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So, you built a better mousetrap. Now, how do your protect your "perfect" creation from being stolen by a Fortune 500 company? The answer lies in the United States Constitution which gives the U.S. Congress exclusive authority to grant patents for inventions. Patents on new inventions are not an automatic right. Instead, an inventor must apply and be granted a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The process is long, laborious and very time-consuming. How do you start the tedious process? That is precisely why PatentPath.com was created--to assist you in finding answers to your patent questions.
After diligently scouring the Internet, we compiled hundreds of resources and countless tips, techniques and strategies concerning all aspects of patents. PatentPath.com provides you valuable and necessary information about patents--from finding a competent patent attorney, to answering the most frequently asked questions about the patent process. "What do the terms 'patent pending' and 'patent applied for' really mean?" "Does the USPTO control the fees charged by patent attorneys?" "Can the USPTO assist me in developing and marketing of my invention?" The answers to these questions and hundreds of others can be found here.
A U.S. patent is basically a contract between an inventor and the government. The purpose behind the patent "contract" is to encourage innovators and inventors to bring forth new products and ideas. Without some form of protection, inventors would likely be unwilling to spend their time and money developing an invention. The U.S. patent laws were written to provide an incentive to inventors to create and publicly disclose their inventions. In exchange for full disclosure of an invention, the government grants the inventor the right to exclude others from making, selling or importing the patented invention.
There are three types of patents, they are: 1) utility patents which protect the way an article is used and works; 2) design patents which protects the way an article looks; and 3) plant patents issued for asexually reproducing plants. Both design and utility patents may be obtained on an article if invention resides in both its usefulness and ornamental appearance. While utility and design patents afford legally separate protection, the utility and ornamentality of an article are not easily separable.
In order to be patentable, an invention must useful, novel (new), and non-obvious--meaning that when viewed as a whole, the invention must not have been simply an obvious improvement in the invention's field when viewed by one of ordinary skill in that particular field.
The patent application process generally involves three steps. First, the person (or corporation) seeking the patent must file an application with the Patent Office. In addition to including a detailed description of how to make and use the invention, the application must include patent claims--statements that define the scope of the invention which the inventor is attempting to protect.
Writing the actual patent application is a very demanding process that takes some experience to do well. For that reason it is common to hire a patent attorney to write the more legally complicated portions, based on the complete information you have provided. Once the application has been filed, a patent examiner will be assigned to review the claims and the rest of the application.
The second phase of the process now begins with the patent examiner performing a "novelty search"--checking prior patents, and all the available literature to determine whether the invention is really novel and non-obvious. During the course of the patent application process, the patent examiner and the inventor (or his attorney) will communicate back and forth with one another to determine novelty and answer additional questions which may arise.
inally, the examiner decides on the patentablility of the invention based on the information found during the novelty search. Assuming the examiner is eventually satisfied that the patent claims are narrow enough to distinguish it from "prior art," and the inventor is satisfied that the claims are still broad enough to have value, the patent will then be issued.
Invention Development Organizations (IDO) are private and public consulting and marketing businesses that have come into existence to help inventors bring their products to market, or to otherwise profit from their ideas. While many of these organizations are legitimate, some are not. Be extremely wary of any IDO that is willing to promote your invention or product without making a detailed inquiry into the merits of your idea and giving you a full range of options which you may pursue.
To protect your creative works and your potential profits, you should always consider obtaining the services of a competent and reliable patent attorney. While the costs may appear expensive, the protection offered by a U.S. patent for a commercially valuable invention more than justifies the cost. Patent law does allow an inventor to "act for himself" in obtaining a patent, meaning the inventor can do everything himself. However, without some prior experience or some legal training there is the danger of applying for protection that is so broad that your patent is never issued, or is so specific that your invention is not fully protected.
Take a few minutes to browse this site and find reliable, current and useful information on all aspects of the patent process. We are here to assist you in obtaining that U.S. seal of approval.
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