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What is a Patent?
by Melinda Ramos
Category : Legal |
Patents are a part of what we call intellectual property and it is protected through the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The purpose of a patent is to protect the intellectual property of the inventor. Patents prohibit anyone other than the patent holder from making or selling the patented item (or using the business method, or planting the new plant, in the case of those patent types) without the permission of the patent holder. A patent gives you the exclusive right to work out the kinks of an idea for a product, substance device or method that is new, useful to the public, or can be used on the industrial level.
Laws of physics or other forms of nature laws, like mathematic, botanic or zoology cannot be patented. That why Einstein couldn't have patented the e=mc2 equation since it is a nature law and free for everyone to use. Software programs can be patented as long as they are original, although they contain nature laws, like mathematical algorithms. Only unique ideas or new useful inventions can obtain protection.
The most important guideline to file a patent is you cannot leave any information out of the original application. Once you submit the application for review by a patent examiner, you will no longer be able to add any more because if an application was allowed to be amended with new information, it would change its original scope. You must also have clear drawings, they must be neatly drawn, not contain erasures, and clearly depict what it is you are inventing.
There are three different types of patents to apply for, where some inventions are eligible for more than one application submission.
- Plant patent - for those who discover a new variety of plant such as a hybrid, mutant, or newly discovered type of seedling.
- Utility patent - used to protect inventions that do not fall under the category of a design or plant patent.
- Design patent - This patent covers your property rights for designs related to machines, devices or compositions.
It is important to understand that if you do obtain a patent, it is your responsibility to execute the rights that the patent grants you.
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