A Modern Guide to Patents
Challenges of Patenting in the 21st Century
Published on 27. June 2025
Book
Hardback
376 pages
978-1-0353-0859-0 (ISBN)
Description
With contributions from well-known academics and industry experts, this highly relevant Modern Guide presents an overview of patenting in the 21st century. It analyzes a wide range of cases to illustrate the continuous change in the use, application, and regulatory environment of the patent system.
Chapters explain key features of patent management and consider how the patent system may be used in combination with alternative protection means such as trade secrets. They examine specific challenges of patenting, including those presented by artificial intelligence, patent assertion entities, and the ongoing effects of COVID-19. Expert authors provide insights into the roles of standard essential patents and patent enforcement, highlighting key debates and revealing how patents can help address critical societal issues. Ultimately, the Modern Guide emphasizes the benefits of having a structured system to recognize and protect inventions, underscoring the need for ongoing regulatory reform to tackle the challenges of the 21st century.P>
A Modern Guide to Patents is an essential read for academics and students in intellectual property, economics of innovation, knowledge management, organizational innovation, and innovation policy. Its coverage of recent trends and cutting-edge perspectives also makes this an invaluable resource for patent practitioners, policy makers, economists, and lawyers.
Chapters explain key features of patent management and consider how the patent system may be used in combination with alternative protection means such as trade secrets. They examine specific challenges of patenting, including those presented by artificial intelligence, patent assertion entities, and the ongoing effects of COVID-19. Expert authors provide insights into the roles of standard essential patents and patent enforcement, highlighting key debates and revealing how patents can help address critical societal issues. Ultimately, the Modern Guide emphasizes the benefits of having a structured system to recognize and protect inventions, underscoring the need for ongoing regulatory reform to tackle the challenges of the 21st century.P>
A Modern Guide to Patents is an essential read for academics and students in intellectual property, economics of innovation, knowledge management, organizational innovation, and innovation policy. Its coverage of recent trends and cutting-edge perspectives also makes this an invaluable resource for patent practitioners, policy makers, economists, and lawyers.
Reviews / Votes
'Blending deep historical insights with forward-looking analysis, this expertly curated volume examines the enduring relevance of patents in today's rapidly evolving technological and economic landscape. Thumm and Blind have assembled outstanding contributions from renowned experts, illuminating how this cornerstone of innovation policy must adapt to 21st-century challenges.' -- Carsten Fink, Chief Economist, World Intellectual Property Organization 'A Modern Guide to Patents is a very engaging, highly contemporary and relevant review of topics at the center of the modern patent system. It draws on the finest minds in the applicable patent-related spaces to assess topics including patent management with an eye on AI and in crisis brought on by pandemics, considerations around PAEs, the ascendency of trade secrets as a dominant form of IP protection, standards and the current issues associated with standard-essential-patents, as well as the evolving role of enforcement in an era marked by both threats to innovation as well as sharing economies in innovation. A Modern Guide to Patents is a great resource for a wide range of readers interested in the role the patent system plays in incenting innovation for the benefit of mankind.' -- David J. Kappos, Former Undersecretary of Commerce and Director, United States Patent and Trademark Office; and Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cheltenham
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-0353-0859-0 (9781035308590)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Edited by Nikolaus Thumm, former Chief Economist, European Patent Office, Senior Scientific Advisor, ETH Board, Zurich, Switzerland and Associate, Technische Universitaet Berlin and Knut Blind, Professor of Innovation Economics, Faculty of Economics and Management, Technische Universitaet Berlin and Head of the Business Unit Innovation and Regulation, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI, Karlsruhe, Germany
Content
Contents
Introduction to A Modern Guide to Patents 1
Nikolaus Thumm and Knut Blind
PART I PATENT MANAGEMENT
1 Patent management in the 21st century 20
Ruud Peters and Severin de Wit
2 Patent management in a digital and AI world 49
Beat Weibel
PART II SPECIFIC CHALLENGES: ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE, PATENT ASSERTION ENTITIES
AND TRADE SECRETS
3 The soul of inventorship in the patent system 67
Garry A. Gabison
4 Patent assertion entities in technology markets: Practices,
recent trends, and policy concerns 92
Cesare Righi and Valerio Sterzi
5 Trade secrets as a complementary tool to patenting in the data
economy of the 21st century 118
Alfred Radauer, Martin A. Bader, Tanya Aplin, Ute Konopka,
Nicola Searle, Reinhard Altenburger and Christine Bachner
PART III PATENT MANAGEMENT IN TIMES OF PANDEMICS
6 Overview of filing routes and patent families of COVID-19
related inventions 142
Catalina Martinez, Christopher Harrison and Aled Matthews
7 Patent pledges as portfolio management tools: benefits,
obligations, and enforcement 166
Jorge L. Contreras
PART IV STANDARD ESSENTIAL PATENTS
8 Internet of Things and licensing: SEPs and FRAND
determination 198
Claudia Tapia
9 SEP portfolio management 234
Tim Pohlmann
PART V AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY
10 From Benz to byte - the permanent change in the automotive
industry and its future impact on patenting, standardization
and regulation 266
Uwe Wiesner
PART VI PATENT ENFORCEMENT
11 Intellectual property infringement: a persistent threat to the
world economy 299
Piotr Stryszowski
12 Creation and sharing of innovations: the role of opening
mechanisms provided by patent law 321
Heinz Goddar, Melanie Mueller and Jonathan Porath
Introduction to A Modern Guide to Patents 1
Nikolaus Thumm and Knut Blind
PART I PATENT MANAGEMENT
1 Patent management in the 21st century 20
Ruud Peters and Severin de Wit
2 Patent management in a digital and AI world 49
Beat Weibel
PART II SPECIFIC CHALLENGES: ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE, PATENT ASSERTION ENTITIES
AND TRADE SECRETS
3 The soul of inventorship in the patent system 67
Garry A. Gabison
4 Patent assertion entities in technology markets: Practices,
recent trends, and policy concerns 92
Cesare Righi and Valerio Sterzi
5 Trade secrets as a complementary tool to patenting in the data
economy of the 21st century 118
Alfred Radauer, Martin A. Bader, Tanya Aplin, Ute Konopka,
Nicola Searle, Reinhard Altenburger and Christine Bachner
PART III PATENT MANAGEMENT IN TIMES OF PANDEMICS
6 Overview of filing routes and patent families of COVID-19
related inventions 142
Catalina Martinez, Christopher Harrison and Aled Matthews
7 Patent pledges as portfolio management tools: benefits,
obligations, and enforcement 166
Jorge L. Contreras
PART IV STANDARD ESSENTIAL PATENTS
8 Internet of Things and licensing: SEPs and FRAND
determination 198
Claudia Tapia
9 SEP portfolio management 234
Tim Pohlmann
PART V AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY
10 From Benz to byte - the permanent change in the automotive
industry and its future impact on patenting, standardization
and regulation 266
Uwe Wiesner
PART VI PATENT ENFORCEMENT
11 Intellectual property infringement: a persistent threat to the
world economy 299
Piotr Stryszowski
12 Creation and sharing of innovations: the role of opening
mechanisms provided by patent law 321
Heinz Goddar, Melanie Mueller and Jonathan Porath