Pressman has created a "hands-on" book about US patents. You get a lot of information for a small amount of money (think of it as 10 minutes of billed lawyer time) and the information in totally up-to-date -- Pressman continuously revises the book and Amazon apparently sells only the latest edition. Engineers in small companies should definitely read this book as it will open your eyes as to how easy it is to protect the stuff you design, and using low-cost things like the Provisional Patent Application ... you can file a rough document and if within a year it seems worth it, file for a normal Patent. A pefect concept for high-tech startups who may not have the money in the early days to patent everything, yet the VC people want to see some protection in the works. If you want to talk to me about my review, use the email link.