Patents and Trademark Law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Patents and Trademark Law - Case Study Example First they should make an application to the UK patent office. At the patent office they are required to fill a document called 'complete specification. This form contains a description of the article, process or machine, including working instructions and a statement of 'claims' which the inventor seeks his monopoly. It is against these claims that any infringement is judged. The patent office will carry out research to test for novelty. According to the result of the search the applicant may decide to abandon or modify his application or request an examination by a qualified patent office examiner. The main task of the examiner is to see that the claims of the specification describe things that are not only new, but also inventive. Once the examiner is satisfied the specification is published and for 3 months afterwards any interested party can object by notice to the patent office. In the event of no opposition or failure of objections the 'letters patent' will be seated and the p atentee can sue in the High Court for any infringement. Once granted, the patent covers the UK and is in force for 4 years, and it can be renewed annually for a further 16 years after which it can be extended by an application to the High court for a further 5 to 10 years. After duty registering their Pete Tom and Pete Soil manufacturer will have the patent rights and they can reinforce a legal action against anyone making, using, selling, offering for sale or importing their patented invention. In the event of the competitors proceeding to invent the polythene bags, Tom and Pete Soil can approach the court and fire a civil suit. In the court section 60 (1)4, patents Act 1977 states that "Subject to the provision of this section, a person infringes a patent for an invention if, but only if, while the patent is in force, he does any of the following things in the united Kingdom in relation to the invention without that consent of the proprietor of the patent, that is to say:- Where the invention is a process, he uses the process or he offers it for use in the United Kingdom when he knows, or it is obvious to a reasonable person in the circumstances, that its use there without the consent of the proprietor would be an infringement of the parent. Therefore the aggrieved party can seek the assistance of the courts which will issue an injunction barring the competitors i.e. FR & ED as well as Salisbury supermarkets from inventing and selling the polythene growing bags. Further Messrs Soil can prevent