Patent Law Fundamentals Flashcards
7 cards from real Patent Bar Exam practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Patent Law Fundamentals flashcards as text
Under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), what is the deadline for entering the US national phase from the international filing date?
Answer: 30 months from the priority date
Under 35 U.S.C. § 371 and PCT Article 22, the deadline for entering the US national phase is 30 months from the earliest priority date claimed in the international application.
What is a 'Jepson claim' format in patent prosecution?
Answer: A claim with a preamble stating prior art elements and a body claiming the improvement thereto
A Jepson claim includes a preamble acknowledging prior art elements followed by 'the improvement comprising' language, which limits the claim to the improvement over the admitted prior art.
Under 35 U.S.C. § 103, when is an invention considered obvious?
Answer: When the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill at the time of the invention
Under § 103, an invention is obvious—and thus unpatentable—if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art would have been obvious to a POSITA at the time the claimed invention was made.
What is the term of a utility patent filed after June 8, 1995?
Answer: 20 years from the earliest effective U.S. filing date
Under 35 U.S.C. § 154(a)(2), utility patents filed after June 8, 1995 have a term of 20 years from the earliest effective U.S. filing date of the application.
Which of the following is an example of subject matter eligible for patent protection under 35 U.S.C. § 101?
Answer: A novel machine that uses a natural phenomenon to produce a useful result
Under Alice/Mayo framework, a machine that applies a natural phenomenon in a meaningful way to produce a useful, concrete, and tangible result passes § 101 eligibility.
What is the effect of a 'terminal disclaimer' filed during prosecution?
Answer: It disclaims the remaining term of the patent beyond a specified date, often to overcome an obviousness-type double patenting rejection
A terminal disclaimer is filed to overcome obviousness-type double patenting rejections; it ties the patent's term to that of the reference patent and requires common ownership.
Under 37 C.F.R. § 1.56, what is the 'duty of candor' owed to the USPTO?
Answer: The duty of each individual associated with the filing to disclose information material to patentability
Rule 56 imposes a duty on inventors, attorneys, and others associated with the filing to disclose information material to patentability; breach of this duty with deceptive intent constitutes inequitable conduct.
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