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United States patent law was established "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Author
Author

An author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created....
s and Inventor
Inventor

An inventor is a person who creates or discovers a new method, form, device or other useful means. The word inventor comes form the latin verb invenire, invent-, to find....
s the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;" as provided in the United States Constitution
United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America; the Federal Government of the United States; and all the State & local governments and Territorial Administrative bodies contained therein....
. Congress implemented these protections as a first-to-invent
First to file and first to invent

First to file and first to invent are legal concepts that define who has the right to the grant of a patent for an invention. The first to file system is used in the majority of countries, with the notable exception of the United States, which operates a first to invent system....
 patent
Patent

A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to an inventor or his assignee for a term of patent in exchange for a disclosure of an invention....
 legal
LAW

LAW may refer to:* Anti-tank warfare, e.g. the US Army M72 LAW or the British Army LAW 80*Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights ...
 framework.






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United States patent law was established "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Author
Author

An author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created....
s and Inventor
Inventor

An inventor is a person who creates or discovers a new method, form, device or other useful means. The word inventor comes form the latin verb invenire, invent-, to find....
s the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;" as provided in the United States Constitution
United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America; the Federal Government of the United States; and all the State & local governments and Territorial Administrative bodies contained therein....
. Congress implemented these protections as a first-to-invent
First to file and first to invent

First to file and first to invent are legal concepts that define who has the right to the grant of a patent for an invention. The first to file system is used in the majority of countries, with the notable exception of the United States, which operates a first to invent system....
 patent
Patent

A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to an inventor or his assignee for a term of patent in exchange for a disclosure of an invention....
 legal
LAW

LAW may refer to:* Anti-tank warfare, e.g. the US Army M72 LAW or the British Army LAW 80*Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights ...
 framework. By contrast, all other national patent laws are first-to-file
First to file and first to invent

First to file and first to invent are legal concepts that define who has the right to the grant of a patent for an invention. The first to file system is used in the majority of countries, with the notable exception of the United States, which operates a first to invent system....
 systems. The provisions of the law are laid out in Title 35 of the United States Code
Title 35 of the United States Code

Title 35 of the United States Code is a title of United States Code regarding United States patent law.* Part I--United States Patent and Trademark Office...
 (U.S.C.) and give authority for the United States Patent and Trademark Office
United States Patent and Trademark Office

The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification....
. This system is permitted by Article One, Section 8(8) of the U.S. Constitution
United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America; the Federal Government of the United States; and all the State & local governments and Territorial Administrative bodies contained therein....
.

In the U.S., a patent is a right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, exporting components to be assembled into an infringing device outside the U.S., importing the product of a patented process practiced outside the U.S., inducing others to infringe, offering a product specially adapted for practice of the patent, and a few other very carefully defined categories. Thus, merely thinking about an invention, or drawing a diagram, is not an infringement. Research for "purely philosophical" inquiry is not an infringement, but research directed to commercial purposes is - unless the research is directed toward obtaining approval of the Food and Drug Administration for introduction of a generic version of a patented drug.

Under current US law, the term of patent
Term of patent in the United States

In the United States, under current United States patent law, the term of patent, provided that maintenance fee s are paid on time, are:* For patent applications filed on or after June 8, 1995, the patent term is 20 years from the filing date of the earliest U.S....
 is 20 years from the earliest claimed filing date, plus patent term extension.

Procedure


Pre-grant publication (PG Pub)

The United States Patent and Trademark Office
United States Patent and Trademark Office

The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification....
 publishes patent
Patent

A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to an inventor or his assignee for a term of patent in exchange for a disclosure of an invention....
 applications 18 months after they are filed. This time limit can be extended under certain circumstances for an additional fee. The applications are published before a patent has been granted on them.

See also

  • History of United States patent law
    History of United States patent law

    "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;" From the United States Constitution, Article One of the United States Constitution, Enumerated powers, Copyright Clause....
  • List of United States inventions
    List of United States inventions

    Colonial Period 1731 SextantA sextant is an instrument generally used to measure the altitude of a celestial object above the horizon. Making this measurement is known as sighting the object, shooting the object, or taking a sight....
  • List of United States patent law cases
    List of United States patent law cases

    This is a list of notable patent law cases in the United States in chronological order. The cases have been decided notably by the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences ....


