What is a Patent?
A patent grant is territorial in nature. The patent is allocated through the government to an inventor and the inventor or the patent applicant is assigned the rights to exclude others for for 20 years from patent priority date from making, using or selling the invention in the country where patent protection is seeked by the inventor.
Patent Due Diligence
Patent due diligence refers to an audit to assess patents owned by, or licensed to, a company, business or individual. Patent attorney working on patent due diligence assists clients in identifying patent assets that are not utilised, the processes that clients have in place to capture all the patentable assets they create so that these can be adequately protected by way of patent filings. This process also covers thorough review of the chain of title from which the patent owners derive ownership of the patents in order to ensure that they have all the necessary rights to own and practice the accompanying innovation.
USPTO Patent Application
A USPTO patent right is allocated through the government to an inventor and is assigned the patent rights to exclude others for a limited time from making, using or selling the invention through the United States. The USPTO patent is granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office. Particularly, the patent granted for an invention / idea serves as a legal document that defines the possession of a certain area of inventive technology by the inventor who applied for patent at the USPTO.
A patent application includes the complete details of the invention and also specifies the inventive scope and the best method of performing the invention. An invention is applied for a new and useful processes, devices, compositions, methods and any other new or useful advancement in technology. A USPTO patent applies within US for 20 years from the date of filing of a patent application. The patent application is in the public domain after 18 months of filing the patent application.
Importance of Patents For Inventors
Patents are very important for the individual inventor whose rights are protected and also for the economy growth of the country. It is made possible only by protecting the work and investments which is done by protecting their ideas for the product in terms of patent protection. Patent also stimulates invention and innovation. The offer of patent protection motivates the inventor to make new invention. If the inventor is successful in developing and marketing the invention the society gets the chance to use it.
Who may apply for Patent?
According to the U.S. patent ordinance, only the inventor may apply for the patent. The patent is considered invalid if the applicant is not the inventor. Criminal penalties are subjected to a person misleading by applying the wrong profiles. It is required by the U.S. patent ordinance that the applicant takes pledge that he is the original inventor of the application. The Patent and Trademark Office requires an affirmation indicating compliance with all the patent laws.
What can be patented?
The extensive domains that can be patented are designated and the conditions are set under which a patent may be obtained by the U.S. patent law. A patent can be acquired by any person by whom an unconventional, non obvious and useful process, machine, article of manufacture or composition of matter is invented or discovered, which is subjected to conditions and requirements under the law. Everything invented by man and the processes of inventing them is included in the content to be patented. Ornamental designs are useful products so the patent protection is available to them. Plants which are asexually reproduced to get a new variety of plant are also subject to patent protection.
According to the ordinance the content should be unconventional, non obvious and useful. These terms are interrelated to each other.
- Under U.S. patent law, the invention, anywhere in the world, should not have been public in any way, a year before the date on which an application is filed for a patent.
- The invention should be non obvious as a person with good knowledge and experience of the subject tends to compare it with what is already known.
- The invention should be useful to perform practically for the planned purpose.
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