Patent FilingA patent search is usually done before the application. However, you do not have to do a search. But assuming you have done a search, and you have found nothing to bar the patent the next step is to write the patent application itself. A utility patent is a patent for invention. The utility patent focuses on a process, machine, manufactured item or composition of matter (ideas that have been reduced to practice). Its protection start date depends on when the patent application was filed. If the patent application was filed before June 8, 1995, the protection term is the later of (1) 17 years from the issuance date of the patent, or (2) 20 years from the first U.S. filing date for the patent. If the patent application was filed on or after June 8, 1995, then the term is 20 years from the first U.S. filing date for the patent. A plant patent grants a patent to anyone who has invented or discovered and asexually reproduced any distinct and new variety of plant, including cultivated sports, mutants, hybrids, and newly found seedlings, other than a tuber-propagated plant or a plant found in an uncultivated state. Plant patents have a term of 17 years. What is a patent? A patent is a form of legal protection that allows the owner of an idea, an inventor, to exclude others from using it without permission for an extended period of time. In other words, you own the right to prevent others from using your idea without your permission. It is a government granted monopoly. Congress enacts patent laws under provision of the Constitution Article I, Section 8. Further, there are three kinds of patents available: utility, design, and plant. There are also two types of utility patent applications -- provisional and nonprovisional. Since 1994 the Patent and Trademark office has received approximately 200,000 patent applications. Most of these are for nonprovisional utility patents. So if you invent something, you have to follow the patent rules in order to get the right kind. You also have to be aware of the two other things: when the patent protection begins, and when it ends. That is your time frame of protection. So you've just invented a new device. That's great. You dream of making millions. That's great too. But you want to protect your invention idea from theft. After all, you did the R&D. So how do you protect yourself? You get a patent. If you want to get a patent, you can initiate the process yourself, although this is not usually recommended. The process is tricky, and time consuming, especially the search process, which must certify that the application does not infringe upon someone else's existing patent. Remember that the patent excludes others from using your invention. So if you are applying for a patent, a patent for a similar invention must not exist. Your application will be denied if it does. The time an application is under review varies. First a Patent Examiner receives the application. Then in mechanical cases, it often takes 8-12 months before an Examiner reviews the application. In some fields, such as electronics, computer software, computer information technology, or biotechnology, the review may be as long as two years. The patent application and its pursuit, which includes writing the application for a patent, counseling the inventor and acting, as the inventor's agent to push the application through the system is the area of a special agent called the patent practitioners. Registered patent practitioners who are attorneys are called "patent attorneys," and those who are not attorneys are called "patent agents." So every patent attorney is also a patent lawyer, but not vice versa. Patent law falls into three broad categories. First, there is enforcement of patent rights, which is a matter of federal law litigation. Any attorney who is admitted to practice federal law could do this work. An attorney that does this work would be a called a "patent lawyer." Success is not guaranteed or easy. The rejection rate for an application is upwards of 95%. Some applications are rejected repeatedly before a patent is issued. Remember that a patent is a government-granted monopoly, and the nature of public policy dictates that no monopoly may be granted unless it is truly warranted by the inventor's creativity. The major focus that the examiner looks at is to make the application as narrow as possible in order to comply with that policy. An inventor is very interested in protecting the invention, the time, the effort, and money involved in the process. The government is likewise also interested in protecting the inventor's efforts. So the patent process is designed to be long, expensive, and difficult to attain. However, once the patent is granted, the inventor's efforts are protected. A provisional application establishes a filing date but does not begin the examination process. It provides the inventor with a one-year period to further develop the invention, determine marketability and seek licensing agreements. It also offers a measure of invention protection. But to obtain a patent, the inventor must file a non-provisional application patent within 12 months of the filing date of the provisional application. A provisional application can usually be filed for slightly less money than a regular non-provisional patent application. However, a provisional application must be supplemented by a regular non-provisional patent application within one year of filing. That's the true patent application. The cost of a patent application varies depending on the type. For a utility patent it is between $3,000-$5,000 to file with PTO. For a design patent the cost is about $2,000-$2,500 to file. (This includes Gov.'t filing fee and formal drawings.) And for a plant patent the cost is about $2,000. A design patent allows any person who has invented any new and nonobvious ornamental design for an article of manufacture to protect that design. The design patent protects only the appearance of an article, but not its structural or functional features. Design patents in the have a term of 14 years. There is litigation over invention and patent ownership. This is a matter of state law. Any attorney admitted to practice state law can do this work and such an attorney would also be a patent lawyer.
Patent Requirements
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