table of contents

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 Introduction  

1.1 Book Summary 

1.2 How to Use This Book 

Chapter 2 Patent Basics and Patentability Requirements 

2.1 Patent Basics 

2.1.1 Patent Obtaining and Exploitation  

2.1.2 Patent Analogy 

2.1.3 Claim Definition  

2.1.4 Rule for Infringement 

2.1.5 Patentability vs. Patent Enforcement 

2.1.6 Valid vs. Valuable Patents 

2.2 Overview of Patent Eligibility and Patentability 

2.2.1 Subject Matter Categories -- 35 U.S.C. § 101 

2.2.2 Novelty Requirement -- 35 U.S.C. § 102 

2.2.3 Non-obviousness Requirement -- 35 U.S.C. § 103 

2.2.4 Distinction Between 102 and 103 Claim Rejections 

2.2.5 Specification Requirement -- 35 U.S.C. § 112 

2.2.6 Utility Requirement 

2.2.7 Manual of Patent Examination Procedure Overview 

Chapter 3 Exemplary Patents and Business Success 

3.1 Patent Infringement Examples 

3.2 Improvement Patents 

3.3 New Use Patents for Existing Inventions 

3.3.1 Bag Balm Patent 

3.3.2 Visco-elastic Foam Patents 

3.4 Problem-solving Patents and Success Stories 

3.4.1 Apparatus for Closing Gaps 

3.4.2 Pantyhose Undergarment 

3.4.3 Miniaturized Electronic Circuits 

Chapter 4 Invention Spotting and Disclosure Writing 

4.1 IBM Guidelines for Writing Invention Disclosure  

4.2 Invention A: Disk Enclosure Packaging 

4.2.1 How I Spotted Invention A 

4.2.2 Invention A Disclosure 

4.3 Invention B: Disk Enclosure Status Retrieval 

4.3.1 How I Spotted Invention B 

4.3.2 Invention B Disclosure  

Chapter 5 Free Patent Searching by Inventor 

5.1 Prior Art Search 

5.2 Why Conducting Prior Art Search? 

5.3 My Other Reasons for Prior Art Search 

5.4 What May Be a Reasonable Cost of Prior Art Search? 

5.5 What to Do After Finding Prior Art? 

5.6  Patent Search Strategies and Techniques 

5.6.1 Search Prerequisites 

5.6.2 Search Criteria 

5.6.3 Search Strategy Guide  

5.6.4 Search Techniques Using Keywords 

5.6.5 Searching Using Patent Classification 

5.7 Major Patent Classification Systems 

5.8 Identification of Patent Documents 

5.9 Patent Search Tools 

5.10 Demos of Prior Art Search for a Hypothetical Invention 

5.10.1 Searching Using Keywords 

5.10.2 Searching Based on Patent Classification (CPC) 

5.11 Know When to Stop Searching 

5.12 Patent Search Effectiveness Measurement 

Chapter 6 U.S. Utility Patent Obtaining Process 

6.1 Patent Obtaining Process Overview 

6.1.1 Documents to Be Electronically Filed for Application 

6.1.2 Application Data Sheet (ADS) Explained 

6.1.3 Overview of Post-filing Outcome 

6.2 Registration of eFiler for Filing of Patent Documents 

6.3 Exemplified e-Filing Process for a New Application 

6.4 Checking of Application Status (Private PAIR) 

6.5 Selecting “Image File Wrapper” for Prosecution Chronology 

6.6 Examples of ADS Forms Filed for Applications I Drafted 

6.6.1 Parts of ADS Filed for My Own Application 

6.6.2 Parts of ADS Filed for Joint Inventors’ Application  

6.6.3 Parts of ADS Filed for Assignee-applicant’s Application 

Chapter 7 Pro-like Patent Application Drafting 

7.1 Application Specification Template 

7.2 Steps for Preparing Patent Application 

7.2.1 Application Drafting Process Overview 

7.2.2 Step Chart for Application Preparation 

7.3 Tutorial on Patent Claim Drafting 

7.3.1 Iterative Claim Drafting Process 

7.3.2 Claim Format/Structure 

7.3.3 Independent Claims 

7.3.4 Dependent Claims 

7.3.5 Claim Rules 

7.3.6 Claim Drafting Strategy 

7.3.7 Examples of Claiming Based on the PON 

7.3.8 Alternative Style of Apparatus Claim 

7.3.9 Notes on Claim Preamble Writing 

7.4 Illustrative Drawings 

7.4.1 Patent Drawing Basics 

7.4.2 Notes on Drawing Preparation Learning 

7.4.3 Examples of Drawings Made With Visio 

7.5 Basic Requirements of Patent Application 

7.6 Notes on Patent Specification Drafting 

7.7 Notes on Prior Art Describing 

7.8 Further Notes on Brief Summary Writing 

7.9 Application Proofreading 

