Certificate Course in Patent Law Licensing, Claims and Litigation

Introduction

Do you know the amount of settlement in Apple Inc. vs. Samsung Electronics Company Ltd., one of the most celebrated intellectual property rights battles?

The parties agreed to settle for a whopping amount of approximately $548 million.

Dreaming of being involved with such high profile, high stake IPR battles? With an increasing amount of damages awarded in patent litigations, there is always a demand for patent lawyers who can understand and manage proceedings. Accordingly, the lawyers who appear in patent litigations charge a hefty legal fee and the work is financially rewarding. Not that anyone can simply become a patent lawyer anytime and charge such fees, but we will go there later. Right now, what can be said is that there is going to be a demand, particularly in sectors such as pharma and technology, if you do understand very well how the patent laws work.

In India, a large number of patent litigations are related to mobile phone companies, pharmaceutical companies, and the renewable energy sector. In-house lawyers in these companies cannot afford to be away from understanding how patent claims are drafted and how the litigation in these areas works. If the core assets of your employing entity are patents, you must know very well how to use as well as protect these.

The story does not stop there. Litigation is just the tip of the iceberg. The number of patent applications filed in India annually has been increasing rapidly. The interesting thing to note is that the number of patents granted is very low as compared to the number of applications made. In the year 2017-18 alone, a total number of 47,854 applications were filed, out of which only 13,045 were actually granted patents (see here). This points towards the need for more efficient filing and prosecution, and towards a requirement of professionals who can draft bespoke claims, specifications and abstracts tailored according to the invention and the field that it belongs to.

The inventors often approach the professionals with mere prototypes of inventions without really knowing whether an invention is patentable or not. Developing the invention further and conducting a patentability search is another important task to be taken up by the practitioners. Other than conducting novelty searches, the practitioners also have to conduct patent mapping and scouting work for tech companies in order to gauge the scope of a particular technology.

From filing the application until the grant of the patent, one is required to overcome various office objections and third party oppositions. Patent prosecution is a highly extensive and demanding process that requires one to have particular skill sets in order to be able to defend their clients’ applications before the patent office.

Software, technology and pharmaceutical companies have been actively filing patent applications. If an invention pertains to software, extra caution has to be practised as software programs are not patentable inventions per se. In such cases, the practitioner is required to figure out ways to get it patented. He/she has to prove that the invention is more than a mere mental act and is associated with hardware. Creativity in drafting the specification becomes extremely important here.

The pharmaceutical industry has been incessantly working on developing vaccines for the cure of Covid-19. A lot of companies are racing towards finding a remedy to the virus and getting the vaccine protected. Once the vaccine is invented and protected, the rate at which it shall be licensed is unfathomable. The industry is in need of patent practitioners more than ever. This is a great time to step into the field.

Other than all the work generated through patent registration and enforcement, there is a great deal of work with respect to the monetization of patents. This can include advice on and drafting agreements relating to licensing and assigning of patented technologies. Many tech giants enter into cross-licensing agreements with each other in order to make use of the patented technology in their products and to avoid the costs of litigation. Tech and pharmaceutical companies own a lot of patents which requires valuation and management of the portfolios. All this work is highly lucrative.

If you do dream of working in the area of patents (which is probably why you read up to here), here are a few questions for you:

Do you want to get into an intellectual property law firm as a patent attorney?
Do you want to end up as an in-house counsel in tech or a pharmaceutical company?
Have you already cleared your patent agent examination but are now looking to take on the legal processes involved in registration and prosecution?
Have you got a science degree and now dream of making it big as an in-house patent analyst or a patent consultant?

Since you have asked yourself these questions, and have (hopefully) come to some definitive answers, let’s look at the thoughts that can stop you in your way to achieving the above:

Do you think that your college didn’t really skill you when it comes to the practical application of patent law and that this is something that you badly need to acquire now?
Do you think that in order to get work in the domain of patent law and understand it, it is inevitable to have a science background?
Do you believe that if you haven’t worked in patent law since you started your career, you would need a number of years to make it anywhere in this area and therefore it is too late for you to venture into it now?
Do you feel that it is really difficult to make a shift to patents after working in other domains of intellectual property such as trademarks?
Have you been practising patent prosecution for a while, but the move to litigation seems like that elusive goal that is difficult to touch?

