ABSTRACT
There is a first time for everything, and welcome or not, the day may come when you have to figure out what particular piece of technology a patent protects. It may be because you are at work on your own invention and need to know whether you are truly inventing or just reinventing. Or perhaps your company has developed a promising new product and wants to be sure that it will not infringe on anyone else’s valid patent rights. Or maybe you need to know the extent of the patent rights owned by a potential joint venture partner. Another possibility is that you are simply looking for specific technical information that might appear only in a patent document. These are only a few of the many possible scenarios that may require you to read and interpret a patent.
