty
18 months
Patent Term – 20 years

52. US Provisional Application
PROS
• Relatively inexpensive
• No requirements as to form
• Establishes the priority without decreasing the life of the patent
• Enables public disclosure of the invention without compromising future patentability
• Kicks off “Patent Pending” period
• Kept secret, unless followed up by regular application
• Recognized in foreign jurisdictions
CONS
• May cause “false sense of security” yet fail as a priority document, if did not
sufficiently disclose and teach the invention as claimed later
• “Anything you say can and will be used against you”
 certain statements may limit claims in subsequent regular applications
 may inadvertently (and unnecessarily) disclose sensitive information
• Expires after 12 months
52

53. Patent Ownership and Inventorship
• U.S. patent applications are filed in the name of actual inventors and
initially owned by them, not their employers or investors
 after filing, inventors can assign or license their future rights
 patents can be jointly owned (not recommended)
Inventorship
must have contributed in an essential way to the conception of at least
one aspect of the invention (as later defined by the claims)
• Improper inventorship complicates enforcement and may invalidate a
patent altogether
53
53

54. Common Mistakes to Avoid
• Disclosing the invention prematurely and non-confidentially
• No professional searching and/or disregarding prior art
• Counting on someone else to pay your patenting expenses
• Insufficient or non-enabling disclosure
• Limiting claimed invention unnecessarily
• Naming “wrong“ inventors or omitting “actual” inventors
• Failing to secure ownership rights
54

55. ANY
Марк Белобородов QUESTIONS?
BELOBOR@GMAIL.COM