BNA Books Announces the Publication of "Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Laws, 2012 Edition"

ARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- BNA Books, a division of specialized news and information publisher BNA, today announces the publication of Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Laws, 2012 Edition, a companion volume to BNA Books' Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Regulations that outlines the most extensive and important changes to patent law since 1836.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090105/56509LOGO )

For the past several years, Congress has seriously undertaken the difficult and often contentious process of reforming the patent system. The result of these efforts is the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (P.L. 112-29), signed into law by President Obama on September 16, 2011, and encompassing some of the most substantial changes to patent law in centuries. The myriad provisions contained in this Act will have profound effects on attorneys and inventors for years to come. BNA Books' Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Laws, 2012 Edition provides the full text of this Act and helpful visual guides that will aid in understanding the new law and when new provisions will go into effect.

The 2012 Edition of Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Laws is a must-have resource for intellectual property law practitioners as it contains all the changes enacted into law from May 27, 2011, to October 5, 2011. Most significantly, the 2012 Edition covers all changes made by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, including:

• The move to the "first to file" system
• Creation of opposition proceedings that provide a new "first window" post-grant review procedure allowing challenges on any ground within nine months of an issued patent
• Revision of the inter partes review procedure to allow a higher threshold for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
• New patent and trademark fees, including the imposition of a 15% surcharge
• New discount fee structure for micro entities (individuals or small businesses that earn below a certain threshold of income)
• Establishment of special post-grant review procedures for business method patents
• Provisions barring patents for strategies that reduce, avoid, or defer tax liability and patents with a claim directed to or encompassing a human organism
• Elimination of best mode as a defense to an infringement suit
• Elimination of qui tam lawsuits for false marking
• The expansion of prior user rights provisions

Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Laws includes the entire text of Title 35 (Patents), Title 17 (Copyrights), and Chapters 22 and 63 of Title 15 (Trademarks and Technology Innovation) of the United States Code. Sections of the Code and treaties relating to intellectual property also are provided. Included with the 2012 Edition is an updated CD-ROM containing the entire text of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act; the full text of the book; an easy-to-use chart showing all of the revisions contained in the Act, as well as their effective dates; and a full legislative history of the Act, giving you a complete picture of patent reform.

Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Laws was edited by Jeffrey M. Samuels, the David L. Brennan Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Intellectual Property Law and Technology at the University of Akron School of Law, Akron, OH. He was formerly Assistant Commissioner for Trademarks, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and Managing Editor of BNA's Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal.

BNA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bloomberg L.P., is a leading source of legal, regulatory, and business information for professionals. In addition to Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Laws, BNA's Book Division publishes: Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Regulations; Patent Infringement Remedies; Patent Law and Practice; Patent Prosecution: Law, Practice, and Procedure; Patents and the Federal Circuit; and other titles in intellectual property law. For a free BNA Books catalog, call 1.800.960.1220, send an e-mail request to [email protected], or visit us online at www.bna.com/bnabooks.

Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Laws, 2012 Edition (Order #1970-PR11/$170.00 plus tax, shipping, and handling) may be purchased from BNA Books, PO Box 7814, Edison, NJ 08818-7814. Telephone orders: 1.800.960.1220. Fax orders: 1.732.346.1624. A 10% discount is available on print copies of books when ordering from the website at www.bna.com/bnabooks. Please note that discounts cannot be combined.

SOURCE BNA Books