IP Patent Laws
If you have invented something, you should seek patent protection. The grant of a patent will give you the exclusive right to make, sell and profit from your invention for a statutory period. The details of your invention will be made public, and anyone will be allowed to use it after the patent expires. U.S. patent law is derived from several sources.
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US Constitution
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Article 1, Clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution provides the basis of U.S. patent law by allowing the U.S. Congress to issue patents. The U.S. Supreme Court has determined that this clause, by implication, prohibits state and local governments from issuing patents.
Federal Statutes
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The U.S. Code is the official collection of federal statutes enacted by Congress. Title 35 of the U.S. Code regulates the issuance of patents. The general structure of U.S. patent law including requirements for patentability, scope of patent protection, and duration of protection are found in Title 35 of the U.S. Code. In order to be patented, an invention must possess novelty, utility and non-obviousness. Novelty means the invention has never been invented before; utility means that it serves some practical purpose; and non-obvious means that the invention required a creative leap beyond existing technology.
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Federal Regulations
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The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) contains regulations created by federal agencies that were created by Congress. Chapter 37, Part 1 covers patents and was written primarily by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Patent regulations interpret and provide more details on the patent statutes found in the U.S. Code. These details include patent application procedures and standards for assessing novelty, utility and non-obviousness.
GATT Agreement
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The U.S. acceded to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1994. GATT is an international agreement that requires the patent laws of signatory nations to conform to its standard. In 1995 and 1996, the US modified the U.S. Code and the CFR to conform to GATT requirements. Some of these modifications include the extension of the duration of protection of most patents to 20 years and the creation of simplified provisional applications to allow applicants to establish early filing dates.
Patent Cooperation Treaty
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The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international treaty signed by the U.S. It went into effect in 1978 and requires the US to participate in a system that allows inventors to have the initial phases of patent examination performed by international organizations created under the PCT. The later stages of patent examination are conducted by national patent offices. The use of PCT resources are optional--inventors may, if they so choose, have all phases of their patent application handled by national patent offices such as the USPTO.
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References
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