Become An Inventor

Patent - Protect Your Idea

Let's suppose that you got a fantastic idea, an effective solution to a problem. A new type of fuel? A toy? An electric automobile? It is your idea and therefore your intellectual property-invention. Of course, no one will buy your idea without a detailed description of your idea. So you are now forced to disclose the idea to other people. But do you have a guarantee that your idea will stay yours and won't be stolen? In today's market, ideas can be worth millions and even billions of dollars; dollars that should be yours.

For this purpose, in the middle of past millennium, a special system was created to protect inventions by granting a patent.

Patent is a legal document granted by the government giving an inventor the exclusive right to make, use, and sell an invention for a specified number of years. Two main patent systems exist today:

claim system - allows the inventor to simply file a patent application and send it to the Patent Office which will award you a priority date, stating when your patent application was filed. This system is used in France, for example.

verifying system - besides granting a priority date, the Patent Office performs a comprehensive search for existing patents in your idea's technical field. If the search provides positive results, your application is accepted and you will be granted a patent. The verifying system is used in the United States of America, Russian Federation, and other countries.

In the United States, patents last for 20 years. The goal of the patent system is to encourage inventors to advance the state of technology by awarding them special rights to benefit from their inventions. Patent law is one branch of the larger legal field known as intellectual property, which also includes trademark and copyright law. Patent protection has great economic importance to a number of industries that rely on technological innovation to remain competitive, such as the chemical, pharmaceutical, and computer industries. The U.S. government grants patents for machines; compositions of matter, such as new chemical compounds to be used in industry; manufactured items; and industrial processes, provided they meet a number of strict legal tests. Patents are also available for significant improvements on previously invented items. Special patents can be obtained for the invention or discovery and asexual reproduction of certain distinct and new types of vegetation. Patents may also be granted for certain types of industrial designs, such as a distinct tread pattern on the soles of hiking boots or tennis shoes. Computer programs have been granted patent protection, as have various living organisms, such as specialized mice that were bred to help in cancer research. Books, movies, and works of art cannot be patented, but protection is available for such items under the law of copyright.

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Radar is commonly used to locate storms, aircraft and ships. FINISH

PATENT HISTORY

In the United States, patent law dates to 1641, when the first patents for inventions were issued by the Massachusetts Bay Colony for the manufacture of salt. The Constitution of the United States, which became effective in 1789, gave Congress the power to enact federal patent laws. Congress adopted the first patent law in 1790 as one of its first actions. It has frequently amended U.S. patent law since then. The current patent law was adopted in 1952 and is administered by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), an agency within the Department of Commerce.

The first treaty to deal with international patent law was the Paris Convention of 1883, which was originally adopted by 20 countries from around the world and has since been adopted by most others. In addition, most of the world's nations have signed several other treaties dealing with patent issues during the 20th century. For example, more than 120 countries have signed the 1994 Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). This treaty strengthened legal protection for patents worldwide.

Despite the early development of patent law in the United States, there was no central administrative office to determine the validity of U.S. patents until the PTO was established in 1836. Since then, the PTO has examined all applications for patents to decide whether they meet the requirements of the patent laws.

APPLICATIONS

To obtain patent protection in the United States, an inventor must file a patent application with the PTO. This application has three parts: (1) the specification, which gives a general description of the invention; (2) the claims, which provide more detailed statements explaining exactly how the invention works or is assembled; and (3) drawings that illustrate the invention. A specially trained official, called a patent examiner, reviews the application to determine if it qualifies for a patent. The applicant receives no patent rights until the PTO approves and issues the patent. During the patent examination process, the patent examiner may ask the applicant to answer various questions about the invention. The law requires the patent applicant to disclose all information in his or her possession that is relevant to whether the patent should be issued. Because this process often goes back and forth several times between the applicant and the examiner, a patent examination can be very time-consuming and the legal fees can be expensive.

To offer a wider variety of protective opportunities for inventors, on June 8, 1995, the United States Patent Office implemented a new type of patent processing - provisional patent application. Unlike the non-provisional, verification of existing patents is not performed; provisional patent grants only the priority date - which defends your intellectual property from conflict of interests cases. Provisional patents last for one year after which, the inventor has to apply for a nonprovisional patent. For a comprehensive look at the provisional patent application, requirements and tips for filling the application out, click here.

QUALIFICATIONS

To qualify for a patent, the invention must meet three basic tests. First, it must be "novel," meaning that the invention did not previously exist. If the patent examiner finds that the proposed invention has already been described in previous patents or written about in scientific magazines, the PTO will declare that the invention has been "anticipated." In such a case, the patent will be denied. Second, the invention must be "non-obvious," which means that the invention must be a significant improvement to existing technology. Simple changes to previously known devices do not comprise a patentable invention. Finally, the proposed invention must be "useful." Legal experts commonly interpret this to mean that no patent will be granted for inventions that can only be used for an illegal or immoral purpose.