If any of the things mentioned above describes how you feel, the breaking news is that all of these notions aren’t really true and can be dispelled, if you’re just willing to give it what it takes.

We dug up a little deeper and found some common myths about building a career in patent laws and here we debug the inconsistencies in those myths:

Registration work is kind of all you can get and that should have to suffice.

While being well versed in the patent drafting and registration work can pay off, it is not the only requirement that a potential client might have and so it’s definitely not all you can get.

Right before even getting to the stage of registration, clients may need advice on whether or not their invention is patentable in the first place. It’s a question that can be faced multiple times by the likes of pharmaceutical, chemical, technology etc. companies.

Rarely an inventor exists who does not want to monetise his invention and therefore, it's highly likely that patents are followed by requirements for advice on licensing transactions and drafting of licensing agreements or deeds of assignment.

You could also think of how to gear up to take on opposition and litigation work.

Companies that tend to secure a large number of patents and are looking to monetise it would also need advice on how their patent portfolio can be managed.

I need to adopt the grind for a few years of training at a firm or in a company (or training from a senior at an internship) to learn practical work

There’s a basic flaw in this belief. How do you believe the company or the senior will themselves get to do all the work that you want to learn?

They will only pass on to you whatever they are getting and in that too, you may be involved in only specific parts of the deal. It is quite difficult that you will be involved in the process from A to Z right from sourcing the client to billing.

The focus should not be on the number of years invested but rather on the skills learnt. You don’t need to do grind work for a number of years to acquire specific skills. However, you should have the experience of actually doing it, grappling with it and trying to find your way out of it and then it does not matter whether you learn it in a few months or a few years. If you get to learn some skills highly in demand in one month rather than just briefly be exposed to something about the work during a full year, you are winning!

I did not focus on patents in college; it’s too late to learn about this area now.

It is never too late to learn something new. You can take up patent work even after having practised in some other field of law as a professional. Patent law does not comprise completely alien concepts and is based on the general principles of science as well as law, which, if keenly pursued, are not impossible to learn.

Often, it is believed that if you did not choose science as a stream during your initial schooling years, it will now be difficult to go back and take up patent laws because it requires an in-depth understanding of scientific principles before you could understand inventions and patents.

That, however, is not the case. It is possible to dig into a specific invention and attempt to understand its specific features and properties, even if you are not from a science background, but you would need to keep up with your reading and work towards it.

What is the career potential after doing this course?

There are mid-sized IP law firms (appointing between 50-200 lawyers) that engage in registration of patents, enforcement of patent rights, disputes and litigation over patents, licensing and assignment of patent rights, managing patent portfolios and such other work. These law firms provide a great opportunity to have a rewarding career in patent law to young lawyers.
There are LPOs, technology platforms such as VakilSearch and IndiaFilings that hire many lawyers and patent professionals to make patent searches and register patents at economic rates.
Patent licensing, assignments, objections, oppositions and litigation has increased many folds over the years, turning patent law into a very lucrative profession.
Having practical knowledge with respect to patent litigation and the various strategies and defences to be able to efficiently deal with patent infringement matters is sure to attract clients and/or employers alike.
The field involves a lot of advisory work with respect to the patentability of an invention, licensing of standard-essential technology, the prior art of an invention, etc. It is highly imperative to be able to advise the client efficiently which in turn shall generate more opportunities.
Corporate houses and firms undertake work such as patent valuation and portfolio management for pharmaceutical and technology companies.
You cannot learn these things by studying any particular laws, regulations or rules, and there are no adequate books that can help you here. Success in patent law practice requires skills that are more varied than merely knowing the provisions of various statutes or having a degree in science.
Check out the learning objectives to understand what you will exactly need to learn.

Relevant Industries

Technology

PHARMACEUTICALS

What is unique about this course?

