LEARNING OUTCOMES

The aim of this course is that the students gain information about European patent law. The student will also acquire knowledge on scientific writing and bibliometry and use this information to develop their career objectives.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The students will understand what can be patented and what is worth patenting at the national, european and world wide level.

PREREQUISITES

The content of the six hours course held at the International Summer School

TEACHING METHODS

Frontal lectures

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

1 BASICS: very basic distinction between Intellectual Property Rights (patents, utility models, designs, trademarks, secrets)

2 PATENT BASICS: patent as a privative right, what is and what is not patentable according to IT and EU practice, EPC references, exclusions, exceptions

3 PATENT REQUIREMENTS: patentability requirements: novelty and inventive step, theory, analysis, exercises

4 PATENT DRAFTING: description, claims, drawings, abstract, their purposes, how to read it, how to write it, problem/solution approach, claim drafting following the "two part form"

5 PATENTING STRATEGY: priority claim under Paris Convention, effects on prior art assessment, filing strategy

6 EXERCISES 1: claim drafting, introduction drafting, posing the problem/solution approach, prior art assessment and effects on claims

7 TRADEMARKS AND DESIGNS: trademak requirements, kind of trademarks, non-words trademaks; designs requirements and kind of designs

8 EXERCISES 2: deeper in claim drafting, introduction drafting, posing the problem/solution approach, prior art assessment and effects on claims

9 PATENT SEARCHES: kind of searches, prior art assessment searches, infringment searches, differences and similarity, how to perform a patent search, free sources on the web

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

material given by the teacher