This volume assembles papers commissioned by the National Research Council's Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP) to inform judgments about the significant institutional and policy changes in the patent system made over the past two decades. The chapters fall into three areas. The first four chapters consider the determinants and effects of changes in patent "quality." Quality refers to whether patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) meet the statutory standards of patentability, including novelty, nonobviousness, and utility. The fifth and sixth chapters consider the growth in patent litigation, which may itself be a function of changes in the quality of contested patents. The final three chapters explore controversies associated with the extension of patents into new domains of technology, including biomedicine, software, and business methods.

Table of Contents


Front Matter
Introduction
Patent Quality - Are All Patent Examiners Equal? Examiners, Patent Characteristics, and Litigation Outcomes
Patent Examination Procedures and Patent Quality
Patent Quality Control: A Comparison of U.S. Patent Re-examinations and European Patent Oppositions
Benefits and Costs of an Opposition Process
Patent Litigation - Enforcement of Patent Rights in the United States
Patent Litigation in the U.S. Semiconductor Industry
Patents in Software and Biotechnology - Intellectual Property Protection in the U.S. Software Industry
Internet Business Method Patents
Effects of Research Tool Patents and Licensing on Biomedical Innovation