Some types of discoveries are not patentable. No one can obtain a patent on a law of nature or a scientific principle even if he or she is the first one to discover it. For example, Isaac Newton could not have obtained a patent on the laws of gravity, and Albert Einstein could not have patented his formula for relativity, E=mc2.

DISPUTES

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Occasionally several people apply for a patent for the same invention. Under U.S. law, the person who first invented the item receives the patent. If it is unclear who invented the item first, the PTO decides who gets the patent in a proceeding known as interference. The losing party may then appeal the PTO's decision at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, a specialized court in Washington, D.C., established to deal with patent matters. Most other countries follow a different rule, granting the patent to the first person to file the patent application. In these countries, if the first inventor delays and the second inventor files the patent application first, the second inventor will obtain the patent. The best-known example of interference is the telephone case between Alexander Graham Bell and another Elisha Gray who filed his application 3 hours later. A difference of a mere 3 hours brought fame and wealth to one inventor, and "disappointed" another.

TERMS

If the patent examiner finds that the invention meets the three basic legal tests described above, the PTO will grant a patent. Under current U.S. law, a patent is valid for 17 years from the date the patent application is filed. The patent is granted to the individual or individuals who made the invention. If that person is an employee who did the work as part of a job, however, the employer has a right to use the invention as well.

A patent only grants rights within the jurisdiction that issued it. Therefore, a U.S. patent will not provide any rights in other countries. Inventors must take out a patent in every country where they desire protection. Most nations of the world have adopted patent laws, but often the requirements in foreign countries differ greatly from requirements in the United States. For international patent protection, inventors have to apply to WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) with a considerable jump in fees. For protection in European countries, an application must be filed into the European Patent Office.

ROYALTIES

One of the main benefits of patents is royalties. Although royalties are strictly optional, most companies are willing to purchase royalty-bearing licenses from patent owners. There is no minimal or set financial amount for royalties; the patent-owner and the licensee agree upon the amount.

Probably the best-known case of royalties is �the chess case�. As the legend goes, the inventor of chess was presenting his creation to the ruler. The ruler was amazed. He offered to grant anything the inventor would ask for. The clever inventor simply said that all he wants is grain, the amount of which would be found the following way: One grain are placed on one square of the chessboard; 2 grains are placed on the second square, 4 on the third, and the numbers double until all of the squares are filled. The ruler was relieved that the inventor did not request money and gladly agreed. A couple of days passed and one of the advisors came to the ruler with bad news. He said that the amount the inventor requested is larger than the amount of grain in the whole world (2⁶⁴)!

Since there is a direct expense to the licensee, there is a doubling effect that helps the patent owner be more competitive in the market. For example, company ABC patented the technology for the production of golf clubs. Company XYZ also wants to enter this market, so it purchases the royalty-bearing license from company ABC, with a negotiated $2 per golf club royalty. Now, company ABC receives $2 from every golf club that XYZ sells, XYZ's golf clubs are also more expensive due to the royalty and the company is quickly forced out of the market. ABC dominance continues until another company patents a cheaper, more efficient or a principally different.

Royalty income can be substantial when a patent is in an area in which it is required by competitors. The best example is the computer industry where Texas Instruments holds basic technology patents on memory chips. When, in 1987, Texas Instruments raised its royalties on memory chips, companies such as NEC, Matshushita, Fujitsu and Mitsubishi refused to pay. These companies were charged with patent infringement resulting in the acceptance of the royalties and a fine of $281 million paid to Texas Instruments over the course of two years.

INFRINGEMENT

Anyone who makes, uses, or sells a patented invention without the permission of the patent holder is guilty of infringement. The person holding the patent, called the patentee, may sue the infringer in federal court to recover damages. The patentee may also obtain an injunction requiring the infringer to refrain from committing future acts of infringement. The accused infringer may argue in court that the patent should never have been granted in the first place. If the accused infringer raises this argument the court will determine whether the patent is valid or invalid. Another important defense against claims of infringement is the first sale doctrine. Under this principle, once the patentee sells a particular item, the purchaser of that item may use it or resell it without being considered an infringer. This is why people can use computers, which have many patented parts, without being considered patent infringers.

Patent lawsuits can be filed in any federal court in the United States. Appeals in patent cases all go to the same court, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in Washington, D.C.. This helps ensure that patent law is uniform throughout the United States. All questions regarding patent requirements, fees, applications, etc. can be answered at the United Patent Office website.