Related Resources

FTC Proposes Patent Reform, Federal Trade Commission

Business-Method Patent Litigation, E. Robert Yoches, Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP. (Seminar Paper, University of Dayton School of Law)
Abstract: Although business-method patents have lurked in the shadows for years, the Federal Circuit’s decision in State Street Bank & Trust Co. v. Signature Financial Group, Inc.[2] shook businesses out of their torpor and they began to flood the Patent and Trademark Office ("PTO") with applications for patents covering every sort of business methods. Soon afterwards, many of those businesses that received patents sought to enforce them in the courts, opening a new front in the battles between business competitors in new technologies such as the Internet. Not surprisingly, courts have struggled to array the patent wardrobe over a technology--computer-implemented business methods--that probably never even entered the imagination of those who drafted the patent statute. Patent laws have traditionally protected industrial developments, not business advances. Adapting such industrial tools to the information age requires creativity on all fronts, especially the legal front.

Questions and Answers about U.S. Patent Law, GigaLaw.com. (Article)
Abstract: Patents are important not only to high-tech players but also to many other companies that conduct business online. Therefore, the importance of understanding the role of patents and the patent application process cannot be over-emphasized. This article provides answers to the most basic and important questions about U.S. patent law. Author: The material in this article was prepared by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which grants patents for the protection of inventions and registers trademarks.

CPT's Page on Business Method and Software Patents, Consumer Project on Technology. (public policy website)
Abstract: The Consumer Project on Technology was started by Ralph Nader in 1995. Its work is documented extensively on the CPTech web page. Currently CPTech is focusing on intellectual property rights and health care, electronic commerce (very broadly defined) and competition policy.

Patent Lessons Provided by PayPal and Palm, Gigalaw.com. (Article by Doug Isenberg)
Abstract: Patent protection is important for any Internet or high-tech business, as PayPal and Palm have learned from companies that have sued them for patent infringement. These lawsuits highlight the importance of patent law for all technology companies, which cannot afford to ignore it. In this column, GigaLaw.com founder Doug Isenberg discusses these lawsuits and the patent lessons they provide.

United States Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Patent Office FAQs, U.S. Patent Office
Abstract: Frequently Asked Questions answered by the U.S. Patent Office

BustPatents.com
Abstract: Legal resources and tools for surviving the patenting frenzy of the Internet, bioinformatics, and electronic commerce.

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