"A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."
A set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for detailed public disclosure of an invention.
Patent law: This is the body of law governing patents, including eligibility requirements, application procedures, and legal remedies for infringement.
Types of patents: There are three types of patents including utility, design, and plant patents.
Patent applications: The process of filing a patent application includes drafting a patent application and submitting it to the US Patent and Trademark Office.
Patent search: This process involves searching for existing patents that may be similar to your invention before applying for a patent.
Patent infringement: This refers to using someone else's patented invention without permission, resulting in the patent owner taking legal action.
Patent licensing: Patent licenses are legal agreements that allow other companies or individuals to use an inventor's patented technology in exchange for payment of royalties.
Patent litigation: This involves legal disputes over patent infringement, patent validity, and licensing agreements.
Patent portfolio management: This is the process of monitoring, maintaining, and managing a portfolio of patents.
Patent valuation: This refers to determining the monetary value of a patent, which can be used to sell, license or acquire patents.
Intellectual property: Intellectual property refers to the legal rights that protect creations of the mind, such as patents, copyrights, and trademarks.
Trade secrets: Trade secrets are a type of intellectual property that protects confidential information that is not generally known or easily discovered by others.
Copyrights: Copyright law protects original works of authorship, such as literary, artistic, or musical works.
Trademarks: Trademarks are symbols or designs used by companies to distinguish their products or services, which are protected by trademark law.
Industrial designs: Industrial designs are the visual aspects of a product that result from the arrangement of its lines, colors, shapes, textures, or materials.
Licensing agreements: Licensing agreements are legal contracts that allow one party to use another party's intellectual property in exchange for payment of fees or royalties.
Utility Patent: A utility patent, also known as a "patent for invention," is the most common patent. It covers new and useful processes, machines, articles of manufacture, and compositions of matter, or any new and useful improvement that has not been available before.
Design Patent: A design patent covers new and original ornamental designs for articles of manufacture, such as jewelry, automotive parts, or electronic devices. These patents are granted for the way an object looks or the design elements that give it a unique appearance.
Plant Patent: A plant patent covers new and distinct varieties of plants that have been discovered or developed through breeding, cultivation, or genetic engineering. Plant patents are usually granted for asexual plants.
Business Method Patent: A business method patent covers new and innovative ways of conducting business, such as a new algorithm for financial transactions or a new method for tracking inventory.
Software Patent: A software patent is a type of utility patent that covers new and useful software programs.
International Patent: An international patent is a patent granted by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for an invention that is valid in multiple countries.
Provisional Patent: A provisional patent is a temporary patent application that is filed to establish a priority date for a future non-provisional patent application.
Defensive Patent: A defensive patent, also known as a strategic patent, is used to protect a company's intellectual property from infringement by competitors.
Divisional Patent: A divisional patent application is filed when an initial patent application covers more than one invention. The divisional patent application is used to separate the inventions and file separate patent applications for each invention.
Statutory Invention Registration: A statutory invention registration is a type of patent that allows an inventor to disclose their invention to the public without filing a full utility patent application. This type of patent is no longer available as of 2013.
Reissue Patent: A reissue patent is a patent filed by an inventor to correct an error or omission in the original patent application.
Ex parte Patent: An ex parte patent is a patent granted without a challenge from a third party.
"A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time..."
"TRIPS also provides that the term of protection available should be a minimum of twenty years."
"...provided they are new, involve an inventive step, and are capable of industrial application."
"...gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention..."
"The patent holder must sue someone infringing the patent in order to enforce their rights."
"A patent application must include one or more claims that define the scope of protection that is being sought."
"The procedure for granting patents, requirements placed on the patentee, and the extent of the exclusive rights vary widely between countries according to national laws and international agreements."
"[The patent owner] gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention... in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."
"There are other patent-like forms of intellectual property, such as utility models, which have a shorter monopoly period."
"Under the World Trade Organization's (WTO) TRIPS Agreement, patents should be available in WTO member states..."
"...provided they are new, involve an inventive step, and are capable of industrial application."
"In most countries, patent rights fall under private law..."
"The patent holder must sue someone infringing the patent in order to enforce their rights."
"A patent application must include one or more claims that define the scope of protection that is being sought."
"...there are variations on what is patentable subject matter from country to country, also among WTO member states."
"TRIPS also provides that the term of protection available should be a minimum of twenty years."
"[The invention] should be new, involve an inventive step, and be capable of industrial application."
"There are other patent-like forms of intellectual property, such as utility models, which have a shorter monopoly period."
"Under the World Trade Organization's (WTO) TRIPS Agreement, patents should be available in WTO member states for any invention, in all fields of technology..."