2009年8月5日 星期三

美國法定發明登記(SIR)

美國法定發明登記(Statutory Invention Registration, SIR)

如果有發明產生,但是又不想申請專利(可能是因為費用、市場考量、產品策略),又擔心有人會去申請類似發明而阻礙自己的產品研發與銷售,就會考慮公開,但不申請專利
想要公開自己的發明,應該有不少方式,包括申請著作權、公開於刊物、網站上,或是有人曾經就寫在某件相關專利之後,但並不提出保護範圍,或是可利用美國法定發明登記的制度,也就是SIR,申請公開但不實際審查

要符合SIR還是有些基本與專利申請案相同的規定,規範於美國專利法第157條
(a)SIR仍要包括有說明書、圖示,但因為沒有審查,所以不需提出專利範圍
(1)SIR的揭露內容仍要符合美國專利法第112條的規定(若不符合,則仍會收到核駁)
(2)符合公開、列印等的規定
(3)放棄獲得專利的權利
(4)繳付公開的費用
如果牴觸上述要求,SIR不會被公開
(b)上述(a)(3)所拋棄的權利是自SIR公開後生效
(c)與(d)條就是一般行政上的規定

[原文]
§157. Statutory invention registration
(a)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, the Director is authorized to publish a statutory invention registration containing the specification and drawings of a regularly filed application for a patent without examination if the applicant--

(1)
meets the requirements of section 112 of this title;
(2)
has complied with the requirements for printing, as set forth in regulations of the Director;
(3)
waives the right to receive a patent on the invention within such period as may be prescribed by the Director; and
(4)
pays application, publication, and other processing fees established by the Director.

If an interference is declared with respect to such an application, a statutory invention registration may not be published unless the issue of priority of invention is finally determined in favor of the applicant.

(b)
The waiver under subsection (a)(3) of this section by an applicant shall take effect upon publication of the statutory invention registration.

CFR1.297則規定SIR公開的事宜
(a)USPTO同意SIR請求後,經確認一些請求人的資料後,將會以專利公報的形式公開
類別碼是H,並以「H1」開頭,表示經過專利局註冊公開的案子(SIR),沒有經過實質審查的
(b)每一件SIR案,文中應有以下陳述內容:
A statutory invention registration is not a patent. It has the defensive attributes of a patent but does not have the enforceable attributes of a patent. No article or advertisement or the like may use the term patent, or any term suggestive of a patent, when referring to a statutory invention registration. For more specific information on the rights associated with a statutory invention registration see 35 U.S.C. 157.
說明SIR並非一件專利案,沒有主張的權利,不能在任何文宣上顯示有「patent」的字眼

[原文]
§1.297 Publication of statutory invention registration.
(a)
If the request for a statutory invention registration is approved the statutory invention registration will be published. The statutory invention registration will be mailed to the requester at the correspondence address as provided for in § 1.33(a). A notice of the publication of each statutory invention registration will be published in the Official Gazette.
(b)
Each statutory invention registration published will include a statement relating to the attributes of a statutory invention registration. The statement will read as follows:

A statutory invention registration is not a patent. It has the defensive attributes of a patent but does not have the enforceable attributes of a patent. No article or advertisement or the like may use the term patent, or any term suggestive of a patent, when referring to a statutory invention registration. For more specific information on the rights associated with a statutory invention registration see 35 U.S.C. 157.


但為何發明人要付錢申請SIR呢?應該是要做為USPTO檢索時的資料庫內容,容易作為之後他人的申請案的前案,SIR同樣會被歸類(classified),最為後續案的相關前案(cross-referenced),並因為有法律的規範,有法定公開日期與公報公開,對發明人想要公開的意圖較為有效

另外,MPEP1111有規定,SIR所拋棄的權利及於該案相關後續沒有請求SIR的申請案,包括分割案與其他接續案。如果「相同發明人」提出一個相關後續專利申請案,其中若包括了已經揭露於公開的SIR的「總的(generic)」請求範圍,審查委員可以「double patenting」相同發明為理由提出核駁,且不能以期末拋棄(terminal disclaimer)克服double patenting的核駁理由
SIR申請人不能提出再領證(reissue)來恢復權利。

