by Benjamin Burge (Bose Corporation, USA), Annick Töpken (Germany), Jiancheng Jiang (Peksung Intellectual Property Ltd, China), Yoshinori Shimizu (SOEI Patent & Law Firm, Japan), Christopher Frerking (Viering, Jentschura & Partner, Germany), Andreas Meyer (Viering, Jentschura & Partner, Germany), Sven Rihm (Viering, Jentschura & Partner, Germany), Ivy Lee May (Shanghai International Intellectual Property Services (SHIIPS)), & Maik Brinkmann (Viering, Jentschura & Partner, Singapore)

This book provides a concise introduction to the complex subject of patent law as a major branch of intellectual property rights. It describes the application of patent law in order to obtain a patent for a scientist's invention. Comparison is also made between the patent laws of the four major jurisdictions under which most of the applications for patents are presently filed worldwide — China, Europe, Japan, and the USA. The systematic description of the patent process from draft to grant is aimed at facilitating teamwork between the inventor and the patent lawyer or intellectual property manager so that the invention is not only a great scientific achievement, but also a product of economic value for the applicant and the inventor.

• What Is Intellectual Property?
• What Does a Patent Look Like?
• Basic Terms in Patent Law
• From the Invention to a Patent!
• What Happens After the Grant of a Patent?
• Costs of an Invention
• Reward for the Inventor