High Quality Patents -- The Objective Analysis

IndustryWeek (Stephen Scanlon from Jones Day) - Those of us who work with patents should be encouraged by the President's endorsement of our efforts to promote "the inherent ingenuity of the American people." We should also find it especially timely to review the objective distinctions between quality inventions and those that do not merit patent protection.As we strive for the high quality of patents sought by President Obama's Strategy for American Innovation, we should thus strive equally to avoid subjective judgments of what does or does not qualify as a patent-worthy invention.  [Considerations should include:]

1. Patentability of Inventions
2. Content of the Prior Art
3. Differences Between the Prior Art and the Claimed Invention
4. Ordinary Skill in the Art
5. Secondary Considerations
6. The Conclusion of Law