Looking at Patent Law: Opportunity Prospecting by Analysis of Analogous Patent Art

摘要

This installment of the semi-regular column on patent law looks at patent citations as a way to discover new technical opportunities and new collaborators. During the prosecution of a patent application, the examiner identifies and cites prior art in terms of “background” art or art that impacts the patentability of the subject patent application. Additionally, once a patent issues, it becomes part of the “prior art” landscape and may be cited during the prosecution of subsequent patent applications as a forward citation. A case study is presented illustrating the use of forward citations of a patent licensed for electrochemically polishing stainless steel valves to discover a previously unknown application for electrochemically polishing medical stents. Electrochemical scientists, engineers and technologists are encouraged to regularly review patent literature in addition to the review of scholarly literature.