Part Ⅰ From Proto-Patents to Industrial Patents 1
Chapter 1 The Emerging of Proto-Patents 3
1.The Family System-Fifth Century to 1000 3
2.The Guild System-1000 to 1400 6
3.The Domestic System-1400 to 1700 16
4.The Factory System-1700 Onwards 21
Chapter 2 The Emerging of Industrial Patents 23
1.The Factory System 23
2.France 24
3.England 38
4.United States 49
5.The Role of Industrial Patents in the Industrial Revolution 55
6.Global Harmonization:The Struggle against Free Riding-The Paris Convention and the TRIPS Agreement 59
Part Ⅱ Industrial Patents 63
Chapter 3 Designing Industrial Patents 65
1.The Introduction of Patent Specifications 66
2.Changes in Ownership-From Independent to Corporate Invention 71
3.Changes Concerning Substantive Patentability Requirements 74
4.The Condition of Materiality (or Tangibility) of Inventions 75
5.Non-obviousness-A Requirement Inherently Linked to Tangibility of Inventions 82
Chapter 4 The Global Industrial Patent System 91
1.The Social Construction of Inventions 91
2.The Function(s) of the Patent System 103
3.The Role of Industrial Patent Protection in the Global Economy 116
4.The TRIPS Agreement and the Rule of Patent Law 116
4.1.The Term of Protection 122
4.2.Patentable Subject Matter 125
4.3.Restrictions as Regards Internal Exceptions and Limitations (Protection against Confiscation) 125
4.4.Restrictions as Regards External Exceptions and Limitations 126
5.Article 7 of the TRIPS Agreement and the Operation of the RPL 129
5.1.The First Element of the RPL 131
5.2.The Second Element of the RPL 132
5.3.The Third Element of the RPL 133
5.4.The Fourth Element of the RPL 134
6.What Purpose Does the RPL Really Serve? 137
Part Ⅲ From Industrial Patents to Service Patents 143
Chapter 5 Patents for the Post-industrial Age 145
1.The Post-industrial Age 145
2.The Need for Service Patents 148
3.Old Service Patents 151
4.Modern Service Patents (and the Legislative Bias against Them) 153
5.Why Do We Need Service Patents?The Case for Service Patents 161
6.Invention in Services 168
7.Invention in Finance 169
8.Invention in the Insurance Industry 173
9.Invention in Business Consulting 173
10.Other Categories of Service Inventions 174
11.The Case for Service Patents 179
12.Society Needs to Experiment 185
Chapter 6 Designing Service Patents 191
1.Novelty and Inventiveness 192
2.Utility 194
3.Specifications 195
4.International Patent Classification 199
5.Term of Protection 200
6.Enforcement 200
7.The Globalization of Service Patents 201
Conclusion 209
Bibliography 213
Table of Cases 221
Index 225