Customer Reviews

Introduction to Patent Law (Introduction to Law Series)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am an Engineer, not a Lawyer, but I encounter patent issues on the job- in both the Manufacturing and Design worlds. I found this book to be very helpful in explaining the basics of patenting inventions, in clear, concise terms that a non-lawyer can understand.

In fact that's been my issue with many other publications/ readings on Patent Law- they assume you're a lawyer or have a legal background and introduce terms and acronyms without explanation. This book does not.

This author does a great job at bridging the gap between those, like me, w/an Engineering degree and someone within the legal profession.

In the first chapter alone, I found more information on the essence/basics of Patent Law than in any other research. All in one book- as a matter of fact; all in the first chapter. It was engaging and insightful enough that I read the entire 1st chapter in one sitting.

This would be a great tool for the Engineers out there looking to understand the legal world we all work within. Learn how to claim and protect your IP! Don't worry I didn't know what that meant either... until I read the book.

(Okay, it stands for Intellectual Property)

Although intended for law school students, this title can be very useful for scientific professionals who frequently encounter patent-related issues in today's industrial R&D world. Particularly I find its great value for researchers in the fields of chemistry, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry.

The best feature of the book is that the author successfully breaks down the often abstract and difficult statutes, laws and prosecution into easily understandable texts. She is so good at using specific cases and examples to explain important points that a chemist/biochemist like me can read the book without much difficulty or inconvenience. It has a list of discussed cases where you can find familiar names such as: Amgen, Baker Hughes, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genentech, Dow, Eli Lilly, Gen-Probe, Merck, Perkin-Elmer, Pharmacia, etc.

As a textbook in law school, it covers some patent (law) history and its societal impacts which may not be interesting for some practical purposes. It is certainly not a patent examiner's handbook or MPEP, nor is it a preparation book for patent bar exam.

If a chemist wants to quickly grasp some background without reading this 400-page book, I recommend the excellent materials provided by American Chemical Society to its members through its website.

I bought this book in preparation for my Patent Law exam, and it turned out to be much more helpful than my casebook, my other outlines, or anything my professor said in class. It is comprehensive, accessible, and very current. I would highly recommend this book to law students, lawyers, and others who need a well-written and well-researched introduction to the topic. It's simply the best in its field.

I am a LL.M. Student. Initially I had to prepare my classes with the traditional Case Book. This was frustrating, because sometimes the Tech/Language is difficult to follow. Then, I found this wonderful book. Its very easy to follow, with pretty simple examples. Very well organize. She makes Patents very intuitive. The author first explain everything with A + B Examples, then she enters to more difficult stuff. If you don't have a tech background, this is your book! I think, this book is suitable even for business managers that wants to know about patents. GREAT BOOK!

Although the purpose of the book is not to prepare readers for the patent bar it does so anyways, especially Chapters 600 and 700 of the MPEP which are the most challenging and analytical and also the most heavily tested. It also goes into the basics of reissue and reixamination as well as international agreements governing patent prosecution.

If you are reading the book solely to prepare for the Patent Bar skip the three chapters at the end on infringement since this involves litigation and is not tested on the exam. I loved the multitude of examples and the history of how the laws were developed. Makes studying for the test a lot more enjoyable.

It really gives me a whole picture of what patent law is about. I bought this book for my patent bar exam.It might not be the great book for that. It helps me, however, understand basic concepts and clarify many confusions in patent preparation and prosecution. I've heard that it's quite helpful for law students studying patent law, and even beyond school.

Quite simply this is one of the best legal books I've purchased in long time.

The vast majority is well written, and presents complicated subject matter in a clear and concise format. The footnotes are very useful as well.

For those skimming reviews, a few quick points:
1) Not geared exclusively to engineers.
2) No prerequisite knowledge (although it may be a bit thick for non-attorneys in spots)
3) Good scope, excellent cross references and footnotes for those who want more detail.
4) Is reasonably up to date through 2009 -- important given the changes to case law in recent years.
5) Accessible reference book for users. Good depth without being ridiculously long.

WHO should read this?
1) Managers who deal with intellectual property
2) Patent bar candidates -- you won't need this to pass the patent bar, but you MUST read this or something like it, for no other reason than to realize that the patent bar is a tiny sliver of what you actually need to know.
3) Patent practitioners -- Yes, you! -- There have been so many changes to case law and procedure over the past several years. This book provides a reasonable and fast overview which helps you retain the thread of context throughout. This book would not replace a detailed CLE, however I think they very much complement one another.

WISH LIST
Coverage on international patent coverage is disappointingly light. However, that is an understandably large and complicated topic. I would *hope* that the author or publisher will produce a book on the topic of patents abroad, particularly the EU and in Asia, with a similar scope.

This book is a great adjunct to the Patent Law course I am taking. For each topic in my casebook, I read the corresponding chapter in Mueller's book first. It sets up the material perfectly, making most of the cases much easier to follow. I could almost say that a patent course might be taught exclusively from this book, but Mueller doesn't cover some less well-known cases found in casebooks that give nuance to the material. That will be true of almost all horn books. But you could probably read only this book and still get at least a B in your course.

An excellent book, giving a clear and level-headed picture of the current patent law landscape in the United States. A book on this subject matter could get ridiculous in a hurry, especially for someone unfamiliar with it (which probably applies to most everyone who would read a book with such a title.) The subject matter is organized in a logical fashion, and only segues briefly to more fully explain a particular point, expanding separate issues in separate chapters. I highly recommend.

This is a very good intro to patent law. It covers the essentials of 35 USC 101, 102, 103, 112 with clear language and essential case histories. It's not enough to pass the patent bar, but it's an excellent place to get an overview and foundation before going on to more detailed patent bar study materials. It's also good for reviewing concepts for practicing patent professionals. It is focussed mainly on the law, meaning it does not cover many of the administrative issues related to prosecuting patents, but it covers the law well and clearly.
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