[原文]
The waiver of patent rights to the subject matter claimed in a statutory invention registration takes effect on publication ( 37 CFR 1.293(c)) and may affect the patentability of claims in related applications without SIR requests, such as divisional or other continuing appli­cations, since the waiver of patent rights is effective for all inventions claimed in the SIR and would effectively waive the right of the inventor to obtain a patent on the invention claimed in the same application or on the same invention claimed in any other application not issued before the publication date of the SIR. If an application containing generic claims is published as a SIR, the waiver in that application applies to any other related applications to the extent that the same invention claimed in the SIR is claimed in the other application. Examiners should apply standards similar to those applied in making "same invention" double patenting determinations to determine whether a waiver by an inventor to claims in a SIR precludes patenting by the same inventor to subject matter in any related application. If the same subject matter is claimed in an application and in a published statutory invention registration naming a common inventor, the claims in the application should be rejected as being precluded by the waiver in the statutory invention registration. See 37 CFR 1.104(c)(5). A rejection as being precluded by a waiver in a SIR cannot be overcome by a terminal disclaimer.

The holder of a SIR will not be able to file a reissue application to recapture the rights, including the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing the invention, that were waived by the initial publication of the SIR.


CFR 1.296則規定可以撤回SIR的公開請求
只要在USPTO發出SIR公開通之前,可撤回此請求,同時可包括請求退費(退回合理價格),如果是在發出公開通知之後提出撤回,可以請願(petition)的形式提出

[原文]
§1.296 Withdrawal of request for publication of statutory invention registration.

A request for a statutory invention registration, which has been filed, may be withdrawn prior to the date on which the notice of the intent to publish a statutory invention registration issued pursuant to § 1.294(c) by filing a request to withdraw the request for publication of a statutory invention registration. The request to withdraw may also include a request for a refund of any amount paid in excess of the application filing fee and a handling fee of $ 130.00 which will be retained. Any request to withdraw the request for publication of a statutory invention registration filed on or after the date on which the notice of intent to publish issued pursuant to § 1.294(c) must be in the form of a petition accompanied by the fee set forth in § 1.17(g).

舉例(H2037):
此案為遭遇核駁後,決定以SIR公開




Ron

2009年8月3日 星期一

日本專利消息

日本專利消息

資料來源:HaraKenzo
1.日本智慧財產權策略總部於六月24日發布2009年促進醫藥科技的智慧財產計畫,包括要確認多能力性幹細胞(pluripotent stem cells)技術、藥劑並其管理方面的可專利範疇,能夠促進相關研發的成長。
在日本,醫藥方面的專利始終限於其產品、設備與其方法,而手術、療法與診斷方法並不能專利。此時頒布的計畫中,則通過若現有的藥品在符合專利新穎性與進步性的要求時,仍能夠被專利,比如改變原有的劑量產生降低邊界效應造成的危險,是可專利的。
當原藥品成份的專利超過20年專利期限後,其他製造商能夠以較便宜與新版本的藥劑進入市場。另外,期待有較低費用的藥品專利研發。

2.日本專利局與匈牙利專利局於8/3/2009起試行專利審查高速公路(PPH)

3.中國專利局決定不發予商標給部份中國公司或是個人所註冊的日本地名,如長野(Nagano), 靜岡(Shizuoka),京都(Kyoto), 奈良(Nara), 廣島(Hiroshima), 香川(Kagawa), 福岡(Fukuoka)與鹿兒島(Kagoshima)

4.日本專利局察覺很多中國與台灣的公司(與日本無關)喜歡申請跟日本地名有關的商標,此舉可能會影響日本的出口產品,所以或許日本專利局介入此類商標申請案時,政府會有更嚴格的審查標準

5.為了避免專利惡霸的訴訟,Sony加入RPX,請參考:http://enpan.blogspot.com/2009/01/non-practicing-entities-npe.html

Ron

Triway Pilot Program

(試行,已於2009年7月結束)

