Patents & Inventions

Intellectual property is a legal construct (i.e., established by law) which confers certain property rights to the creations (products) of the human intellect. Creations of the human intellect may include, for example, literary and artistic works such as books and poems, inventions, marks and symbols, and recipes to name a few. Intellectual property, once established […]

There are four different types of intellectual property which include Trademarks, Patents, Copyrights, and Trade Secrets.

Patents granted in the United States have a term of 20 years from the filing date of the earliest U.S. or international application, provided that all applicable maintenance fees are timely paid. After the term of the patent passes, the patent becomes public information and anyone or any organization is free to use and commercialize

A patent is an exclusive property right created by law from a creation of the human intellect which in general includes any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, and includes utility patents, design patents and plant patents.

Patent pending refers to an invention in which the process of applying for a patent has begun, usually by the filing of a patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark office in Washington, D.C. The law specifies certain requirements before a patent can be legally granted for the invention.

A patented invention is an invention which has met all the legal requirements necessary for the United States Patent and Trademark office to issue a patent on the invention. The granted (issued) patent gives the inventor the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the particular invention or importing it

United States patents are categorized according to the idea subject filter previously discussed in the “What is intellectual property?” post. The categories include design patents, utility patents and plant patents. Design patents protect the ornamental appearance (i.e., the look) of an invention and may include the shape, configuration and surface ornamentation. For example, the rectangular

A United States provisional patent application is a preliminary application that gives the inventor a short-term protection window of one year from the date the provisional patent application was filed (the “filing date”) with the United States Patent and Trademark office. The filing date is important because it establishes a priority date for the invention.

Great! Having an idea is the first step in your creative journey. But having an idea is only the beginning. You must first understand the patenting process, marketing implications of your idea etc. To preview all of the necessary topics please refer to the syllabi of the e-courses.

An invention is the creation of human intellect (the creative thought process) which produces an idea of a process or device. A patent is a legal construct which creates legal property rights to the invention.