Intellectual Property Research: Patent Statutes

• General Information Concerning Patents
• Multi-Step U.S. Patent Search Strategy
• Official Gazette for Patents
• Patent Basics
  • A U.S. patent gives an inventor, the right to “exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling” an invention or “importing” it into the U.S. A plant patent provides additional rights on the “parts” of plants (e.g., a plant patent on an apple variety would include rights on the apples from the plant variety). What is granted is not the right to make, use, offer for sale, sell or import the invention, but the right to stop others from doing so. If someone infringes on a patent, the inventor may initiate legal action. U.S. patents are effective only within the U.S. and its territories and possessions.
• Patent Center
  • Provides access to the dockets for issued or published patent applications. Use this database to view an application's prosecution history and continuity information.
• Patent Public Search
  • New web-based patent search application that will replace internal legacy search tools
• State Trademark Information Links
  • USPTO page with links to state trademark web sites
• Trademark Basics
  • A trademark is generally a word, phrase, symbol, or design, or a combination thereof, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others. A service mark is the same as a trademark, except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than goods.
• USPTO Website

• PTAB Bar Association
  • A bar association representing PTAB practitioners, the PTAB Bar Association maintains a page full of links to various useful research resources.

U.S. Patent law is found in Title 35 of the United States Code, which is one of the titles that has been enacted into positive law by Congress - meaning that Title 35 is legal evidence of the law in all U.S. courts.

The United States Code can be found online at the website of its publisher, the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the United States House of Representatives

• Title 35--Patents

The U.S. Code is also available online at GovInfo.

Annotated versions of the United States Code are published by West (United States Code Annotated or U.S.C.A.) and Lexis (United States Code Service or U.S.C.S.) and are available online in both services. HeinOnline offers full historic coverage of the print edition of the U.S. Code, which can be useful when faced with an issue based on a previous copyright law.

Patent  Act of 1952

• Patent Act of 1952, Pub. L. No. 82-593, 66 Stat. 792
  • The Patent Act of 1952 enacted Title 35 of the U.S. Code into positive law, codifying and simplifying existing patent law
• Legislative History of the Codification of Title 35, Patents: P.L. 82-593: 66 Stat. 792: July 19, 1952
• L. James Harris, Some Aspects of the Underlying Legislative Intent of the Patent Act of 1952, 23 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 658 (1955)

Patent and Trademark Law Amendments Act (Bayh–Dole Act)

• Patent and Trademark Law Amendments Act (Bayh–Dole Act), Pub. L. No. 96-517, 94 Stat. 3015 (1980)
• Patent and Trademark Law Amendments of 1980
  • Legislative history of the 1980 patent amendments (Bayh–Dole Act) compiled by the firm Arnold & Porter.

Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984

• Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, Pub. L. 98-417, 98 Stat. 1585
• Congress.gov: Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, S.1538
• HeinOnline: Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984
  • Legislative history of the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 compiled by the firm Arnold & Porter.

Patent Law Amendments Act of 1984

• Patent Law Amendments Act of 1984, Pub. L. 98-622, 98 Stat. 3383
• Congress.gov: Patent Law Amendments of 1984, H.R.6286
• HeinOnline: Patent Law Amendments Act of 1984: P.L. 98-622: 98 Stat. 3383: November 8, 1984
  • Legislative history of the Patent Law Amendments Act of 1984 compiled by the firm Arnold & Porter.

American Inventors Protection Act of 1999

• American Inventors Protection Act of 1999, Pub. L. No. 106-113, § 4001, 113 Stat. 1501A-552

PRO-IP Act

• Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008, Pub. L. 110-403, 122 Stat. 4256
• Congress.gov: Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008, S.3325
• HeinOnline: Protecting America's Intellectual Property: A Legislative History of the Pro IP Act of 2008

Leahy-Smith America Invents Act

• Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, Pub. L. No. 112-29, 125 Stat. 284 (2011)
• Congress.gov: Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, H.R.1249
• HeinOnline: Patent Reform: A Legislative History of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act