​​Patently Strategic - Patent Strategy for Startups

Patent Anatomy: What’s in a patent?

December 22, 2021 Aurora Patents | Ashley Sloat, Ph.D. Season 1 Episode 9
​​Patently Strategic - Patent Strategy for Startups
Patent Anatomy: What’s in a patent?
Show Notes Chapter Markers

What’s actually in a patent? What can you learn from reading one? Where do you even find them? For answers to these critical questions and more, I sat down with Patently Strategic regulars – David Cohen, Principal at Cohen Sciences and Ashley Sloat, President and Director of Patent Strategy here at Aurora. In our discussion, we break down the key anatomy, cut through the terminology, and provide tips on how you can use this information for your competitive advantage.

Patenting can be such an essential part of early startup years, but it’s a very complex domain, with loads of special vocabulary, and all of that can make it seem less accessible than it was really designed to be. In putting the questions together for the Q&A with Ashley and David, I quickly realized that, had I had the answers and this context much sooner in my own journey into this world, a lot of things would have made a lot more sense much earlier.

This is a guided tour, intended to reduce this barrier of entry, unlock for you one of the greatest libraries in the world, and help set you up with clear eyes going into your own patent journey. The tour is done through the anatomical lens of the most intrinsic and tangible piece of the process – the patent application. It’s through the study of a patent's structure and parts, that you’ll quickly begin to see more clearly how the broader world of patenting works!

** Resources **

* Show Notes: https://www.aurorapatents.com/blog/new-podcast-patent-anatomy

* USPTO: https://www.uspto.gov

* Public PAIR: https://portal.uspto.gov/pair/PublicPair

* Google Patents: https://patents.google.com

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And as always, thanks for listening! 

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Note: The contents of this podcast do not constitute legal advice.

Intro
What is a patent application?
What's a patent?
Goal of the patent system
The right to say "Patent Pending"
Secrecy timeline (stealth mode)
Talking with investors
Patent application audiences
Patents vs academic papers
What can you learn from a patent application?
Starting with the background section
Claims: defining the monopoly
Dates, the patent term, and the enforcement timeline
What patent-related details are not in a patent application?
Published application vs. issued patent
Types of patent applications
Utility patents
Design patents
Plant patents
Provisional application
Provisional vs. non-provisional applications
Anatomical breakdown (in-depth)
Figures
Claims: starting with the end
Specification
Context and lexicography
Going deeper on claims
Assessing infringement
Independent vs. dependent claims
Where do you find patents?
Outro