Intellectual Property Law for Engineers, Scientists, and Entrepreneurs

HOWARD B. ROCKMAN is a registered U.S. patent attorney, intellectual property management consultant, author and lecturer. In addition to his intellectual property law practice, he is an adjunct professor at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, IL, and at the Engineering Colleges of Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Chicago. He counsels companies and individual innovators and creators on a variety of intellectual property matters. He has served as a patent examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, as well as Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice. He has represented worldwide clients in litigation of patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret cases in federal and state courts. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).

Foreword xxvii

Foreword to the First Edition xxix

Preface xxxi

Acknowledgments xxxv

Top Ten List of Intellectual Property Protection xxxvii

Section I The Intellectual Property Universe 1

Eli Whitney — The Cotton Gin 3

Charles Babbage — The Difference Engine 7

1 Overview of Intellectual Property Law 11

1.1 Defining “Intellectual Property” 11

1.2 Specific Intellectual Property Vehicles 12

1.2.1 Patents 12

1.2.2 Trademarks and Service Marks 13

1.2.3 Copyrights 14

1.2.4 Trade Secrets 15

1.2.5 Mask Works for Semiconductors 15

1.3 Which Form of Intellectual Property Protection to Use? 15

Frank J. Sprague — The Electric Streetcar 17

Mary Anderson — Windshield Wiper Blade 25

2 Brief Overview of the Law 29

2.1 Introduction 29

2.2 Development of the Law and Legal Principles 29

2.3 Divine Laws 30

2.4 The Four Types of Law 30

2.4.1 Constitutional Law 30

2.4.2 Statutory Law 31

2.4.3 Common Law 31

2.4.4 Business Custom 32

2.5 Civil Law Systems 32

2.6 Enforcement of Laws 33

2.7 Changes in the Law 33

2.8 Equity 33

2.9 U.S. Courts, State and Federal 35

2.10 The Federal Court System 36

2.10.1 The Supreme Court 36

2.10.2 Courts of Appeals 36

2.10.3 District Courts 37

2.11 State Courts 38

2.12 Jurisdiction 38

Section II Patents 41

Charles Goodyear — Vulcanization of Rubber 43

John Boyd Dunlop — Pneumatic Vehicle Tires 47

3 Introduction to Patents 51

3.1 Brief History of Patent Protection 51

3.1.1 Early European Patent Custom 51

3.1.2 The British Patent System 54

3.1.3 The U.S. Constitution and the Development of the Present U.S. Patent Examination System 55

3.2 Types of Patent Coverage 59

3.2.1 What is a Patent? 59

3.2.2 Article or Apparatus Patents 60

3.2.3 Method or Process Patents 60

3.2.4 Design Patents 61

3.2.5 Plant Patents 61

3.2.6 New Technologies 62

3.3 How to Determine What to Patent and What Not to Patent 62

3.3.1 Broadly, What Can and Cannot Be Patented Under the Law 62

3.3.2 From a Business Standpoint, What Should Be Patented 63

3.4 Broadly, What Data Goes into a Patent 64

3.4.1 Describing the Background and Essential Elements of the Invention 64

3.4.2 Claiming the Invention 65

3.5 What a Patent is Not 66

3.6 Inventions Relating to Atomic Weapons 67

3.7 The U.S. Government’s Right to Practice Your Patented Invention 68

George Westinghouse — Steam‐Power Brake Devices and Alternating Current 69

Gideon Sundback — Zipper 73

4 Introductory Comments on Patentable Subject Matter and Utility 77

4.1 What Constitutes Patentable Subject Matter? 77

4.2 Utility — The Invention Must Be Useful 80

John Deere — Horse‐Drawn Plow 83

Erastus Brigham Bigelow — Powered Carpet‐Making Looms 87

5 Novelty—The Invention Must Be New 91

5.1 Statutory Requirements 91

5.2 Preliminary Comments on Protecting Foreign Patent Rights 95

5.3 Additional Comments on Experimental Use Versus Actual Use of the Invention 96

Alfred Nobel — Dynamite 99

6 Requirement of Non‐Obviousness for Patentability 107

6.1 Development of the Standard of Non‐Obviousness 107

6.2 Historical Background 107

6.3 Supreme Court Cases Predating the 1952 Patent Law Section 103 Non‐Obviousness Test 109

