Grants for Patents
A patent is a bundle of intellectual property rights that protects an inventor's exclusive right to use and profit from a technological creation for a specified period. Although patents are not particularly easy to obtain, an understanding of patent law can increase your odds of filing a successful patent application.
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Scope of Protection
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Patents protect scientific and technological creations that are invented rather than created. Software programs are protected under copyright law rather than patent law. A patent grants its holder the exclusive right to manufacture the invention, to use it, to sell it or to offer it for sale (although the patent holder may sell or license these rights to others). U.S. law protects the original inventor, while most of the rest of the world protects the first party to file a patent application regardless of the identity of the original inventor.
Eligibility Standards
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Three main standards apply to an invention for which a patent is sought --novelty, utility and non-obviousness (the application of these standards is fairly consistent worldwide). An invention has novelty if it is new--if it has been invented before, it will not qualify even if the former invention was never patented. An invention has utility if it is useful for some practical purpose and if it is possible to actually manufacture it. An invention is non-obvious if it improves on existing technology to the extent that the improvement would be not less than obvious to the average practitioner knowledgeable in the technical field to which the invention belongs.
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Application Process
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You will need to file a patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that includes drawings, specifications and any other information necessary to manufacture it. You will also need to include specific claims establishing that it meets the novelty, utility and non-obvious tests. You will receive several requests from the USPTO to amend your application or its claims, and you should respond with any necessary amendments or a defense of your original application. Eighteen months after you file your application, the USPTO will publish your specifications. It will probably take two or three years for the USPTO to approve your application.
Patent Duration
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In the U.S., patent protection normally last for 20 years beyond the date that the patent application is filed with the USPTO. After a patent expires, anyone may make use of the formerly patented technology.
International Patent Protection
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As soon as your U.S. patent application is received by the USPTO, you will have 12 months to file for patent protection in nations that are members of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (168 nations). If you fail to file within that period, you may lose your priority date in those nations where you failed to file and your invention could become permanently ineligible for patent protection there. The European Patent Office will allow you to file a regional patent application.
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