Time to reconsider the PHOSITA
01 November 2008
Maintaining consistency and ensuring stability in the patent examination process are crucial to the issuance of quality patents. Marian Underweiser of IBM proposes one way to make the process more predictable
What do patents mean? The question is not directed to the importance of patents to innovation or the economy, but to what the patent actually describes. Recent and significant attention to the patent system has been focused on issues such as obviousness and injunctions – important issues relating to the merits of an invention and the remedies for infringement. Notably absent is attention to the adequacy of the patent document – whether it clearly explains what the invention is and what rights are granted to the patentee. And yet this is arguably the most important issue in patent law, since the resolution of any other issue depends in the first instance on the patent's meaning. The issue is so important that the balance of the patent system is premised on it – in exchange for the patentee's exclusive rights, the patent document must teach the invention to the public. It...
Only subscribers have complete access to Managing IP Magazine,
log in or
subscribe now.
Alternatively take a
free trial, giving you 48-hour access to Managing IP Magazine (some articles and surveys may be excluded).
Subscribe Now
This article is available to subscribers. Please click subscribe to read the rest of the article.
Subscribe
Take a free trial
Please take a free 48-hour trial to gain limited access. Some articles and surveys may be excluded.
Take a free trial