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Patent It Yourself - PDF Archive

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466 | <strong>Patent</strong> it YOURSELF<br />

B. Glossary of Legal Terms<br />

abandonment (1) allowing a pending, active patent application<br />

to be removed from the PTO’s active files and treated<br />

as if the inventor has given up all claims to a patent<br />

on the invention. An inventor can expressly abandon<br />

an application by letter or allow an application to go<br />

abandoned by not timely replying to an office action. (2)<br />

treating an invention as if the inventor has lost all interest<br />

in exploiting it, usually by not developing it or by not filing<br />

a patent application on it for a very long time.<br />

abstract a concise, one-paragraph summary of the patent.<br />

<strong>It</strong> details the structure, nature, and purpose of the<br />

invention. The abstract is used by the PTO and the public<br />

to quickly determine the gist of what is being disclosed.<br />

actual damages (also known as compensatory damages) in<br />

a lawsuit, money awarded to one party to cover actual<br />

injury or economic loss. Actual damages are intended to<br />

put the injured party in the position he was in prior to the<br />

injury.<br />

agent (patent) a person licensed by the PTO to represent<br />

others in handling patents and patent applications before<br />

the PTO. <strong>Patent</strong> agents are required to have a technical<br />

degree or technical knowledge in a specific field.<br />

answer a written response to a complaint (the opening<br />

papers in a lawsuit) in which the defendant admits or<br />

denies the allegations and may provide a list of defenses.<br />

assignee a person or legal entity to which an assignment is<br />

made.<br />

assignor one who makes an assignment.<br />

assignment a document transferring ownership of an<br />

invention and/or a patent application or patent.<br />

attorney (patent) a person licensed by the PTO to represent<br />

others in handling patents and patent applications before<br />

the PTO and who is also licensed to practice law. <strong>Patent</strong><br />

attorneys are required to have a technical degree or<br />

technical knowledge in a specific field.<br />

best mode a term indicating that a patent application<br />

should disclose the way the inventor presently prefers to<br />

make the invention.<br />

Board of Appeals and <strong>Patent</strong> Interferences (BAPI) a tribunal<br />

of judges at the PTO that hears appeals from final Office<br />

Actions.<br />

cease and desist letter correspondence from the owner<br />

of a proprietary work that requests the cessation of all<br />

infringing activity.<br />

clear and convincing proof evidence that is highly probable<br />

and free from serious doubt.<br />

complaint papers filed with a court clerk by the plaintiff<br />

to initiate a lawsuit by setting out facts and legal claims<br />

(usually called causes of action).<br />

compositions of matter items such as chemical<br />

compositions, conglomerates, aggregates, or other<br />

chemically significant substances that are usually<br />

supplied in bulk (solid or particulate), liquid, or gaseous<br />

form.<br />

conception the mental part of inventing, including how an<br />

invention is formulated or how a problem is solved.<br />

confidentiality agreement (also known as a nondisclosure<br />

agreement) a contract in which one or both parties agree<br />

not to disclose certain information.<br />

continuation application a new patent application that<br />

allows the applicant to re-present an invention and get<br />

a second or third bite at the apple. The applicant can file<br />

a new application (known as a “continuation”) while<br />

the original (or “parent”) application is still pending. A<br />

continuation application consists of the same invention,<br />

cross-referenced to the parent application, and a new<br />

set of claims. The applicant retains the filing date of<br />

the parent application for purposes of determining the<br />

relevancy of prior art.<br />

Continuation-in-Part (CIP) less common than a<br />

continuation application, this form of extension<br />

application is used when a portion or all of an earlier<br />

patent application is continued and new matter (not<br />

disclosed in the earlier application) is included. CIP<br />

applications are used when an applicant wants to present<br />

an improvement but is prevented from adding a pending<br />

application to it because of the prohibition against adding<br />

“new matter.”<br />

Continuing Prosecution Application (CPA) a patent<br />

application that is like a continuation application in<br />

effect, but no new application need be filed. The applicant<br />

merely pays another filing fee, submits new claims, and<br />

files a CPA request form. CPAs can only be used for<br />

applications filed prior to 2000 May 29. Applications<br />

after that date must use the Request for Continued<br />

Examination.<br />

contributory infringement occurs when a material<br />

component of a patented invention is sold with<br />

knowledge that the component is designed for an<br />

unauthorized use. This type of infringement cannot<br />

occur unless there is a direct infringement. In other<br />

words, it is not enough to sell infringing parts; those<br />

parts must be used in an infringing invention.<br />

copyright the legal right to exclude others, for a limited<br />

time, from copying, selling, performing, displaying, or<br />

making derivative versions of a work of authorship such<br />

as a writing, music, or artwork.<br />

counterclaim a legal claim usually asserted by the defendant<br />

against an opposing party, usually the plaintiff.

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