The Patent Utility Requirement and Its Impact on Alternative Medical Treatments for Lyme Disease
Sarah Murphy Alternative medicine has made its way to the forefront of medical innovation, changing the way both doctors and patients approach complex health issues. Patenting medical inventions promotes advancement by increasing the exchange of vital information. This crucial benefit to society is particularly important for patients suffering from chronic illnesses who are dissatisfied with conventional medicine. Though the patent system requires that patented inventions are “useful,” there is no guarantee that the product is effective or even safe to use. The medical field must grapple with this trade-off between the benefit of new treatments made easily available to people...
Utility Models and Their Comparison with Patents and Implications for the US Intellectual Property Law System
Hans-Peter Brack European Patent Office (EPO) practice, guided by the European Patent Convention (EPC) is in many aspects very similar to Europe’s national patent practice, such as the German patent law. In this article, the US practitioner is briefly reminded of some of the considerable differences between US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) patent prosecution practice and its European counterparts, primarily the EPO. The utility model is highlighted and discussed using the patent laws of Germany as a case study for comparison. Additionally, this paper examines the potential benefits of utility model protection in the US, as well as what...