Patent Basics for Physicists

APR 01, 1997

In an age when scientific knowledge is increasingly being treated as a form of property, a general understanding of patents is becoming a necessity for the physicist.

DOI: 10.1063/1.881725

A. James Richardson

Craig A. Wood

The careers of many physicists, particularly those engaged in applied or industrial research, depend on the cerns grow, they are increasingly being asked to help expand their employers’ sources of income. In many cases, the most direct link between an organization’s scientific research, development and application efforts and its financial objectives is its portfolio of patents. And so it would not be unreasonable to say that the professional success of many physicists is greatly affected by the number and quality of the patents resulting from their efforts.

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References

1. Report of Economic Survey 1995, American Intellectual Property Law Association, Arlington, Va. (1995).
2. HR 400.

More about the authors

A. James Richardson, Locke Reynolds Boyd & Weisell, Indianpolis, Indiana.

Craig A. Wood, Locke Reynolds Boyd & Weisell, Indianpolis, Indiana.