Concepts

  • Assignor estoppel
    Assignor estoppel

    The doctrine of assignor estoppel is a doctrine of United States patent law barring a patent's seller from attacking the patent's validity in subsequent patent infriongement litigation....
  • Continuing patent application
    Continuing patent application

    Under United States patent law, a continuing patent application is a patent application which follows, and claims priority to, an earlier filed patent application....
  • Design patent
    Design patent

    In the United States, a design patent is a patent granted on the ornamental design of a functional item. Design patents are a type of industrial design rights....
  • Doctrine of inherency
    Doctrine of inherency

    In United States patent law, the doctrine of inherency is a vague doctrine which includes contradicting case law. The doctrine revolves around the question of novelty and arises when an inventor tries to obtain a product patent for a product that had been unintentionally invented earlier ....
  • Doctrine of repair and reconstruction
    Doctrine of repair and reconstruction

    The doctrine of repair and reconstruction in United States patent law distinguishes between permissible repair of a patented article, which the right of an owner of property to preserve its utility and operability guarantees, and impermissible reconstruction of a patented article, which is patent infringement....
  • Duty of candor
    Duty of candor

    Duty of candor, also referred to as Rule 56, is basically a "full disclosure" rule for patent applications. This rule, made by the US Patent and Trademark Office, specifically requires that everyone involved with a patent application must disclose all publications that they know of which may adversely affect the patentability of their i...
  • Duty of disclosure
    Duty of disclosure

    In U.S. legal procedure, each party to a lawsuit has the duty to disclose certain information, such as the names and addresses of witnesses, and copies of any documents that it intends to use as evidence, to the opposing party....
  • First-sale doctrine
    First-sale doctrine (patent)

    Under the exhaustion doctrine, doctrine of exhaustion, or first sale doctrine, the first unrestricted sale of a patented item exhausts the patentee's control over that particular item....
  • Flash of genius
    Flash of genius

    The Flash of Genius Doctrine or Flash of Genius Test was a test for patentability used by the United States Federal Courts for over a decade....
  • Inequitable conduct
    Inequitable conduct

    In United States patent law, patent holders must go to the United States federal courts to enforce their patent rights. Even if the patent is valid and infringed, these courts may exercise their equitable discretion not to enforce the patent if the patentee has engaged in inequitable conduct. The patent applicant has a duty of candor and go...
  • Information disclosure statement
    Information disclosure statement

    An information disclosure statement refers to a submission of relevant background art or information to the United States Patent and Trademark Office by an applicant for a patent during the patent prosecution process....
     (IDS)
  • Interference proceeding
    Interference proceeding

    An interference proceeding, also known as priority contest, is an inter partes proceeding to determine the priority issues of multiple patent applications....
  • Non-obviousness
    Inventive step and non-obviousness

    The inventive step and non-obviousness reflect a same general patentability requirement present in most patent laws, according to which an invention should be sufficiently inventive — i.e., non-obvious — in order to be patented....
  • Markman hearing
    Markman hearing

    A Markman hearing is a pretrial hearing in a United States District Court during which a judge examines evidence from all parties on the appropriate meanings of relevant key words used in a patent claim , when patent infringement is alleged by a plaintiff....
  • Non-provisional patent application
    Non-provisional patent application

    A non-provisional patent application is a term referring to a United States patent law patent application that is not a provisional application....
  • Novelty
    Novelty (patent)

    Novelty is a patentability requirement. An invention is not patentable if the claim ed subject matter was disclosed before the date of filing, or before the date of priority right if a priority is claimed, of the patent application....
  • On-sale bar
    On-sale bar

    The on-sale bar of 35 United States Code 102 is a United States patent law term that means if an invention has been for sale for over one year, it is no longer patentability....
  • Patent infringement under United States law
    Patent infringement under United States law

    In the United States, a patent provides its proprietor with the right to exclude others from utilizing the invention claim ed in that patent. Should a person utilize that invention, without the permission of the patent proprietor, they may patent infringement that patent....
  • Petition to make special
    Petition to make special