6.4 The 1952 Patent Statute and the Case of Graham V. John Deere Company (1966) 113

6.5 The 2007 U.S. Supreme Court Case of KSR V. Teleflex 116

6.6 Illustrative Non‐Obviousness Analysis 117

Louis Pasteur — Pasteurization Process 119

Elisha Otis — Safety Elevator 125

7 The Patenting Process 129

7.1 Who May Obtain a Patent: Inventorship and Ownership of Patent Rights 129

7.2 Proper Documentation of the Invention 130

7.3 The Invention Disclosure, and the Invention Disclosure Meeting 132

7.4 Additional Matters Discussed During the Invention Disclosure Meeting Between the Inventor and the Patent Professional 137

7.5 Invention Disclosure Form 140

Alexander Graham Bell — Telephone 145

8 The Patentability Search, Freedom‐To‐Use Search, and Other Searches 155

8.1 Searching the Content of the Prior Art to Determine Patentability of the Invention 155

8.2 Patentabilty Search Parameters 156

8.3 Additional Types of Searches 157

8.4 Database Searches 159

8.5 U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Patent Classification System 159

Thomas Alva Edison — The Light Bulb 161

9 The Patent Application 169

9.1 Introduction 169

9.2 Registration System Evolving into an Examination System 169

9.3 Goal of a Properly Prepared Patent Application 170

9.4 Provisional Patent Applications 171

9.5 Regular, Non‐Provisional Patent Application; No New Matter 172

9.6 Content of a Regular Non‐Provisional Patent Application 172

9.7 Your Review of the Patent Application 177

9.8 Execution of the Declaration, Power of Attorney, and Assignment Upon Completion of the Patent Application 178

George Eastman — Practical Photography 181

Emile Berliner — Disc Sound Recording 185

10 Claims of a Patent Application 193

10.1 Introduction to Patent Claims 193

10.2 Historical Development of Patent Claims 193

10.3 What Claims Are 195

10.4 Your Review of the Claims of Your Patent Application 197

10.5 Distinguishing Different Types of Claims 198

10.6 More on Method or Process Claims 200

10.7 Composition of Matter Claims 201

10.8 Design Patent Claim 201

10.9 Dependent Claims 201

10.10 How to Read and Understand Patent Claims Drafted by Your patent attorney 202

Ottmar Mergenthaler — The Linotype®  Hot‐Type Composing Machine 205

Theodore Maiman and Gordon Gould — Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation (Laser) 209

11 Examination and Prosecution of a Patent Application 221

11.1 U.S. Patent Examination Process 221

11.2 The Patent Examination System–A Little More History 221

11.3 Filing the Patent Application With the USPTO 222

11.4 Examination of the Patent Application 223

11.5 Results of the Examination–The “Office Action” 224

11.6 You and Your Attorney’s Response to the office Action 225

11.7 Further Patent Prosecution 228

11.8 Granting the Patent 228

11.9 Infringement During Examination of the Patent Application 229

11.10 Additional Probable Patent Prosecution Events 230

11.11 Re‐Examination of an Issued Patent by the Applicant, the Infringer, or the Commissioner of Patents 233

11.12 Re‐Issue Patents 233

Nicolaus Otto — The Internal Combustion Engine 235

Rudolf Diesel — The Internal Combustion Engine 239

12 Design Patents 245

12.1 Coverage of Design Patents 245

12.2 The Design Patent Application 246

12.3 Infringement of a Design Patent 247

12.4 Importance of Design Patents 250

12.5 Examples of Design Patents 251

12.6 Design Patents on Computer Screen Icons 251

12.7 Design Patents Contrasted with Copyrights 252

12.8 Damages For Design Patent Infringement 253

12.9 The Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs (The Hague System) 254

Nikola Tesla — AC Induction Motor and Radio 259

Clarence Birdseye — Frozen Food 271

13 Protection of Computer‐Related Inventions 275

13.1 Introduction 275

13.2 The Torturous Path Through the Courts 276

13.3 Recent Court Decisions and USPTO Guidelines Attempting to Define Patent‐Eligible Subject Matter Regarding Computer‐Related Inventions 282

