Patent Law Information
The U.S. Constitution forms the basis for existing patent law. In Article I, Section 8, the Constitution grants Congress the authority "to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries." Patent law is specific when it comes to what can and cannot receive a patent. Like other intellectual property law, patent law provides remedies against infringement. However, patent law is unlike any other form of law governing intellectual property in that it gives inventors a "right of exclusion."
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What Gets a Patent?
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Many people have difficulty identifying what can receive patent protection. Copyright law protects creative works of expression. Trademark law protects the registered mark that identifies a good or service with an individual or company. The federal Patent Act (35 U.S.Code) states that someone who "invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent" through the United States Patent & Trademark Office. While the term "machine" needs no explanation, "manufacture" pertains to items that are made or mass-produced, and "composition of matter" includes chemical compounds and blends of ingredients, such as a new drug. In addition to meeting the qualifications for subject matter, the invention or discovery must also meet another three criteria: it must be novel, nonobvious and useful.
Patent Types & Duration
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The three types of patents granted to inventors by the PTO are utility patents, design patents and plant patents. Utility patents are issued for any novel and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or a new and useful improvement to an existing utility patent. Utility patents last for 20 years. Plant patents also last 20 years and are given to anyone who invents or discovers a new asexual variety of plant, excluding tubers and those found in the wild (uncultivated plants). Design patents are granted by the PTO for new and nonobvious ornamental design for an article of manufacture (such as the Coca-Cola bottle) and last for 14 years. A utility patent must be "renewed" after its issuance at the 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5-year intervals and requires the patent holder to pay additional fees to the PTO.
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The Right of Exclusion
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Federal patent law grants inventors what is known as the "right of exclusion." While the holders of copyrights and trademarks are granted certain rights by law, patent law does not grant an inventor any specific rights or assurances that he will be able to use his patent in any given way. Rather, patent law excludes other inventors from using, making or selling an invention like that of the inventor---even if the other invention is created independently. The right of exclusion gives a patent holder an obvious advantage if his invention successfully enters the consumer market, as no one else can make or sell it without his permission.
Patent Infringement
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Like other forms of intellectual property, patented inventions can be subject to infringement. The Patent Act grants patent holders the right to bring suit in federal court if they discover that another inventor is making and selling an invention that's just like theirs. The infringing actions must have taken place after the original inventor was granted a patent. Direct infringement can occur even if another inventor has no knowledge that there's another patented invention like his already in the marketplace.
Infringement Remedies
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If an inventor files a suit in federal law against an accused infringer, he has many legal remedies. Pending the outcome of such a trial, a court may order the accused infringer to stop the infringing action. An inventor who successfully sues an infringer can claim compensatory damages or punitive damages, if the infringement is determined to have been willful. An inventor may also receive reimbursement for court costs and attorney's fees.
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