Intellectual Property 101: What is a Patent? | Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC

The US Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) has extensive online resources available on its website. While much of the content may be directed to patent and trademark practitioners for filing and access control purposes, some of the more general information is intended for the general public for educational and practical purposes. Recently the PTO updated a general information page that has excellent discussions on the various aspects of intellectual property law. This webpage is extensive, but we’ve included some of the most relevant sections.

Some people confuse patents, copyrights, and trademarks. Although these types of intellectual property share similarities, they serve different purposes.

What is a patent?
A patent for an invention is the grant of ownership to the inventor issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Generally, a new patent has a term of 20 years from the date the patent application was filed in the United States or, in special cases, from the date a previous related application was filed, subject to the payment of maintenance fees. US patent grants are effective only in the United States, US territories, and US possessions. Extensions or adjustments to the term of the patent are possible under certain circumstances.

The right conferred by patent grant is, in the language of the law and the language of the grant itself, “the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale or selling the invention” or “importing” the invention in the United States. Invention in the USA. The right to manufacture, use, offer for sale, sell or import the invention is not granted, but rather exclude others from producing, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention. Once a patent has been granted, the patentee must enforce the patent without the help of the USPTO.

There are three types of patents:

1. Utility models are granted to anyone who invents or discovers a new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture or composition of matter or a new and useful improvement thereof;
2. Registered designs are granted to anyone who invents a new, original and decorative design for a product; and
3. Plant patents are granted to anyone who invents or discovers a certain and new plant variety and reproduces it asexually.