EPO, JPO, USPTO早於去年(2008年)試行三邊領航計畫(Triway Pilot Program
http://www.jpo.go.jp/cgi/linke.cgi?url=/torikumi_e/t_torikumi_e/triway_e.htm
也就是三個專利局之間互相引用審查結果,第一個申請的檢索報告(search result)可用於第二個與第三個申請的審查基礎,可以下圖為例:

第一個申請案為USPTO申請案,隨後才有EPO與JPO的申請案,USPTO於之後做出第一次檢索,根據申請人請求,將此分檢索報告交付JPO與EPO,做出該國的第一次審查意見,此例在JPO還同時引用了EPO與USPTO的檢索報告

當然,符合以上程序需要有一些規格:
申請案必須以USPTO為第一申請案(first filing),再主張「優先權」,提出EPO與JPO第二與第三申請案,而此三個申請案應具有實質可對應的權利範圍,本計畫將試用100個案子

程序上,應符合:
  1. 申請人應以USPTO作為第一個申請國,並請求此三邊領航計畫
  2. 再於4個月內主張優先權,提出EPO與JPO申請案
  3. USPTO於6個月內做出檢索報告,並寄送給申請人
  4. 申請人可以此檢索報告請求加入EPO的三邊領航計畫
  5. EPO則做出延伸檢索報告(Extended European Search Report, EESR)
  6. 申請人再將EESR交給USPTO作為IDS
  7. 申請人於JPO提出加速審查(accelerated examination)
  8. 在加速審查的請求文件中應描述此案為三邊領航計畫(加速審查的理由),並附加USPTO與EESR的報告
  9. 加速審查請求文件中,應載明權利範圍與檢索報告的比對結果
  10. 接著,JPO則做出檢索與審理(第一次OA)
  11. 申請人接著應將JPO的報告副本交至EPO與USPTO,同時還要提出英文翻譯本,包括IDS
  12. 之後USPTO將據以做出深查報告
上述程序中,申請人要做的事與細節還真多,應該會影響到真正有意願的申請人吧!
此計畫已於2009年7月「試行」結束

Ron
參考資料:JPO

美國專利法第371條

美國專利法第371條規範國際申請案(PCT)進入美國國家階段的程序

(a) 接收國際專利局所寄送的國際申請案,包括權利範修正、國際檢索報告(search report)、國際先前審查報告(preliminary examination report);

(b) 如本段(f),進入國家階段的期限規定於PCT 22(1),(2), 39(1)(a)

(c) 申請人應於USPTO提出申請,並且:
(1) 繳費;
(2) 提出國際申請案副本(或是透過國際專利局)、英文翻譯
(3) 修正,包括英文翻譯
(4) 宣誓書
(5) 國際先前審查報告的英文翻譯(如果報告是用非英語寫的)(據此,所以國際申請案進入美國國家階段時,可包括之前的修正,權利範圍無須一致,只要內容有支持即可)

(d) 上述費用、翻譯、宣誓書應要符合要求,國際申請案副本應於進入國家階段時提出,若沒有符合上述要求將會導致拋棄(abandonment),除非是透過專利局主管認同這些不能符合的部份為不可避免的問題,若是修正不符規定,則會導致修正無效

(e) 進入美國國家階段後,除了申請人表達同意外,若有PCT 28, 41(下有註解)的問題,應在期限內不會有任何核准或是拒絕的專利;進入國家階段之後,申請人可提出說明書、權利範圍與圖式的修正

(f) 基於申請人請求,國際申請案符合上述(c)要件後,該案國家階段開始

[原文]§371. National stage: Commencement

(a) Receipt from the International Bureau of copies of international applications with any amendments to the claims, international search reports, and international preliminary examination reports including any annexes thereto may be required in the case of international applications designating or electing the United States.

(b) Subject to subsection (f) of this section, the national stage shall commence with the expiration of the applicable time limit under article 22(1) or (2), or under article 39(1)(a) of the treaty[.]

