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Intellectual Property

Resources for researching copyright, trademark, patent, and trade secrets law.

Patent Law

  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) (open access)
    The United States Patent and Trademark Office's website offers a wealth of information, including:

  • Chisum on Patents, by Donald S. Chisum (Temple Law access, via Lexis)
    The leading treatise on United States patent law, Chisum provides overviews and in-depth analyses about patent law and issues. The Law Library also has a print copy last updated in 2010.

  • Moy’s Walker on Patents, by R. Carl Moy (Temple Law access, via Westlaw)
    Another well-known treatise on U.S. patent law.

  • Patent Law Fundamentals, by John Gladstone Mills (Temple Law access, via Westlaw)
    This treatise compares and contrasts different IP protections and provides information on foreign patent laws.

  • Harmon on Patents:  Black-Letter Law and Commentary, by Robert L. Harmon (Temple Law access, via Bloomberg Law)
    A patent treatise providing black-letter rules for both prosecution and litigation, with extensive commentary.  Harmon places more emphasis on historical perspective and Supreme Court opinions than Chisum or Walker.  It was published in 2007, so some information may be out of date.

  • Baxter World Patent Law & Practice, by J.W. Baxter, John P. Sinnott, William Joseph Cotreau, Jessica Sinnott & Chen Wang (Temple Law access, via Lexis)
    This treatise explains the patent process in industrialized nations.  Unlike many other IP treatises focused on international law, the organization is by topic rather than by country.

  • Patents and the Federal Circuit, by Robert L. Harmon, Laura A. Lydigsen, Judy K. He, Joshua H. James & Andrea Shoffstaff (Temple access, via Bloomberg Law)
    This text discusses U.S. patent law within the context of U.S. Federal Circuit opinions.

  • Patent Litigation Strategies Handbook, eds. William P. Atkins & Deborah E. Hoffman (Temple Law access, via Bloomberg Law)
    This handbook covers all aspects of patent litigation, as well as pre-litigation considerations and post-trial actions.

  • Faber on Mechanics of Patent Claim Drafting, by Robert C. Faber (Temple Law access, via PLI Plus)
    This practical guide focuses on the mechanics of patent drafting, outlining the legal processes for each type of claim and addressing common claim-drafting flaws.

  • Electronic and Software Patents: Law and Practice, eds. Steven W. Lundberg, Stephen C. Durant & Ann M. McCrackin (Temple Law access, via Bloomberg Law)
    A collaboration between the American Intellectual Property Law Association and Bloomberg Law, this treatise focuses on eceltronic and software patent law practice.

  • Pharmaceutical Patent Law, by John R. Thomas (Temple Law access, via Bloomberg Law)
    This treatise focuses on legal issues specific to pharmaceutical protection.

  • Patent Law in a Nutshell, by Randall R. Rader & Benjamin J. Christoff (Temple Law access, via West Academic Study Aids)
    Nutshells are designed to be easy-to-read but in-depth reviews of the law in a particular area; this one covers patent law.

  • Principles of Patent Law, by Robert E. Schechter & John R. Thomas (Temple Law access, via West Academic Study Aids)
    This study aid provides an extensive analysis of patent law.

  • Lexis Patent Law Resources (Temple Law access, via Lexis)
    Lexis collects links to various patent law materials, including cases, legislation, secondary sources, and legal news.

  • SSRN Patent Law eJournal (open access)
    This subject-matter ejournal collects journal publications, working papers, and pre-publication materials on patent law.

Patent Search Databases

Different patent search databases have different functions.  Some (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Westlaw Patents & Applications, Espacenet, and Patentscope) search patent applications and/or granted patents, while others (Bloomberg Law, Docket Navigator) search patent cases.  Google Patents has granted patents as well as litigation associated with certain patents  The descriptions below note the jurisdiction(s) each database covers.

  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) patent search (open access)
    The USPTO offers several ways to search US patents, including access to PDF images of the patents, including:

    • Public Patent Search has replaced the PatFT and AppFT databases for public patent searching.. 
    • To view an entire patent file (including actions, declarations, and petitions), use Patent Center (Patent Center replaces Public PAIR, which retired in July 2022).

  • Espacenet (open access)
    Espacenet is the European Patent Office database providing free access to over 100 million European patent documents.  It also provides machine translations of the patent documents.

  • Google Patents (open access)
    Google Patents provides US and European Patent Office granted patents and patent applications, as well as litigation associated with certain patents.  Unlike the USPTO, no plug-in is required to view patent images.

  • Westlaw Patents & Applications (Temple Law access, via Westlaw)
    Westlaw provides access to US, European, Asian, and Australian patent documents.

  • Patentscope (open access)
    The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) provides over 100 million patent documents, including over 4 million international Patent Cooperation applications and national and regional patent collections.

  • Docket Navigator (Temple Law access, via Docket Navigator)
    Docket Navigator.provides daily reports on current patent cases; IP case dockets; patent, judge, court, and case profiles; and analytical searching to compare judges, courts, and cases.  To request access, email contact@docketnavigator.com using your Temple email and include information about which database library you want to use.

  • Bloomberg Law Patents & Trade Secrets (Temple Law access, via Bloomberg Law)
    In this practice center, Bloomberg Law collects together IP news and reports, case documents and other court documents, practice tools, and various trackers.