Our course overview is going to be structured as four modules for
this course.
The first is going to be the introduction and overview of patents.
What is a patent?
What do we mean by a patent?
What does it do for you?
The second module is going to look at the process of getting a patent.
We're not yet going to deal into the substance of what a patent application
contains because that's in Module 3, and we'll deal with the substance or the meat.
If you really want to understand what does it take to get a patent.
If you say, I know patents are important, I know that I want to get a patent.
I know that it's a long process and complicated, I understand that.
Just tell me, how do I get it?
Well, Module 3 really focuses on that.
What do I have to do, what do I have to show?
Module 2 says, how long is it going to take and how much is it going to cost?
What kind of challenges am I going to face along the journey of getting a patent?
So think of Module 2 as the journey to patenting.
And Module 3 is the substance of what's gotta be in that application,
what are the details?
Module 4 is the fun.
What's some advanced topics, some interesting issues,
things like patent trolls or software patents and patent bombs, or
some interesting case examples will be in Module 4.
So advanced topics, interesting examples, Module 4.
Kind of the icing on the cake, whereas Module 3 is the cake, or the substance.
Module 2 is how do you get the cake home, how do you get it to happen, and
Module 1 is what is the cake?
So that's the idea of what's a patent.
And when we think about this first module,
we're going to be looking at this introduction to patents.
And we will say what exactly is a patent?
What do we mean by that, and what does a patent protect for us?
Why do governments care?
Why do they create this?
Because this is a little bit counter-intuitive.
Governments normally like to stop monopolies, but with patents,
they're creating monopolies.
Why do it?
Some people are asking that useful question.
And it helps to understand why to understand the value of patents and
why we do encourage them in society.
What does it take to get a patent, and
where are my patents valid, if I do get one?
Where does it protect me?