13.4 The USPTO Examination Process to Determine Subject Matter Eligibility of a Computer‐Related Invention 292

13.5 Recommended Steps to Obtain Proper Protection of Computer‐Related Inventions 294

Covering a Computer‐Related Invention 294

13.6. Statutory Subject Matter 303

13.7 The Computer‐Related Invention Must Still Be Novel and Non‐Obvious 307

13.8 Computer Programming and a Sufficient Disclosure 308

13.9 The Protection of Software Through Contracts 312

13.10 Patent Eligibility of Software and Computer‐Related Inventions in Europe 312

Hedy Lamarr — Spread Spectrum Technology 325

Herman Hollerith — Tabulating Machine 329

14 Biotechnology Inventions 333

14.1 Introduction to Biotechnology 333

14.2 History of Biotechnology Patent Protection 334

14.3 Patent‐Eligible Subject Matter and Biotechnology 336

14.4 Biotechnology and the Written Description Requirement 338

14.5 Biotechnology and Patent Exhaustion 340

14.6 Biotechnology and Government Regulation 341

14.7 Pharmaceutical Patent Strategies 343

14.8 Medical Procedures 344

Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins — Discovery of the Molecular Structure of DNa 347

Stanley N. Cohen and Herbert W. Boyer — Recombinant‐Dna (rDNA)* 353

15 The Patenting of Business Methods 357

15.1 The Evolution of Patents For Methods of Doing Business 357

15.2 The State Street Case 359

15.3 The Bilski Case 360

15.4 What is a Business Method Invention? 361

15.5 The USPTO Guidelines 362

15.6 Recommendations 364

15.7 Understanding a Sample Business Method Patent Claim 365

15.8 The Covered Business Method Review 366

Yvonne Brill — Satellite Propulsion System 371

Luther Burbank — Plant Breeding 375

16 Foreign Patent Protection 379

16.1 Introduction 379

16.2 The Traditional System of Obtaining Foreign Patents 380

16.3 The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) 381

16.4 N ational Patent Laws and the PCT: Differences and Alterations 386

16.5 The EPC 387

16.6 The European Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court 388

16.7 Privileged Communications Between a U.S. patent

attorney and a Foreign Non‐Attorney Patent Agent 389

Wilbur and Orville Wright — Controlled Powered Flight 391

17 Enforcement of the Patent Right 399

17.1 The Patent Clearance Process 399

17.2 The Attempt to Design Around the Claims of a Patent: Most Infringers Do Not Slavishly Copy the Patented Invention 402

17.3 Literal Infringement of a Patent Claim 403

17.4 The “Doctrine of Equivalents” Where the Claim is Not Literally Infringed 405

17.5 Defenses to a Charge of Infringement 406

17.6 Penalties and Damages For Patent Infringement 408

17.7 Marking the Patented Product With the Patent Number 409

Robert Goddard — Rocket Propulsion and Control 411

C. Donald Bateman — Ground Proximity Warning System 417

18 The America Invents Act of 2011 421

18.1 First to File and the Definition of “Prior Art” 421

18.2 The Narrowed Grace Period 422

18.3 Disclosing the Best Mode of the Invention 422

18.4 Prior User Defense in Enforcement Proceedings 423

18.5 Patent Marking 423

18.6 Filing a Patent Application in the Name of the Assignee 424

18.7 Priority Examination For Important Technologies 424

18.8 Third‐Party Challenges to Patent Rights 424

18.9 Inter‐Partes Review of an Issued Patent 426

18.10 Supplemental Examination 427

Charles Kettering — Automotive Self‐Starter 429

Calvin Souther Fuller, Gerald Pearson and Daryl Chapin — Efficient Solar Cells 435

19 Ownership and Transfer of Patent Rights 439

19.1 Inventorship, Ownership, and Assignment of Patent Rights 439

19.2 Patent Licensing 441

19.3 Conclusions 453

Philo Farnsworth — The Invention of Television 455

Robert Adler — Ultrasound Television Remote Control 469

20 How to Read and Obtain Information from a Modern U.S. Patent 473

20.1 The Information Page 473

20.2 The Drawings 491

20.3 The Specification 491

20.4 Claims 492

20.5 Caveat 492

Section III Employment Contracts, Ethics and the Engineer or Scientist as an Expert Witness 495