The course is not limited to a provision-by-provision study of the Patents Act and associated case laws alone; rather the course trains you on different kinds of actual work that is required to be performed by industry professionals. After finishing the course, you will have as much practical knowledge as a lawyer/agent working at a big law firm with a year or two of experience.
It is not a mere theoretical study, but hands-on practical lessons where you will have to draft a lot of documents.
The course is tough and intensive, you will not be awarded the certificate unless you complete 50% of all the exercises. You have to spend 8-10 hours per week on this course.
You will get personal attention and coaching from the trainer, and get individual feedback on the quality of work you produce.
You will be writing an article every month and with our guidance, publish the same either on iPleaders blog or various other industry publications.
We will provide you with training in professional networking, CV writing and interview skills so that you can easily find jobs.
Those who perform well in class will be recommended to top firms for internships and jobs. If you do not need such help, let us know in what other way we can help you.
After completing the course, you will be able to perform various tasks that fall in the domain of Patent laws and be at ease with different aspects of patents.

Money-back guarantee

If you take this course, follow it diligently for a month, do all the exercises but still do not find value in it, or not able to understand or follow it or not find it good for any reason, we will refund the entire course fee to you. It is a 100% money-back guarantee with only one condition, you must pursue it properly for a month. If you don’t find it valuable after that, get your entire money back. Refer to our refund policy here.

View Refund Policy

Training methodology

Online 24/7 access

Access to basic study material through an online learning management system, Android and iOS app

Hard Copy Study Material

Hard copy study material modules to be couriered to your address

Practical Exercises

2 practical exercises every week, followed by written feedback

Live Online Classes

Based on the exercises, there will be a live video-based online class. You can ask questions, share your screen, get personal feedback in this class.

Convenient Class timings

Classes are held after regular work hours. Typically classes are kept on Sunday afternoon or 8-9 pm on other days.

Live Doubt Clearing

You can ask questions, get your doubt cleared live as well as through online forums

Principal learning objectives:

Learn how to identify whether an invention is a patentable subject matter and advise the client accordingly;
Learn how to efficiently conduct novelty searches before applying for registration;
Learn how to conduct patent scouting and landscaping for companies dealing in patentable subject matter;
Learn how to conduct freedom to operate searches;
Learn how to accurately draft patent specifications, description of drawings and abstract for a patent application;
Learn how you can draft claims with respect to different industries such as chemical, mechanical and pharmaceutical;
Learn how to file an online patent application and fill the relevant forms to be attached therewith;
Learn how to amend or withdraw an already filed patent application;
Learn how you can fulfil the patent office’s requirement to divide a patent application;
Learn how you can apply for a patent of addition once the patent application has been filed;
Learn how to overcome the patent office objections in the first examination report;
Learn how to overcome software and abstract idea objections by the patent office;
Learn how to file a patent revocation petition before Intellectual Property Appellate Board;
Learn how to file a pre-grant opposition after the publication of the patent application;
Learn how to file a post-grant opposition within one year of grant of the patent;
Learn how to advise a client to enforce his rights in a patent by filing a patent infringement suit;
Learn how you can proficiently prepare a defence/settlement strategy against a patent infringement suit;
Learn how to file an application before the registrar for review of his decision
Learn how to file an appeal before the Intellectual Property Appellate Board against the controller’s decision;
Learn how to file an international patent application through the PCT or Paris convention route;
Learn how to identify whether an invention is the patentable subject matter in the U.S.
Learn how you can file a provisional as well as a complete patent application in the U.S;
Learn how to file a reply to the examination report before USPTO;
Learn how you can advise your client with respect to licensing of a patent and draft a patent licensing agreement for him/her.
Learn how to advise your client with respect to assignment of patent and draft patent assignment agreements skillfully;
Learn how to draft Inventions agreements/Non-disclosure agreements;
Learn the techniques of developing and maintaining a patent portfolio;
Learn how to effectively deal with matters surrounding standard-essential patents;
Learn how to draft a license deed in compliance with FRAND terms of licensing.
Learn how you can efficiently use patent docketing software to keep a track of ongoing matters.

