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Press Release
Inventor, Patent Agent Is the First
to Seek Patent Protection on a Fictional Storyline; Patent
Prosecution Firm Begins Soliciting Unique Plots for Patent
Application Drafting
Andrew Knight has requested the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office to approve his applications for utility patent protection
on new, nonobvious fictional storylines. Arguing that fictional
plots are patentable subject matter, like computer software and
business methods, Knight and Associates will begin accepting
storyline inventions for patent application drafting and
prosecution.
Falls
Church, Virginia, July 19, 2005 – Andrew Knight, an inventor and
registered patent agent, was in 2003 the first person to apply for
utility patent protection on a fictional storyline. Arguing that
fictional plots are patentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C.
§101, he has requested the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to
approve his pending storyline patent test applications.
Knight, a graduate of MIT and Georgetown Law, has teamed with
patent attorneys, searchers, and writers to form Knight and
Associates, which will immediately begin accepting storyline
invention submissions for patent application drafting and
prosecution.
That
fictional storylines may be patentable was first suggested in a
November, 2004 article in the Journal of the Patent and
Trademark Office Society, “A Potentially New IP: Storyline
Patents.” The article argues that binding case law strongly
suggests that methods of performing and displaying fictional
plots, whether found in motion pictures, novels, television shows,
or commercials, are statutory subject matter under Section 101,
like computer software and business methods. “The utility
requirement [of Section 101] most likely does not present much of
an issue,” said Charles Berman, Co-Chair of the Patent Prosecution
Practice at Greenberg Traurig LLP, because “a storyline can be
useful as a form of entertainment or useful in the sense that it
forms the basis for a book, play, movie, or other work.”
Dean
Alderucci, Chief Counsel and S.V.P. of Intellectual Property
Strategy at Walker Digital Management, agreed that the case for
the patentability of fictional storylines is strong. “Although no
court seems to have addressed the patentability of
storyline-related inventions, I can envision many circumstances
under which patent protection would be available to the creator of
a truly innovative storyline.”
But
the patentability of storylines is not definitive. The United
States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which is
essentially the high court for patent-related cases, has not yet
heard the issue. Nevertheless, according to Knight, “Storyline
patent applicants who act before the Federal Circuit approves
storyline patents will likely obtain the first and strongest
patents before the inevitable rush to patent in this new area."
Alderucci mirrors this sentiment, noting that "there have always
been surges in applications in fields - like biotech, software,
business methods - once the last artificial impediment to
patentability was removed. Those who file before the onset of the
ensuing intense competition in innovation typically enjoy a
significant advantage.”
Even
if the Federal Circuit eventually validates storyline patents, all
patent applications are subject to the rigors of novelty and
nonobviousness. “Non-obviousness probably presents the biggest
challenge to patentability,” said Berman. “Given that so many
different storylines can be created out of minor variations on a
theme, it seems that very few storylines would be so different
that they would satisfy this requirement.”
Because of these stringent requirements, plots already existing in
the public domain, and all of their obvious variations, cannot be
patented. According to Alderucci, “Storyline patents, like
patents for anything else, are not about taking from the public
domain, but rather adding to it. Inventors are encouraged to
conceive of new, never-before-seen forms of entertainment. The
wealth of storylines that already exist means that only the most
innovative new storylines will be deemed worthy of patent
protection.”
Copyright law protects only the expression of a plot, not the plot
per se. Therefore, when a motion picture distributor releases a
copyrighted movie, any new and nonobvious features of its
storyline enter the public domain entirely unprotected. “When the
average cost of making and marketing a Hollywood movie exceeds
$100 million [according to the Motion Picture Association of
America], there is no good excuse for saving $20,000 on a few
storyline patent applications,” said Knight.
For an information
packet, including a copy of the JPTOS article, contact
Andrew Knight or visit www.PlotPatents.com.
Contact:
Andrew Knight, Proprietor
Knight and Associates
703-795-7375
http://www.PlotPatents.com
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