Willis Haviland Carrier — Air‐Conditioning 497

Ivan A. Getting, Roger L. Easton, Sr. and Bradford Parkinson — Global Positioning System (GPS) 503

21 Employment Contracts and Non‐Compete Restrictions 509

21.1 Employment Contract Provisions Relating to Intellectual Property 509

21.2 Ownership of Intellectual Property 510

21.3 Confidentiality Agreements or Nondisclosure Agreements 512

21.4 Outside Information Received by the Employee or Employer 514

21.5 Non‐Compete Provisions 515

21.6 Enforceability of a Non‐Compete Agreement 516

21.7 Inevitable Disclosure 519

21.8 Form Agreements 519

21.9 Consultants 519

Grace Hopper — Cobol Computer Language 527

The Hubble Space Telescope 529

22 The Engineer and Scientist as Expert Witness 533

22.1 The Role of an Expert Witness 533

John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley — The Transistor 541

23 Ethics 549

23.1 The Professions 549

23.2 Professional Societies 550

23.3 Codes of Ethics 550

23.4 Brief Comments Regarding the Nspe Code of Ethics for Engineers 551

23.5 Comparing the Law and Ethics 552

23.6 Ethical Dilemmas 553

Section IV Copyrights 555

Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce — Miniaturized Integrated Circuits 557

24 Copyrights as a Vehicle for Technology Protection 563

24.1 A Brief History of Copyright Law 563

24.2 The Nature of Copyrights 566

24.3 Exclusive Rights of Copyright 569

24.4 Fair Use 570

24.5 Infringement of a Copyright 571

24.6 Notice 572

24.7 Copyright Registration and its Importance 572

24.8 The Duration of Intangible Rights of Copyright 573

24.9 Works Made For Hire 574

24.10 Copyright Registration For Computer Programs 575

24.11 Copyright Registration For Automated Databases 579

24.12 Copyright Registration For Online Works 580

24.13 Architectural Works 581

Federico Faggin, Marcian Hoff, and Stanley Mazor — Single‐Chip CPU 585

Josephine Cochrane — Automatic Dishwasher 589

25 The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA)—An Overview 593

25.1 Purpose of the DMCA 593

25.2 The General Provisions of the DMCA 594

25.3 Circumvention of Technological Protection Measures 595

25.4 Limitations on Copyright Infringement Liability for Online Service Providers 599

25.5 Copyright Management Information 601

25.6 Remedies for DMCA Violations 601

25.7 Example of Potential Conflict 601

Stephen Wozniak — Personal Computers 603

Jaap Haartsen and Sven Mattisson — Bluetooth®‐Short Distance Wireless Communication Systems 607

26 Mask Work Protection 611

26.1 Introduction 611

26.2 The Semiconductor Chip Protection Act of 1984 611

26.3 Mask Works Generally 612

26.4 Subject Matter of Mask Work Protection 613

26.5 Ownership, Transfer, and Licensing of the Mask Work 613

26.6 Duration of Protection 613

26.7 Rights of Ownership in a Mask Work 613

26.8 Limitations on Exclusive Rights, Reverse Engineering, and First Sale 614

26.9 Mask Work Notice 614

26.10 Infringement of Mask Work Protection Rights 614

26.11 General Comments About Mask Work Protection 614

Section V Trade Secrets 617

Stephanie Kwolek — Kevlar® 619

Percy Julian — The Synthesis of Cortisone 623

27 Trade Secrets Protection 627

27.1 The Development of Trade Secret Law 627

27.2 The Nature of a Trade Secret 628

27.3 The Definition of a “Trade Secret” 629

27.4 The Creation of an Enforceable Trade Secret Right 630

27.5 Even Threatened Trade Secret Theft Can Be Stopped 632

27.6 Creating a Viable Trade Secret Protection Program 633

27.7 Damages and Injunctions 636

27.8 Confidence 636

27.9 Can Trade Secrets, After Use, Be Patented? 637

Chester F. Carlson — Electrophotography 639

28 The Federal Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 647

28.1 Introduction 647

28.2 Civil Seizure 647

28.3 Remedies 650

28.4 Rights of Trade Secret Owners 651

28.5 Whistle‐Blower Provisions 652

Section VI Trademarks, Service Marks and Cybersquatting 653

Samuel E. Blum, Rangaswamy Srinivasan, and James Wynne — Excimer Laser Surgery (Lasik) 655

