Patent Law Essentials: A Concise Guide [Hardcover]

Alan L. Durham (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 156720242X | ISBN-13: 978-1567202427 | Publication Date: January 1999

This consise, up-to-date survey of U.S. patent law uses examples, many from actual cases, to explain the various aspects of the patent system, including issues of patent validity, infringement, the application process, and litigation. Although many large multi-volume patent treatises are already available, this book will serve as a useful overview or starting point for further research. Patent claim interpretation, equivalence, prior art, and the extension of patent protection to non-traditional subject matter such as computer software are covered in detail. Appendixes contain sample U.S. patents. This guide is suitable as an introduction to the field for non-attorneys, including engineers or business persons with patent-related concerns. Attorneys can also use it as an introduction, a quick reference, or a case-finder. All discussions of the law are supported by citations to authority, including recent decisions by the Supreme Court and the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. While this study provides a serious and comprehensive analysis of the law, it is presented in the simplest and clearest terms possible.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"There are several excellent multi-volume legal treatises on patent law for the patent practitioner. But these are far too comprehensive to be useful to non-lawyers, or even to lawyers who are not patent lawyers. For the first time, Alan Durham's Patent Law Essentials lays it out plain and simple. A corporate R&D director, for example, can read Alan's book in a few evenings and come away with all he or she needs to do their job. A layperson can ignore the footnotes and read a clear, understandable expose of the essentials of patent law and patent litigation."-Roger Borovoy Fish & Richardson P.C.

Book Description

A thorough and practical introduction to patent law: what it covers and how it works to protect intellectual property.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Quorum Books (January 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156720242X
• ISBN-13: 978-1567202427
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #724,997 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best concise manual for beginners and experts alike., January 28, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Palo Alto, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Patent Law Essentials: A Concise Guide (Hardcover)

This book represents the best one-volume reference for beginners and experts interested in patent law. It is immensely helpful as a quick reference guide for materials that might be useful in legal proceedings. It is also an invaluable teaching tool that presents a fluid, cogent view of the full breadth of patent law. Students would be well advised to secure a copy and read it from cover to cover. (Thankfully, the book has none of the boring and irrelevant historical anecdotes that seem to grow like vestigial flesh on all the other treatises as the law and events pass them by.) The book strikes a fair balance between the detail necessary to comprehend fully the depth of patent law issues and the generality needed by those who are in search of a quick and ready understanding of patent law as a whole or one of its narrow component parts. In short, this book is an invaluable source for executives, technical experts, patent prosecutors, litigators and students.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent warm-up for the real thing, August 23, 2002

By 

Beaumont Twomiles "cee" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Patent Law Essentials: A Concise Guide (Hardcover)

While waiting to find out if my application to the PTO to sit for the next patent bar exam was approved, and prior to obtaining a full-fledged course of study on patent practice, I decided to invest in this book to get a better idea of what I was getting into. I must say that not only did I get a comprehensive introduction to the topic, but it was also an enjoyable read. The author uses subtle humor to get the points across, as exemplified by his use of various, patented mousetrap designs as examples, and his knowledge of patent law is superb. Indeed, there is hardly a page in the book sans footnotes and citations to case law.

Now that I am into the thick of learning the subject in detail in preparation for the exam, I find the subject matter familiar and that the overall perspective gained from Patent Law Essentials is invaluable.

This is a well organized, informative book that should be useful to any technical professional, especially, who wishes to demystify the arcane practice of patent prosecution.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A five star book, August 23, 2000

By 

John R. Yates, Jr. (Los Angeles, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Patent Law Essentials: A Concise Guide (Hardcover)

This book provides an excellent, concise and clear explanation of basic patent law and current "hot" issues in the law. I am an experienced lawyer who wanted to inform himself about this area of law, and it was great for that purpose. In addition, many cases illustrative of the decisional law on various issues are cited in footnotes, so it is very easy to follow up on any issues one desires. Well worth the price.