Patent systems and patent laws exist to promote investment in and development of technology. The recently-enacted America Invents Act (AIA) and certain U.S. Supreme Court decisions over the last 5 years have brought the most dramatic changes to U.S. patent law in more than 50 years. This course focuses on the fundamentals of U.S. patent law including patentability, infringement, inventorship, and ownership. The course will also explore some of the underlying themes in patent law as well as the purpose of and justifications for a patent system. The course reading includes the patent statute (Title 35 of the United States Code) both pre-AIA and post-AIA and selected case law primarily from the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The course will generally address both the procurement and enforcement of U.S. patents. Although this course will cover the legal principles underlying patent claim drafting and patentability, this course will not focus on patent practice and procedure. Hybrid Juris Doctor students cannot take this course for an S/U grade.

Students will learn to draft patent claims that are acceptable to the US Patent & Trademark Office and to the United States courts. Students will become familiar with the statutes, regulations, practice and customs that guide the drafting of acceptable patent claims.

Students will learn to draft patent claims that are acceptable to the US Patent & Trademark Office and to the United States courts. Students will become familiar with the statutes, regulations, practice and customs that guide the drafting of acceptable patent claims.

The America Invents Act (AIA) is the most significant reform of US patent law in over sixty years. It brings in its wake numerous procedural changes that will transform how patent attorneys approach their filing and litigation strategies, in addition to difficulties that are certain to arise due to the continuing application of the current patent law. Case law from the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC), which has exclusive jurisdiction over patent cases emanating from all the district courts, already illustrate some of the issues that the AIA is likely to give rise to. Following the implementation of the AIA, the CAFC will have an even greater influence over the development of patent jurisprudence. This course will examine some of the more significant changes under the AIA through the use of statutory interpretation and in-depth analysis of CAFC case precedents. It will complement the existing doctrinal patent law courses and develop students' awareness of the intricacies of patent practice as well as their skills in statutory analysis and case law interpretation.