List of Weekly Exercises

Identify if a subject matter is patentable;
Conduct novelty searches to ensure the patentability of an invention;
Draft an abstract and claims for an application;
Draft a description of drawings and background of the invention
Prepare the requisite forms to be filed with the application and identify the details to be filled in an online application.
File an application for amendment or withdrawal of a patent application.
Prepare and file a divisional patent application
Prepare and file a patent of addition.
Prepare a reply to the first examination report thereby overcoming the office objections
File a petition in IPAB for revocation of a registered patent;
Draft a pre-grant notice of opposition to object to the grant of a patent;
Draft a post-grant opposition for cancellation of registration of a patent;
Initiate a suit for patent infringement by drafting a plaint
Prepare a defence strategy against a patent infringement suit and draft a written statement.
File a review application before the controller of patents requesting him to review his own decision.
File an appeal before IPAB against the controller’s decision;
Register a patent in the US after filing an application in India. (Filing directly in the US and filing via PCT)
Exercise on patent prosecution in the US (Novelty and non-obviousness)
Draft a patent licensing agreement between an inventor/applicant and a company for the exploitation of his invention;
Draft a cross-licensing agreement as a means to settle disputes.
Draft a patent Assignment agreement
Draft an inventions agreement/ a non-disclosure agreement between a tech company and its employee.
Advice an organization for the creation and maintenance of a patent portfolio
Advice your client with respect to the use of standard-essential technology in its product and identify the correct forum for a dispute in relation to the same.

Online Faculty

Pranita Dharmadhikari

Patent Analyst and currently studying for USTPO Patent Bar Exam

Abhishek Pareek

Principal Associate, Lawsikho, Former IP Attorney, Ennoble IP

Himanshu Bhatt

Senior Associate, Remfry & Sagar

Sutapa Jana

Principal Associate, Lashmikumaran and Sridharan

Industry Academia Panel

Abhyuday Agarwal

COO and Co-Founder, LawSikho

Nayan Rawal

IP Attorney, NRALAW

Pranita Dharmadhikari

Ex-IPR officer at Ajanta Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Mumbai, Ex-Patent Analyst at VKnow Patent Services, Pursuing Masters in Patent Practice at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, Ohio, United St

Syllabus

Introduction to the patent law

Introduction to Patents

What is a patent?
What is a new invention?
Product patent and process patent
Anticipation in context of the patents Act
The requisite eligibility criteria for application of a patent

Patents: Practice and procedure (Video)

Patentability of repurposed drugs

Meaning of drug repurposing
Can repurposed drugs be patented?
The repurposing of Favipiravir in the treatment of COVID 19.

Patentability in software (Videos)

What is a software patent
What is preferable for software? Copyrights or patents
Is software patentable in India
Is software patentable in different jurisdictions
Analysis of software patent in UK
How can MOTs be established in a software patent?
Blanket software claim rejection

Patentability of abstract ideas (Videos)

Alice Corp. V CLS Bank International case (What is an abstract idea)
How can one overcome abstract idea objection?
Patent application: An abstract idea? 4 step test

Patent Specification, Claims and Application

Disclosure of the invention

Invention disclosure form
Non disclosure agreement (Inventions agreement)

How to conduct a patent search

Kinds of Patent search
Terms for patent search
Patent data centers
How to retrieve patent information
Patent search in different fields (Chemical, mechanical, pharmaceutical, IOT, Machine learning)
Freedom to operate search

Patent Scouting and landscaping

What is patent landscaping
What is scouting and what are its uses?
How are patent scouting and landscaping conducted?
What are the challenges faced and how can they be overcome?

How to draft patent specification

The meaning and importance of patent specification
Different perspectives to be used by the patent draftsman
The challenges faced while drafting specification and how should they be overcome
Different parts of the specification and how to draft them
Typical issues in drafting specification

How to draft patent claims

What are patent claims and why are they important
Different types of patent claims depending upon the invention, drafting, sector and structure
How to interpret patent claims.