(c) The applicant shall file in the Patent and Trademark Office—(1) the national fee provided in section 41(a) of this title [35 USC 41(a)]; (2) a copy of the international application, unless not required under subsection (a) of this section or already communicated by the International Bureau, and a translation into the English language of the international application, if it was filed in another language; (3) amendments, if any, to the claims in the international application, made under article 19 of the treaty, unless such amendments have been communicated to the Patent and Trademark Office by the International Bureau, and a translation into the English language if such amendments were made in another language; (4) an oath or declaration of the inventor (or other person authorized under chapter 11 of this title [35 USC § §111 et seq.]) complying with the requirements of section 115 of this title [35 USC 115] and with regulations prescribed for oaths or declarations of applicants; (5) a translation into the English language of any annexes to the international preliminary examination report, if such annexes were made in another language.

(d) The requirements with respect to the national fee referred to in subsection (c)(1), the translation referred to in subsection (c)(2), and the oath or declaration referred to in subsection (c)(4) of this section shall be complied with by the date of the commencement of the national stage or by such later time as may be fixed by the Director. The copy of the international application referred to in subsection (c)(2) shall be submitted by the date of the commencement of the national stage. Failure to comply with these requirements shall be regarded as abandonment of the application by the parties thereof, unless it be shown to the satisfaction of the Director that such failure to comply was unavoidable. The payment of a surcharge may be required as a condition of accepting the national fee referred to in subsection (c)(1) or the oath or declaration referred to in subsection (c)(4) of this section if these requirements are not met by the date of the commencement of the national stage. The requirements of subsection (c)(3) of this section shall be complied with by the date of the commencement of the national stage, and failure to do so shall be regarded as a cancellation of the amendments to the claim in the international application made under article 19 of the treaty. The requirement of subsection (c)(5) shall be complied with at such time as may be fixed by the Director and failure to do so shall be regarded as cancellation of the amendments made under article 34(2)(b) of the treaty.

(e) After an international application has entered the national stage, no patent may be granted or refused thereon before the expiration of the applicable time limit under article 28 or article 41 of the treaty, except with the express consent of the applicant. The applicant may present amendments to the specification, claims, and drawings of the application after the national stage has commenced.

(f) At the express request of the applicant, the national stage of processing may be commenced at any time at which the application is in order for such purpose and the applicable requirements of subsection (c) of this section have been complied with.

PCT 28(進入國家階段後,PCT當局會將該申請案的問題同時也提交給指定申請的國家)

Rule 28 Defects Noted by the International Bureau

28.1 Note on Certain Defects

(a) If, in the opinion of the International Bureau, the international application contains any of the defects referred to in Article 14(1)(a)(i), (ii) or (v), the International Bureau shall bring such defects to the attention of the receiving Office. (b) The receiving Office shall, unless it disagrees with the said opinion, proceed as provided in Article 14(1)(b) and Rule 26.

PCT 41(進入國家階段後,PCT當局會一併提供國際檢索報告,指定國家可使用此檢索報告;如果指定國引用全部或部份該國際檢索報告,應退還已繳的檢索費用,比如檢索專利局即為指定國的專利局)

Rule 41 Earlier Search Other than International Search

41.1 Obligation to Use Results; Refund of Fee

If reference has been made in the request, in the form provided for in Rule 4.11, to an international-type search carried out under the conditions set out in Article 15(5) or to a search other than an international or international-type search, the International Searching Authority shall, to the extent possible, use the results of the said search in establishing the international search report on the international application. The International Searching Authority shall refund the search fee, to the extent and under the conditions provided for in the agreement under Article 16(3)(b) or in a communication addressed to and published in the Gazette by the International Bureau, if the international search report could wholly or partly be based on the results of the said search.

Ron

2009年7月29日 星期三

About Claims XX - 方法專利

美國最高法院曾經定義「方法」是在特定物質上經某種模式的處理而產生特定結果,它是運作於物質上的動作、一連串的行為而產生轉變至不同的狀態或是事情
The Supreme Court of U.S. has defined a process as "a mode of treatment of certain materials to produce a given result. It is an act, or a series of acts, performed upon subject matter to be transformed and reduced to a different state or thing."