29 Trademarks and Service Marks 659

29.1 Origins of the Protection of Trademarks and Service Marks 659

29.2 Trademark Selection and Adoption Process 661

29.3 Filing For Registration of Your Trademark 665

29.4 Protecting and Maintaining Your Trademark Registration 666

29.5 Trademark Protection Outside the United States 666

29.6 The Madrid Protocol—The “International” Trademark—An Overview 668

John Mauchly and John Presper Eckert — The Eniac Computer 669

30 Cybersquatting 681

30.1 What is Cybersquatting? 681

30.2 The UDRP 682

30.3 The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protect Act (ACPA) 687

Section VII The Commercialization and Management of Intellectual Property 691

George de Mestral — Hook‐And‐Loop Fastener (Velcro®) 693

John A. Roebling — Suspension Bridges 697

31 Engineering Management and Commercialization of Intellectual Property 701

31.1 Introduction 701

31.2 Introduction to Intellectual Property Business Strategies 707

31.3 Objectives of Intellectual Property Management 708

31.4 The Sole Inventor in an Alien Field 709

31.5 Strategic Development of Intellectual Property 711

31.6 Disgorging Patentable Inventions 712

31.7 Determining What and What Not to Patent 713

31.8 Determining Who Would Be an Appropriate Licensee for Your Invention 720

31.9 Drafting Strategic Patent Claims 721

31.10 Determining Where to Obtain Patents 721

31.11 Determining Other Industries That May Benefit From a License 722

31.12 Ensuring Your Product or Process Does Not Violate the Patent Rights of Others 722

31.13 Policing the Market For Potential Infringements of Your Patents 723

31.14 The Enforcement of Process Patent Claims Against an Importer of a Foreign‐Made Product 723

31.15 Trimming the Intellectual Property Tree 724

31.16 Essay on Innovation Management 724

Les Paul — Solid Body Electric Guitar 727

32 “Sue the Bastards”—Business Factors Controlling Intellectual Property Litigation Strategies 731

32.1 Introduction to Intellectual Property Litigation Strategies and Tactics 731

32.2 The Dawn of an IP Rights Infringement Lawsuit 731

32.3 Litigation Considerations in IP Rights Enforcement 734

32.4 Conclusion 761

Igor Sikorsky — Helicopter 763

Frank Zamboni — Ice Resurfacer 769

33 Technology Transfer—Universities, Hospitals, and Research Centers 773

33.1 Introduction 773

33.2 Ownership of Institution‐Developed Innovations 774

33.3 A Typical University Technology Transfer Program 777

Ferdinand von Zeppelin — Rigid Airships 785

Bernard Silver and Norman Joseph Woodland — Optically Scanned Bar Code 789

34 International Intellectual Property Creation, Protection, and Enforcement Strategies 793

34.1 Introduction 793

34.2 IP Creation Strategies to Maximize Global IP Protection 794

34.3 Legal Considerations Regarding Where to Obtain IP Protection 797

34.4 Marketing and Business Concerns 799

34.5 N on‐Paris Convention and Non‐PCT Country Patent Protection 800

34.6 Filing a PCT Patent Application First 801

34.7 Joint Venture Relationships 801

34.8 Forming a Joint Venture Based on IP 804

Godfrey Hounsfield and Allan Cormack — CAT Scanner 807

Paul Lauterbur and Peter Mansfield — Magnetic Resonance Imaging 811

35 The Future 815

35.1 Rational Thought Applied to Problem Solving 815

35.2 What Investors Will Look For in the Future Relative to Intellectual Property 816

35.3 Developing Countries 822

35.4 University Technology Transfer 824

35.5 Master of Engineering Management Degrees At U.S. Universities 825

35.6 Conclusion 826

Harry Coover — Super Glue® 829

Spencer Silver — Post‐IT® Notes 833

36 Entrepreneurship Law 839

36.1 Introduction 839

36.2 Transition from Employee to Employer 840

36.3 O rganizing the New Business 843

36.4 Intellectual Property Assets 846

36.5 Financing 846

36.6 E mployment Law 849

36.7 Financial Statements 852

36.8 Recommendation and Acknowledgment 854

37 Current Events 857

37.1 AC Versus DC 857

Bibliography 865

Index 897