Chapter §21.01 Introduction

• Jurisdiction: United States

§21.01 Introduction

Even though it has been granted by the USPTO, an issued patent may suffer from certain defects. The defects may be so severe that, at the conclusion of litigation, a federal court will hold the patent invalid and/or unenforceable.¹ In other cases, however, the patent's defects are of a more minor nature and can be corrected through procedures conducted within the USPTO that are generally less expensive and of shorter duration than federal court litigation. Commencing these procedures also entails certain risks, however, such as revoking the patent's presumption of validity. This chapter describes...