    In United States patent law, a petition to make special is a formal request submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office asking that a patent application be examined ahead of the other pending applications in the same technological art....
  • Prosecution disclaimer
    Prosecution disclaimer

    In United States patent law, prosecution disclaimer is a legal doctrine that provides that the statements made by an applicant for a patent in the course of prosecution may act to limit the literal coverage of the patent claims....
  • Prosecution history estoppel
    Prosecution history estoppel

    Prosecution history estoppel, also known as file-wrapper estoppel, is a term used in United States patent law to indicate that a person who has filed a patent application, and then makes amendments to the application to accommodate the patent law, has no cause of action for patent infringement to the pre-amendment patent claim s that we...
  • Provisional application
    Provisional application

    Under United States patent law, a provisional application for patent is a type of national patent application filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office , but which does not mature into an issued patent unless further steps are taken by the applicant....
  • Reduction to practice
    Reduction to practice

    In United States patent law, the reduction to practice is a concept meaning the embodiment of the concept of an invention. The date of this embodiment is critical to the determination of priority between inventors in an interference proceeding....
  • Reexamination
    Reexamination

    In United States patent law, a reexamination is a process whereby a third party or inventor can have a patent reexamined by a patent examiner to verify that the subject matter it claims is patentable....
  • Reissue application
  • Small entity status
    Small entity status

    Small entity status in United States patent law allows small businesses, independent inventors, nonprofit organizations to file a patent application and maintain an issued patent for a reduced fee—a 50% reduction....
  • Software patents under United States patent law
    Software patents under United States patent law

    Software or computer programs are not explicitly mentioned in United States patent law. In the face of new technologies, decisions of the United States Supreme Court and United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in the latter part of the 20th century sought to redefine the boundary between patent-eligible and patent-ineligible subject...
  • Statutory Invention Registration
    United States Statutory Invention Registration

    In United States patent law, a statutory invention registration is a publication of an invention by the United States Patent and Trademark Office ....
  • Submarine patent
    Submarine patent

    Submarine patent is an informal term for a patent first published and granted long after the initial patent application was filed. In analogy to a submarine, its presence is unknown to the public; it stays under water, i.e., unpublished, for long periods, then emerges, i.e., granted and published, and surprises the relevant market....
  • Term of patent in the United States
    Term of patent in the United States

    In the United States, under current United States patent law, the term of patent, provided that maintenance fee s are paid on time, are:* For patent applications filed on or after June 8, 1995, the patent term is 20 years from the filing date of the earliest U.S....
  • Transitional phrase
    Transitional phrase

    A transitional phrase, in United States patent law, is a phrase that links the preamble of a patent claim to the specific elements set forth in the claim which define what the invention itself actually is....
  • United States Defensive Publication
    United States Defensive Publication

    A United States Defensive Publication is a published patent application for which the inventor has elected not to get patent coverage. Defensive Publications were made between April 1968 and May 8, 1985....
  • Utility
    Utility (patent)

    In United States patent law, utility is a patentability requirement. Today, the utility requirement is the lowest bar and is easily met. Largely utility is used to prevent the patenting of inoperative devices such as perpetual motion machines....
  • X-Patent
    X-Patent

    The X-Patents are all the patents issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office from July 1790 , to July 1836. The actual number is unknown, but the best estimate is 9,957....


Legislation

  • 28 USC 1498. This statute allows the US government to override patent protection (or contract another entity to do so) for public use purposes. The patent owner can sue for limited compensation.
  • American Inventors Protection Act
    American Inventors Protection Act

    The American Inventors Protection Act is a United States federal law enacted on November 29, 1999 as Public Law 106-113. In 2002, the Intellectual Property and High Technology Technical Amendments Act of 2002, Public Law 107-273, amended AIPA....
     (AIPA)
  • Bayh-Dole Act
    Bayh-Dole Act

    The Bayh-Dole Act or University and Small Business Patent Procedures Act is United States law dealing with intellectual property arising from Research funding#Government-funded research....
  • Invention Secrecy Act
    Invention Secrecy Act

