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The USPTO protects you, the inventor, by granting patents and administering patent law. Patent examiners review patent applications, and Patent Trial and Appeal Board judges review appeals from patent examiner decisions, and also resolve disputes over issued patents.
If you’re new to the process of protecting your rights to your invention by applying for a patent, you’re in the right place. This page will direct you to everything you need to know about U.S. and international patents.
What are patents and what do they protect? Patents protect technical inventions, for example a product, a process or an apparatus, in all fields of technology. For an invention to qualify for patent protection, it must be novel, involve an inventive step and be industrially applicable.
A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention. Patents benefit inventors by providing them with legal protection of their inventions. However, patents also benefit the society by providing public access to technical information about these inventions, and thus accelerating innovation.
A. Determine the type of intellectual property (IP) protection you need. To protect your invention, you may need a patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, or some combination of these. Before you begin preparing a patent application, find out if you really need a patent and not some other form of IP protection.
Basics. What is a patent? What rights does a patent provide? What kinds of inventions can be protected? How long does patent protection last? Is a patent valid in every country? How are patent rights enforced? What does it mean to “license a patent” and why is it done?
How to Protect Inventions through Patents. The first step to obtain a patent is to file an application with a national or regional intellectual property (IP) office. If you seek patent protection in many countries, you may consider filing an international patent application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
A patent protects an invention by allowing its inventor — or the group who owns the patent — control over who may use the invention. Patent applications are adjudicated by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and are valid for 20 years.
Patents are an important form of intellectual property, which can protect certain inventions from being copied by third parties. In order to obtain a patent, one must apply for one through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). What exactly is a patent, and what can it protect?
A patent will offer relatively narrow protection if the invention needs many new features to distinguish it from existing inventions. If the invention needs only a few novel features to distinguish it from existing inventions, it will receive broader protection.