7.10 Application Review by Inventor 

Chapter 8 Practical Tips for Achieving a Great Application 

8.1 General Principles 

8.2 Drafting Application for Patent Licensing 

8.3 An Application Drafting Practice Example 

8.4 Senior Practitioners’ Guidance on Application Drafting 

Chapter 9 Exemplary Patent Applications I Drafted 

9.1 Summary of Inventions A-F 

9.2 Application A for Patent 6,994,572 

9.2.1 Highlights of Invention A 

9.2.2 Prelude to Application A Drafting 

9.2.3 Main Parts of Application A 

9.3 Application B for Patent 7,136,972 

9.3.1 Highlights of Invention B 

9.3.2 Prelude to Application B Drafting 

9.3.3 Main Parts of Application B 

9.4 Application C for Patent 7,143,308 

9.4.1 Highlights of Invention C  

9.4.2 Prelude to Application C Drafting 

9.4.3 Main Parts of Application C 

9.5 Application D for Patent 7,705,491  

9.5.1 Highlights of Invention D 

9.5.2 Main Parts of Application D  

9.6 Application E for Patent 7,490,263 

9.6.1 Highlights of Invention E  

9.6.2 Main Parts of Application E 

9.7 Application F for Patent 9,930,935  

9.7.1 Highlights of Invention F 

9.7.2 Main Parts of Application F 

Chapter 10 Reissue Application Basics and My Filing Success 

10.1 My Need for Reissue Application  

10.2 Reissue as a Tool to Correct Patent Error 

10.3 Effect of Reissue  

10.4 Reissue Uses and Benefits 

10.5 Reissue Limitations and Risks  

10.6 Submission of My Reissue Patent Application 

10.7 Rapid Grant of My Reissue Patent by PTO  

10.8 Some AIA Changes Related to Reissue Application 

Chapter 11 Patent Application Drafting Software 

11.1 Invention Q&A Form Filling for PPA Generation 

11.2 Resulting PPA Generated 

11.3 Another PPA Drafting Software 

11.4 High-quality Patent Drafting/Proofreading Software 

11.5 AI-based Draft Patent Application Review 

Chapter 12 Patent Prosecution Overview, Strategies and Tips 

12.1 Exploiting Examiner Incentives & Tips 

12.2 Types of Official Letter From the PTO 

12.3 Restriction Requirement 

12.4 Prosecution Overview--Office Action and Response 

12.4.1 First Office Action 

12.4.2 Response to First Office Action  

12.4.3 Examiner Review of the Response 

12.4.4 Second Office Action and Response Options  

12.4.5 Rejection frequency and Response Success Rate 

12.5 Office Action Response (OAR) Template  

12.6 Considerations and Strategies in Prosecution 

12.7.1 Mechanics of Making Amendment 

12.7.2 Examiner-identified Claim Amendment  

12.8 Prosecution From Litigation Perspective 

12.9 Responding to § 102 Rejection 

12.10 Responding to § 103 Rejection 

12.10.1 Relevant MPEP Sections Cited  

12.10.2 Examiner’s Exemplary Rationales to Conclude Obviousness

12.10.3 Tips for Overcoming Obviousness Rejection 

12.10.4 Arguing to Overcome Obviousness Rejection 

12.11 Board Cases Where Examiners Were Reversed on Obvious Issues

12.12 AI-powered Tools for Efficient Prosecution 

Chapter 13 Exemplary Prosecution Cases I Won 

13.1 Application for Patent 7,038,915 

13.2 Application for Patent 9,608,532  

13.3 Application for Patent 9,930,935 

Chapter 14 Tips for Handling Miscellaneous Patent Tasks 

14.1 Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) 

14.1.1 Filing of IDS 

14.1.2 Example of IDS Submitted and Examiner’s Response 

14.2 Patent Assignment 

14.3 Patent Docketing 

14.4 Writing Skill Evaluation for Patent Drafting/Prosecution 

14.5 Patent Maintenance 

14.6 Entity Creation for Keeping Patent Ownership 

14.7 Patent Enforcement 

Appendix 1 Patent Searching Results  

1.1 A Hypothetical New Invention

1.2 Results of Patent Searching by Keywords

1.3 Results of Patent Searching by Classification (CPC)

Appendix 2 Creation of Drawing Pages Etc. 

2.1 Creation of Drawing Pages

2.2 Creation of Drawing Page Margin Guidelines

2.3 Creation of Title Block 

2.4 Creation of Page Numbers

2.5 A Drawing Page Example 

Patent Glossary

Index

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