    The Invention Secrecy Act of 1951, codified at , is a body of United States federal law designed to prevent disclosure of new inventions and technologies that, in the opinion of selected List of United States federal agencies, present a possible threat to the national security of the United States....
     (1951)
  • Patent Act of 1790
    Patent Act of 1790

    The Patent Act of 1790 was the United States' first patent statute. It was entitled An Act to promote the progress of useful Arts, and passed on April 10, 1790....
    , First Patent Act - April 7, 1790
  • Patent Reform Act of 2005
    Patent Reform Act of 2005

    The Patent Reform Act of 2005 was United States patent law proposed in the 109th United States Congress. Texas Republican Party Congressman Lamar S....
  • Patent Reform Act of 2007
    Patent Reform Act of 2007

    The Patent Reform Act of 2007 is a proposal introduced in the 110th United States Congress for changes in United States patent law. Democratic Party Congressman Howard Berman introduced the United States House of Representatives bill on April 18 2007....
  • Plant Patent Act
    Plant Patent Act

    The Plant Patent Act of 1930 is a United States federal law spurred by the work of Luther Burbank.This piece of legislation made it possible to patent new varieties of plants, excluding sexual and tuber-propagated plants ....
     (1930)
  • Title 35 of the United States Code
    Title 35 of the United States Code

    Title 35 of the United States Code is a title of United States Code regarding United States patent law.* Part I--United States Patent and Trademark Office...


Other

  • American Intellectual Property Law Association
    American Intellectual Property Law Association

    Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, the American Intellectual Property Law Association is a national bar association that was formed in 1897 to improve intellectual property laws and educate the public about such issues....
     (AIPLA)
  • Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences
    Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences

    The Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences is an Article I and Article III tribunals of the United States Patent and Trademark Office , which decides issues of patentability....
     (BPAI)
  • Confederate Patent Office
    Confederate Patent Office

    The Confederate Patent Office was the agency of the Confederate States of America charged with issuing patents on inventions. The Chief Clerk during its entire existence was Rufus R....
  • European patent law
    European patent law

    European patent law covers a wide range of legislations including national patent laws, the Convention on the Unification of Certain Points of Substantive Law on Patents for Invention of 1963, the European Patent Convention of 1973, and a number of European Union directives and European Union regulations....
  • Japanese patent law
    Japanese patent law

    Japanese patent law is based on the First to file and first to invent principle and is mainly given force by the Patent Act of Japan which consists of 204 articles....
  • List of top United States patent recipients
    List of top United States patent recipients

    The USPTO will no longer release an annual list of top 10 organizations receiving the most U.S. patents. The 2006 data will be available in April 2007, in the annual ?Patenting by Organizations? report on the agency's web site ....
  • Manual of Patent Examining Procedure
    Manual of Patent Examining Procedure

    The Manual of Patent Examining Procedure is a manual published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for use by patent attorney and patent examiners....
     (MPEP)
  • United States copyright law
    United States copyright law

    United States copyright law governs the legally enforceable rights of creative and artistic works under the laws of the United States.Copyright law in the United States is part of federal law, and is authorized by the United States Constitution....
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
    United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

    The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is a United States court of appeals and was created by United States Congress with passage of the Federal Courts Improvement Act of 1982....
     (CAFC)
  • United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals
    United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals

    The United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals is a former United States federal court which existed from 1909 to 1982 and had jurisdiction over certain types of civil disputes....
     (CCPA)
  • United States Patent and Trademark Office
    United States Patent and Trademark Office

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification....
     (USPTO)
  • United States Patents Quarterly
    United States Patents Quarterly

    The 'United States Patents Quarterly' is a United States Reporter published by the Bureau of National Affairs in Washington, D.C. The USPQ covers intellectual property cases including patent laws, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets, from 1913 to the present....
     (USPQ)
  • United States trademark law
    United States trademark law

    Trademarks were traditionally protected in the United States only under State common law, growing out of the tort of unfair competition. As early as 1791, Thomas Jefferson proposed that the marks of sailcloth makers could be protected under the Commerce Clause, but it was not until 1870 that United States Congress first attempted to establish a fed...


External links

  • United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) web site:
    • (pdf, 1MB)
  • explains the layout of a US patent