Understanding Patents: A Deeper Dive

- I'm Dana Robinson. I'd like to teach you about patent law and the protection of ideas. As an IP attorney, I have a fun job. Every day someone comes to me with an idea. America is the land of innovation. From a young age, we are taught that ideas have value and that people are rewarded for good ideas. We learn that ideas can even be the pathway to great wealth and in many cases, ideas can change the world we live in. As a result of this being pervasive in our culture, all of us have ideas and most people at one point or another have an idea that they think might be a winner.

Whether you're an individual or part of a corporate team, if you have ideas then you need to learn about how patent law can protect those ideas. Protecting a great idea is important and it can be really exciting. But it's not the only reason to learn about patent law. If you own a business, then you could have a risk that you could do something to violate someone else's patent and be sued for infringement. Infringement litigation can bankrupt a small company and for a larger company the cost can still be debilitating.

In this course, I'll help you understand what's patentable and talk you through the process of obtaining a patent. In addition, I'll teach you about patent infringement and help you search for patents. In the end, I hope to help you know enough to talk intelligently to a patent attorney and how to diminish your infringement risk. Let's get started.