Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

U.S. Patent Provisional Rights: Impacts of Recent Change

By Lara A. Northrop
October 30, 2006

U.S. Patent Laws, amended by the passage of the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 ('the Act'), now provide for publication of pending patent applications prior to issuance. 35 U.S.C. '122(b). Since the effective date of the amendment, Nov. 29, 2000, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ('USPTO') publishes domestic utility applications within 18 months of their earliest priority date. Prior to this amendment, patent applications were not made publicly available until a patent issued, thereby preserving the confidential information of a patentee until remedies for patent infringement were made available to the patentee.

Publication of patent applications prior to issuance exposes patentees to several risks, including publication of proprietary information to third parties without the availability of patent infringement remedies. To counteract the disadvantages of pre-grant publication, the Act also provides to patentees a 'provisional rights' remedy for certain third party acts occurring between the date of publication of the patent application and the issuance of the patent.

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later Image

The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.

The Bankruptcy Hotline Image

Recent cases of importance to your practice.

Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations Image

This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.

The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs Image

The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.

How AI Has Affected PR Image

When we consider how the use of AI affects legal PR and communications, we have to look at it as an industrywide global phenomenon. A recent online conference provided an overview of the latest AI trends in public relations, and specifically, the impact of AI on communications. Here are some of the key points and takeaways from several of the speakers, who provided current best practices, tips, concerns and case studies.