Patented inventions touch every aspect of human life--from products that revolutionized industrial society, such as electric lighting, automobiles, and plastic, to products that have made life easier, such as dishwashers and ballpoint pens. By creating a system of economic reward in exchange for disclosure of knowledge, patent laws encourage the creation and distribution of products and technologies that enhance quality of life.
Invention
An invention is a product, machine, material or process, including a new use for a known product and improvements of any of these, that provides a new way of doing something or offers a new technical solution to a problem.
A patent is a Government grant of a property right that permits an inventor to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing his or her invention. In return, the inventor must fully disclose the invention in the patent application process.
Patents may be obtained for a broad array of subject matter, including machines, tools, instruments, methods, systems, processes, compounds, formulations, and even plants and animals in some circumstances.
Novelty
In order for an invention to qualify for patent protection, it must be new or novel. In other words, it may not be part of the state of the art known at the time of invention or, in some countries, at the time of filing for patent protection. The state of the art includes everything that is available anywhere in the world to the public through technical journals, magazines, published papers, books, patent databases, or any other source. New uses or improvements to known processes, machines, or materials may also qualify as novel if that particular use or improvement is not already known by the public.
A famous example of a patent being rejected on novelty grounds concerns a 1974 patent application by two inventors, Mr. Loren Covington and Mr. Howard Palmer. Mr. Covington and Mr. Palmer invented a metal alloy made primarily of titanium, but with small amounts of nickel and molybdenum. In addition, the inventors discovered that the iron content should be limited in order to achieve certain desirable properties in the alloy. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected the inventors' claims to the alloy on the grounds that the invention lacked novelty because a Russian article published 4 years earlier disclosed the claimed alloy.
Non-Obviousness
In order to be patentable, an invention must not have been obvious to a person of "ordinary skill" in the field at the time the invention was made. This ensures that patents are granted only for true contributions to the state of the art.
Utility
In order to qualify for patent protection, an invention must have some useful purpose. An abstract idea with no practical application would not be patentable. The standard of "usefulness" is not hard to meet, as is illustrated by the following examples of patented devices:
- A motorized ice cream cone
- A wearable hamster cage
- A Santa Claus detector
- A diaper alarm
- A bird diaper
Inventions must generally meet three requirements in order to be patentable:
International agreements to which the United States is a party provide that the term of protection for utility patents shall be a minimum of 20 years from the date of the patent application. This 20-year term is sometimes lengthened, particularly in cases where the invention is subject to regulatory review before being granted marketing approval.
Typically, in order to maintain patent rights for the full term of protection, maintenance fees must be paid on a regular basis in each country where a patent has been granted. If the maintenance fees are not paid, the patent will cease to remain in force and the invention will fall into the public domain. For more information on maintenance fees, go to: http://www.uspto.gov/main/howtofees.htm.
Note that design and plant patents have different terms of protection in different countries. In the United States, design patents have a 14-year term and plant patents have a 20-year term.
More information on utility, design, and plant patents is provided in Module 4 of this course.
Like trademark rights, patents are territorial (i.e., a U.S. patent is enforceable only in the United States, a Japanese patent is enforceable only in Japan).
In order to obtain patent rights in a particular country, typically an inventor must apply for and be granted a patent in accordance with that country's laws and procedures.
Further information about obtaining patents in the United States and abroad can be found in Modules 5 and 6 of this course.
Public Disclosure
In the United States, public disclosure must be in writing. However, note that slides at private meetings can be considered publications, as can private correspondence. Rules elsewhere differ considerably.
U.S. inventors seeking to protect patent rights at home and abroad should be aware that U.S. patent law differs from the patent laws of most other countries in two significant respects:
- First to Invent vs. First to File: The United States currently has a "first to invent" system, which means that a patent will be granted to the person or persons shown to be the first inventor(s) of the subject matter in question. This system differs from the systems of almost all other countries, which have a "first to file" system that awards the patent to the first person or persons to file a patent application regardless of who invented it first. The U.S. patent law may change in the near future to a first-to-file system in an effort to harmonize U.S. laws with international norms. Please check the U.S. PTO Web site for current information on patent reform legislation.
- Public Disclosure: U.S. law allows a 1-year grace period from the date of public disclosure or certain uses or sales of an invention for the inventor to file a U.S. patent application. In contrast, some other countries bar an inventor from obtaining a patent if the invention has been publicly disclosed before a patent application is filed. One such region, notably, is Europe. Therefore, in order to preserve their rights in foreign countries, U.S. inventors should be cautious in deciding when and where to disclose their inventions and when to file applications abroad. In some jurisdictions, a nonconfidential disclosure to anyone, anywhere in the world, may be a bar to obtaining a patent.
Integrated Circuit Designs
Integrated circuit designs are the designs or plans of integrated circuits used in electronic equipment. Circuit designs are usually highly complex, and the intellectual effort in creating an original circuit design may be considerable and of great value. An integrated circuit or chip made from the plans is the key to the operation of all kinds of electronic devices from heart pacemakers to personal computers.
Industrial Designs
An industrial design is the ornamental aspect of an article. The design may consist of three-dimensional features, such as the shape or surface of an article, or two-dimensional features, such as patterns, line, or color. Industrial designs are applied to a wide variety of products, such as technical and medical instruments, housewares, electrical appliances, jewelry, and shoes. Note that this type of intellectual property (IP) may be treated differently in different countries.
Plant Varieties
In the United States, legal protection for new plant varieties is provided under the Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA). The PVPA is a voluntary program that provides patent-like rights to breeders, developers, and owners of plant varieties. The primary purpose of the PVPA is to ensure that developers of varieties will benefit from and be able to recover research costs associated with producing new plant varieties.
In addition to the patent protections that may apply, certain types of inventions may have qualities or characteristics that are eligible for different or additional intellectual property rights (IPR) protections. These unique categories of IPR protection include:
- Integrated circuit designs
- Industrial designs (design patents)
- Plant varieties
You have now completed the patents lesson of this module.
- If you wish to proceed directly to information about protecting your patent in the United States, select Module 4 from the menu on the top left of this screen.
- If you wish to review the introduction to trade secrets, continue with this module.