Inventions and Patents
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this survey of patent law and the history of invention rights, covering how private and public claims to scientific discoveries and applied engineering developed into today's worldwide patent systems. The course examines the classes of invention protectable under U.S. patent law and the procedures for securing protection through the Patent Office and the courts. Case studies span chemical processes, pharmaceutical and genetic-engineering inventions, mechanical and aeronautical devices, and electrical, computer, and software innovations, including how software is separately protected under copyright law. The course also describes joint real-time sessions conducted by video and audio conferencing with other universities. Materials include lecture content and case readings drawn from MIT's Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Materials Science, and Aeronautics and Astronautics departments, free to access through MIT OpenCourseWare with no certificate offered.