Intellectual Property Law

A patent is a form of intellectual property that gives an inventor the legal right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing an invention for a limited period of time. In exchange for these exclusive rights, the inventor must disclose, in a patent application, how the invention is made, used and/or how it works.

Patents are designed to encourage innovation. By giving inventors a period of protection for their creations, the patent system provides an incentive to invest time, money, and effort into developing new products, processes, and technologies.

Generally, a patent may be granted for a new and useful invention. Depending on the type of patent, this may include:

• Machines and products – such as tools, devices, and manufactured products
• Processes and methods – including new ways of making or doing something
• Manufactured articles – new and original designs or functional products
• Compositions of matter – such as chemical compounds and pharmaceutical formulations
• Ornamental designs – the unique visual appearance of a product
• New plant varieties – certain newly invented or discovered and asexually reproduced plants

To qualify for patent protection, an invention generally must meet legal requirements relating to usefulness, novelty, and non-obviousness.

In the United States, there are three primary types of patents:

Utility Patents

Utility patents protect the way an invention works the way an invention is used, or structural components such as the way and invention is made or assembled. Utility patents are the most common type of patent and may cover machines, processes, manufactured articles, compositions of matter, and improvements to existing inventions.

Design Patents

Design patents protect the ornamental, non-functional appearance of an item or product. In other words, design patents do not protect how a product works, but rather how it looks.

Plant Patents
Plant patents may be granted for certain new and distinct plant varieties that are invented or discovered and reproduced asexually.

The length of patent protection depends on the type of patent and other legal requirements. In general, utility patents can provide protection for up to 20 years from the patent application filing or priority date, while design patents are granted for 15 years from the patent issuance date.

Owners of utility patents must also comply with applicable maintenance fees to keep the patents in force.

A patent does not necessarily give its owner the automatic right to manufacture or sell an invention. Instead, a patent generally gives the owner the right to prevent others from engaging in certain activities involving the patented invention without permission.  This is known as an exclusionary right.

Patent owners may choose to manufacture and sell their inventions, license their patent rights to others, or potentially enforce their rights against unauthorized use.

Patents can be valuable business and innovation assets. They may help inventors and companies:

• Protect innovative products and technologies
• Create licensing opportunities
• Attract investors or business partners
• Establish a competitive advantage
• Build the value of an intellectual property portfolio
• Prevent or discourage unauthorized copying