What do you mean by a patent?
Patent Lawyer
Before discussing about the patent lawyer it is necessary to give a short description about the patent and the patent laws. So let us address these topics first.
A patent is a collection of exclusive rights granted by the national government to a discoverer or an inventor for a specific period in exchange for a public disclosure of the invention or the discovery.
The methods for granting the patents, the prerequisites placed on the patentee and the extent of the exclusive rights differ from country to country according to the national laws and international agreements.
However, it is necessary that the patent application must include one or more claims defining the invention that needs to be non-obvious, new, useful and industrially applicable. The exclusive rights that are given to the patentee in most countries prevent other persons from using, selling, making or distributing the patented invention without the consent of the patentee.
History of the patents and patent laws
The era of the patents and the patent laws generally began in Italy with a Venetian statute of 1474 that was issued by the Venetian republic. Government of Venetian republic issued a decree by which a new and the inventive devices that were put into practice were to be communicated to the republic in order to get legal protection against potential patent law and patent (right) violators. The time period of legal protection was curtailed to ten years.
Patents had already existed before the birth of the first patent laws. In Great Britain grants in the “letters patent” type were issued by the ruler to the inventors (who had filed for the patent (rights)) and were approved. A grant of 1331 to john kempe and company is the earliest authentic example of a royal grant made with an intention of including English language as the medium of instruction in a new industry. In fact the first Italian patent was awarded by republic of Florence in 1421 and also there are proofs suggesting that something like patents was used by few of the ancient Greek cities. As far back as in 500 BC, in the Greek city of Sybaris, the inventors were given encouragement by securing the profits that arose from the new invention or discovery like a new alteration or modification in the luxury by the inventor for a year.
What do you mean by the lawyer handling the patent law suits?
A lawyer handling the patent law suits represents the clients in the court of law in order to obtain the patents. This lawyer also acts in all the legal matters and legal procedures that are related to practice of the patent laws like filing an opposition.
In short, the lawyers handling the patent law suits are the lawyers who specialize in the patent laws and advise and guide the clients through the legal procedure and patent application.
Skills required by the lawyer in order to deal with the patent law suits
- Lawyers handling the patent law suits must have a good ability to represent the clients having issues regarding application for the patent rights in the law court
- Lawyers handling the patent law suits must have good ability in counseling and advising the inventors and the manufacturers over the patent right issues
- Lawyers handling the patent law suits must have ability to grasp and interpret the terms and conditions necessary for the clients to file patents
- Lawyers handling the patent law suits must be capable of interpreting patent laws for the clients
- Lawyers handling the patent law suits must be assertive in making the arguments for claiming the patent rights of their clients
Educational qualifications required by the lawyer who wants to deal with the patent law cases
- Law graduates who want to practice law at the bar or in the private law firm must acquire a four year bachelor degree in any discipline from an accredited undergraduate institute plus a three year bachelor degree from a recognized law institute
- An applicant is required to clear the law school admission test (LSAT) with a passing score which is a criteria for getting admitted to the law school which has got the approval from the American Bar Association
- It is mandatory for a law graduate to pass the state bar written examination in order to get a certification of the state bar association to practice patent law in the court of law
- If the law graduate completes his graduation or post graduation in economics, social science, political science, informational technology and bio-technology it becomes an advantage for the law graduate to practice patent law in the court of law
Duties of the lawyer handling the patent law suits
- Lawyers handling the patent law suits interpret the patent laws, prepare and submit patent applications to the United States patent and trademark office
- Lawyers handling the patent law suits represent and defend their client in the patent infringement litigations
- Lawyers handling the patent law suits advises their clients over the legal issues like validity of the patents and the patentability of the inventions
- Lawyers handling the patent law suits also offer the legal services to the American firms who require the copyrights and trademark protection in the foreign countries
Importance of the lawyer handling the patent law suits in the court of law
Lawyers handling the patent law suits help the inventor to protect his/her original ideas/invention/innovation so that other persons are unable steal it and publish the ideas in their own name and make money or take the credit for the ideas/invention/innovation. Thus the lawyer makes the inventor aware of his/her patent rights to register a patent for his/her invention in the patent office.
Today many companies file the patents in the patent office and only some of them are getting a patent. In United States there is a competition among different pharmaceutical firms for getting patents of the herbal products and various vaccines useful for preventing dreadful diseases.
Thus the patent law suits in United States are on rise these days and hence the demand for the lawyers handling the patent law suits has increased in USA.
Finally one can conclude that the career as a patent lawyer is a challenging and the demanding career.
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