Drafting claims with respect to different industries

How do claims change for inventions from different fields
Chemical, mechanical and pharmaceutical,
Important conjunction words to be used

Drawings in a patent application

What is the role of drawing in an application
What are the types of patent drawings
What is the role of patent illustrators?
How to prepare patent drawings

Types of patent applications

Ordinary application
The requirement of divisional application
The procedure of filing a divisional application
What is patent of addition
Convention and PCT application
Procedure for filing a patent of addition
What are the requirements by the patent office
Instances of divisional application and patent of addition

How to file an online patent application

What is the information with respect to the patent that needs to be filed
What are the inventor(s) and applicant(s) particulars that need to be filed.
What are all the Forms that are to be uploaded

Samples / Templates:

Inventions agreement
Form1, Form 3, and Form 5

Patent Prosecution

Examination of patent application

An overview of the examination process
the requisites of examination
Timelines
the criteria of examination
Reply to the examination report
What happens after the examination process? Patent hearing

Pre grant opposition

What are the various grounds of pre-grant opposition?
What is the procedure to file a pre-grant opposition?
What are the ingredients of a notice of opposition?
How is the hearing conducted?
Reply to the notice of opposition

Post grant opposition

What are the various grounds of post-grant opposition?
What is the procedure to apply for post-grant opposition?
What are the ingredients of the notice of opposition?
The opposition board
The hearing procedure
Reply to the notice of opposition
Revocation proceeding and appeal to relevant authorities in light of unfavourable decisions

Patent infringement suit

What is patent infringement
Types of infringement
How to file a suit for patent infringement
Reliefs to be claimed by the plaintiff
Appeal procedure

Reply to a patent infringement suit

The procedure for reply
The defences available to the defendant
The different settlement strategies

Intellectual property appellate board

The role of IPAB in patent matters
The Procedure to file an appeal before IPAB with respect to patents
The orders passed by IPAB and the remedy against such orders

Review petition before the controller of patents

On what grounds can the controller review his decision?
What is the procedure of the review?
What are the ingredients of the application
Limitations of the review

Samples/Templates

Reply to First Examination report
Pre grant notice of opposition (Available)
Post grant notice of opposition
Reply to the notice of opposition
Plaint for patent infringement
Reply to the plaint for infringement
IPAB appeal
Revocation application
Review petition before the controller of patents

Patent law in the U.S. and international filing of patents

Introduction to the U.S Patent law

The patent registration process in the US
Eligibility criteria for filing patents
Patentability in the US

Filing of patents in the US

Patent filing procedure in the US
procedure for filing provisional application
procedure for filing non provisional application

Patent prosecution in the U.S

How do the patent applications get processed before USPTO
The steps of examination of the application
the examination of a non provisional application

Patent application through Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)

Brief background of PCT
Procedure for filing international applications throughPCT
Requirements for filing
i) What is receiving office?
ii) Cost

International Search
Supplementary international search
International preliminary examination
International publication
National phase entry

Paris Convention Application

Background of the convention
Procedure
Difference between Paris convention application and PCT application

Patent monetization

Licensing of Patents

What is a patent licensing agreement
Important clauses in a patent licensing agreement
Drafting patent licensing agreements using online templates
Cross licensing agreement and its use as a settlement strategy
Important clauses in a patent licensing agreement
Compulsory licensing and the surrounding controversy

Standard Essential Patents

What are Standard Essential Patents
What is the purpose of standard setting
What are standard setting organizations
What are FRAND terms of licensing
The conflict between patent law and competition law
The relief of injunction in matters related to SEPs.

Management of a Patent portfolio

The need of a patent portfolio
Problems faced while developing a portfolio and the remedies
Steps to be taken for an effective portfolio management
Patent portfolio valuation and its methods
Patent portfolios of companies in different sectors and the management strategies applied by them

Samples/Templates

Patent license agreement
Patent assignment agreement

Course Plan

Above prices are inclusive of all applicable taxes and charges. Option to convert your payment into 2 instalments is available on checkout page.

