FAQ's (Frequently asked questions and Answers on Patents

A patent is a grant of a property right by the Government to the
inventor. The United States Constitution provides for Congress to
provide for patents to encourage useful inventions.

The patent itself provides a detailed description of the invention,
and how it is used or how to make it. Thus if you obtain a patent you
can not keep the matter secret, which is the province of Trade Secret
Law.

A patent enables the owner to exclude others from making, using or
selling the invention for the life of the patent.

How long does a patentabilty search take?

Answer: It can take anywhere from seven to 14 days.

What's involved in completing the patent application?

Answer: What you have to do as an inventor is work with the patent
lawyer to explain how to "make and use the invention." That is, you
must explain your invention to the patent attorney so that one of
average skill in that field could make and use it "without undue
experimentation." This means that a person who needs to make and use
your invention from reading your patent should not have to do any
inventing. They should just be able to make and use the invention
based on what we teach in the patent and their own knowledge of the
field.

What types of invention are patentable?

Utility patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers any
new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or compositions of
matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof.

Such an invention must fall within one of four main classes of
inventions to be patentable:

It may be a process (such as a method for manufacturing a product);

It may be machine;

It may be an article of manufacture; or

It may be a composition of matter which relates to chemical
compositions, including mixtures of ingredients and new chemical
compounds.

Recently, courts have affirmed that certain computer software is patentable.

Design patents may be granted to any person who has invented a new,
original and ornamental design for an article of manufacture. The
appearance of the article is thus protected.

Plant patents may be granted to any person 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.

How long does it take for a patent to issue?

Answer: Three years on average. You cannot sue anybody until the
patent issues, although you get increasing protection from the moment
you file.

How long do patents last?

Answer: A patent lasts 20 years from the filing date of the patent application.

After that 20 years expires, can they re-patent it or is that it?

Answer: That's it for the original invention. However, any
improvements made during that 20 year time period can be patented and
those patents can extend beyond the 20 year term.