Patent Law (JD Academic Unit)

Study content for Patent Law (JD Academic Unit): notes, practice MCQs and flashcards across 10 syllabus topics. This is AI-generated draft content — citations have not yet been independently verified.

Syllabus

• Patentable Subject Matter (35 USC § 101)Topic

  Utility requirement · Patent-eligible subject matter (Alice/Mayo framework, abstract ideas, natural phenomena, laws of nature) · Practical application / inventive concept

• Novelty & Prior Art (35 USC § 102)Topic

  AIA prior art definitions (effective filing date) · Anticipation doctrine · Statutory bars / grace period

• Non-Obviousness (35 USC § 103)Topic

  Graham v. John Deere framework (scope/content of prior art, level of ordinary skill, differences, secondary considerations) · TSM test history and KSR flexible approach · Secondary considerations (commercial success, long-felt need, failure of others)

• Written Description, Enablement & Best Mode (35 USC § 112)Topic

  Written description requirement · Enablement (undue experimentation / Wands factors) · Best mode (disclosure duty)

• Claim Interpretation & Claim DraftingTopic

  Claim construction (Phillips standard — intrinsic vs. extrinsic evidence) · Independent vs. dependent claims · Means-plus-function claims (§ 112(f))

• InfringementTopic

  Literal infringement · Doctrine of equivalents (function/way/result; all-elements rule) · Direct vs. indirect infringement (induced, contributory)

• Defenses & RemediesTopic

  Invalidity defenses · Inequitable conduct / unenforceability · Patent misuse

• Patent Prosecution & USPTO Practice (overview)Topic

  Patent application process (specification, claims, drawings, oath) · Priority (CIP, continuation, divisional) · Inter partes review (IPR) and post-grant review (PGR)

• International Patent Basics (PCT, Paris Convention)Topic

  Patent Cooperation Treaty filing overview · Paris Convention priority claim

• Design & Plant Patents (brief coverage)Topic

  Design patent standards · Plant patents and PVPA

• Alice Corporation v. CLS Bank International

  What is the two-step Alice framework for § 101 patentable subject matter?

  573 U.S. 208 (2014)
• Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc.

  Can isolated human DNA be patented under § 101?

  569 U.S. 576 (2013)
• 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) (post-AIA); Helsinn Healthcare v. Teva Pharmaceuticals

  What is the effective-filing-date standard for novelty under post-AIA § 102?

  139 S. Ct. 628 (2019)