方法專利的權利範圍特色有:
  1. 方法專利涵蓋轉換、改變或是運作於特定物體上的操作程序,方法專利並不會限制於特定結構,並可應用於新的產品或是硬體,基本上有較廣的範圍
  2. 方法專利所包括的流程能夠轉換、改變或是運作於一個部件(workpiece)上
  3. 方法專利有一系列步驟(A series of steps)
  4. 方法專利可以沒有裝置的特徵、沒有物品製造的特徵,或是沒有任何元件的特性
  5. 描述方法專利的步驟通常由「ing」形式的動詞開始,但不總是這樣
  6. 方法專利的步驟是運作於一個裝置上,而此裝置可能運作於特定部件上
  7. 方法專利也可直接運作於部件上
  8. 方法專利各步驟中,應從說明書中找出適當的動詞
  9. 方法專利很少不是陳述運作於特定東西的動作
  10. 如果可能,可以指出執行各步驟的功能或是目的
  11. 對於有關產品權利範圍,如果必要的陳述已經以各步驟表達出來,無須再描述其功效
  12. 方法專利中,如果不想要指出所使用的結構或是部件,可使用「means for」(或step for)
這個例子是人用手握住高爾夫球竿的揮擊動作的專利!


可參考:http://enpan.blogspot.com/2008/07/about-claims-iii.html
參考資料:Landis on Mechanics Patent Claim Drafting
Ron

取得美國申請日的基本要求

取得美國專利申請日的基本要求:(37 CFR 1.53)
  1. 符合美國專利法第112條規定的說明書
  2. 至少一個權利範圍
  3. 圖示
  4. 申請日後不得新增新事物(new matter)
  5. 日後於規定時間內(一般為兩個月內,可延長)應補充其他必要文件(如宣誓書)與費用
[原文]
(b) Application filing requirements -- Nonprovisional application. The filing date of an application for patent filed under this section, except for a provisional application under paragraph (c) of this section or a continued prosecution application under paragraph (d) of this section, is the date on which a specification as prescribed by 35 U.S.C. 112 containing a description pursuant to § 1.71 and at least one claim pursuant to § 1.75, and any drawing required by § 1.81(a) are filed in the Patent and Trademark Office. No new matter may be introduced into an application after its filing date. A continuing application, which may be a continuation, divisional, or continuation-in-part application, may be filed under the conditions specified in 35 U.S.C. 120, 121 or 365(c) and § 1.78(a).
(1) A continuation or divisional application that names as inventors the same or fewer than all of the inventors named in the prior application may be filed under this paragraph or paragraph (d) of this section.
(2) A continuation-in-part application (which may disclose and claim subject matter not disclosed in the prior application) or a continuation or divisional application naming an inventor not named in the prior application must be filed under this paragraph.

取得美國商標申請日的基本要求:(37 CFR 2.21)
  1. 申請人名稱
  2. 聯絡名稱與地址
  3. 清楚的圖示與標示
  4. 列舉物品與服務
  5. 費用
若無符合上述要求,將無法取得申請日,並退件!

[原文]
§2.21 Requirements for receiving a filing date.

(a)The Office will grant a filing date to an application under section 1 or section 44 of the Act that contains all of the following:

(1)The name of the applicant;
(2)A name and address for correspondence;
(3)A clear drawing of the mark;
(4)A listing of the goods or services; and
(5)The filing fee for at least one class of goods or services, required by § 2.6.

(b) If the applicant does not submit all the elements required in paragraph (a) of this section, the Office may return the papers with an explanation of why the filing date was denied.

(c) The applicant may correct and resubmit the application papers. If the resubmitted papers and fee meet all the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section, the Office will grant a filing date as of the date the Office receives the corrected papers.

Ron

2009年7月28日 星期二

用Email寄送官函


美國專利局提出e-Office Action的方案(http://www.uspto.gov/eoa/
讓申請人可以透過private PAIR申請以電子郵件接收Office Action,取代傳統郵寄的方式,申請人亦能透過private PAIR下載所有的來往文件。申請人必須先取得用戶代碼、透過公證人...,用以申請private PAIR,可參考:http://www.patent-tutorial.net/test-site/node/1127

使用e-Office Action,申請人可以即時快速地收到USPTO的通知,包括各種跟期限有關的提醒信,大概更重要的是,減少紙張使用!

Ron