I just received my copy of Patent Attorney Jeffrey Sheldon‘s book “How to Write a Patent Application – Second Edition.” Sheldon has been regularly updating the book since its original release 21 years ago. I have the ring-bound edition from PLI, but the somewhat cheaper Kindle Edition
is also available from Amazon ($329.41).
It is not an exciting reading, but the book does provide you with straightforward practical advice on how to draft and file patent applications. Chapters include:
- Introduction
- The structure of the patent application documents
- Electronic filing of patent applications
- Working with inventors
- Pre-filing patentability searches
- Drawings (formal requirements and informal advice)
- Claim Drafting
- Specification
- Information Disclosure Statements
- Design Patents
- Provisional Patent Applications
- Plant Patents
- Patent Applications on Electrical and Electronic Inventions
- Patent Applications on Software and Business Method Inventions
- Patent Applications on Chemical Inventions
- Patent Applications on Biotechnology
- Filing Foreign Applications Based upon a US Application
- Reissue Applications
One nice aspect of the tome is that each section includes numerous examples of how patent attorneys normally operate. The book is likely to be most helpful for new patent law professionals although the up-to-date information on case law makes it valuable for experienced attorneys who don’t want to delve into the depths of Chisum-on-Patents.