Patent Law Notes

      The Constitution of the United States (Article I, Section 8, Clause 8) makes patents a federal matter. Patent law, enacted by the U.S. Congress, is administered under the Executive branch as a function of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Ministerial responsibility for the examination and registration of patent claims is vested in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office under the direction of the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks and the Assistant Commissioner for Patents. Patent administrative issues which may become contested, including cases of interferences between parties, are usually adjudicated by the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI). Matters of patent law, including appeals from of BPAI decisions, are decided in U.S. Federal Courts

The United States Code

      The federal laws of the United States are set down in the United States Code. The part of the Code that contains patent law is Title 35, the "Patent Act" (35 USC).

The Code of Federal Regulations

      The regulations under which patent law is administered in the Department of Commerce are issued by the Executive branch and set out in the Code of Federal Regulations. Title 37 of the Code (37CFR), "Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights," deals with intellectual property. Chapter 1, Subchapter A, Sections 1, 3, 5, and 7, comprise patent administration regulations, in particular.

Manual of Patent Examining Procedure

      Within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the procedures used by patent examiners and administrators to process patent applications, maintain patent records, and resolve administrative matters are contained in the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP).

Court Decisions and Case Law

      Information about federal court decisions relating to patent law will be found in the various federal court reporters. Many of these cites, particularly records of cases since 1995, may be available on the Web through the U.S. Court Finder. Many of the federal court decisions dealing with patent, trademark, and copyright matters, in particular, are reported in volumes of the United States Patent Quarterly (USPQ). This reporter also includes decisions of the BPAI. Timely summaries of those issues are also reported in a number of periodical publications, such as the Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal published by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (BNA).