Case Analysis & Practical Application Flashcards
7 cards from real PPC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Case Analysis & Practical Application flashcards as text
A client's application has been abandoned for 4 months due to failure to respond to an Office Action. Which procedure is available to revive it?
Answer: Petition to revive under 37 C.F.R. § 1.137 showing unintentional delay
An unintentionally abandoned application may be revived by petition under 37 C.F.R. § 1.137(a) accompanied by the required fee and a statement of unintentional delay.
In an interference or derivation proceeding, Priority of Invention is at issue. Under the AIA (for applications with an effective filing date on or after March 16, 2013), priority is generally awarded to:
Answer: The first inventor to file, under the first-inventor-to-file system
The AIA replaced the first-to-invent system with a first-inventor-to-file system for applications with effective filing dates on or after March 16, 2013.
During prior art searching, a paralegal finds a foreign language reference that appears to anticipate the claims. How should this reference be handled in the IDS?
Answer: Submit it with a concise explanation and a machine translation if available
Foreign language prior art should be submitted in the IDS with a concise explanation of relevance; a full translation is not required, but a machine or partial translation aids the examiner.
A patent paralegal receives a litigation hold notice related to a client's patent lawsuit. What is the immediate obligation regarding potentially relevant documents?
Answer: Suspend normal document destruction and preserve all potentially relevant materials
A litigation hold requires immediate suspension of routine document destruction for all potentially relevant materials to avoid spoliation sanctions.
An applicant receives a Notice of Allowance but discovers the allowed claims are broader than intended. Which action corrects this before the patent issues?
Answer: Submit an amendment after allowance under 37 C.F.R. § 1.312
An amendment after allowance under 37 C.F.R. § 1.312 allows applicants to make minor corrections to allowed claims before a patent issues, subject to examiner approval.
A paralegal reviews a patent license agreement that grants an exclusive license. Which statement best describes the licensee's rights?
Answer: The licensee has the right to exclude others, including the patent owner in some cases, from the licensed scope
An exclusive licensee has the right to exclude even the licensor from practicing the invention within the licensed scope, depending on the agreement's terms.
A patent paralegal is asked to conduct a claim mapping exercise comparing a competitor's product to the client's patent. What is the most important rule for direct literal infringement?
Answer: Every element of at least one claim must be present in the accused product
Direct literal infringement requires every element of at least one patent claim to be present in the accused product or process.