Free materials

- Get Sample Material in your inbox

- Regular career guidance on email

- Sample Exercises

- Five very useful lessons

- No certification

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RS. 15000 incl. of all charges

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- Printed study material (by courier)

- 1 online live class/ week (12 weeks)

- 2 practical or drafting exercises per week (9 weeks)

- 3 writing assignments (3 weeks)

- Get digital access to entire study material

- Access on LMS, Android & iOS app

- Instructor feedback on assignments

- Doubt clearing on WhatsApp, LMS & classes

- Instructor led course with online live classes

- Online exams (give exams as per your convenience on given time slots)

- Certificate (by courier)

- CV enhancement

- Coaching for professional networking

- Training for writing and publishing articles

- Internship & Job Support

- Interview preparation guidance

- Networking with other students & alumni

- Access to updated content online for 3 years

- Doubt clearing within 24 hours

- Top students are recommended to law firms and companies

- Internship and job support available

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Master Access

RS. 150000 incl. of all charges

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Access to all of Lawsikho.com's courses for 4 years (including new courses launched in this period)

Immunity from future price increases for 4 years

Complimentary access to members-only paid Facebook group for exclusive career opportunities and content

Inclusion of templates and lessons on your request on a priority basis

Priority pass for personal coaching, doubt-clearing, customer-support

Free passes and invitations to all Lawsikho events and meet-ups across India

Personal feedback on as many assignments as you want

Access to Lawsikho alumni network

Priority processing for articles submitted to iPleaders blog and Superlawyer interview recommendations

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FAQs

Who can enrol for the LawSikho Courses?

We recommend that you should have completed your Higher Secondary / Class XII from a recognized Board / University. In the case of foreign nationals, you should have completed the equivalent of Higher Secondary in India in your respective country. You should also be comfortable with the English language and using a computer. However, we have no formal pre-qualification requirements because we are not a University or college. Anyone who wants to learn is welcome to join our courses.

Are hard copy study materials provided for reference, or are there only online classes?

Students of LawSikho will be provided, we will dispatch hard copy materials within 45 days of your course commencement date.

However, online classes, videos, regulatory updates and periodic upgrades to the courses cannot be included in the hard copies. We will provide you with hard copy material for all important chapters. We keep adding many new chapters from time to time and there are restrictions on page numbers so all online material cannot be available in hard copy. We would keep adding new material online from time to time, so please do not expect all such material to be made available in the hard copy also. You can use the hard copy materials for your reference, however, we recommend that you do not exclusively rely on hard copies for cracking the assessment test and the exercises. Please refer to the online library of materials from time to time.

Note: We will send hard copy material through our service partners. We have three service partners.

1. Indian Speed Post (Provides delivery ‘anywhere in India’ under contractual service)

2. Delhivery

3. Trackon Couriers Pvt Limited

If our service partners do not have a presence in your area and want to get the hard copy, you can send us a specific request.

LawSikho will not be responsible if the speed post bounces back or hard copy material is not delivered. We will levy the courier charge on you in such a scenario.

Please visit the respective course page to learn more about the hard copy study material policy of that course.

Grade	Percentage
F (Fail)	<40
C+	41 to 59
B+	60 to 79
A+	80 to 100

Certificate Course in Patent Law: Licensing, Claims and Litigation

Introduction

If you do dream of working in the area of patents (which is probably why you read up to here), here are a few questions for you:

We dug up a little deeper and found some common myths about building a career in patent laws and here we debug the inconsistencies in those myths:

Registration work is kind of all you can get and that should have to suffice.

I need to adopt the grind for a few years of training at a firm or in a company (or training from a senior at an internship) to learn practical work

I did not focus on patents in college; it’s too late to learn about this area now.

What is the career potential after doing this course?

Relevant Industries

What is unique about this course?

Money-back guarantee

Training methodology

Online 24/7 access

Hard Copy Study Material

Practical Exercises

Live Online Classes

Convenient Class timings

Live Doubt Clearing

Principal learning objectives:

List of Weekly Exercises

Online Faculty

Industry Academia Panel

Syllabus

Course Plan

FAQs

Get In Touch

Do You Have Any Queries?

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