Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Patents and How to Get One: A Practical Handbook
    Patents and How to Get One: A Practical Handbook
    Patents and How to Get One: A Practical Handbook
    Ebook118 pages1 hour

    Patents and How to Get One: A Practical Handbook

    By U.S. Department of Commerce

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    What is a patent? What do “patent pending” and “patent applied for” mean? How do you go about applying for a patent? This indispensable handbook, originally published by the U.S. Government’s Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) not only answers these and many other questions frequently asked of the agency, but provides readers with general information about patents and how the PTO operates.
    Designed specifically for non-attorneys and written in clear, easy-to-understand language, the guide takes readers through the registration process step by step, beginning with general information about the functions of the Patent and Trademark Office. Accessible discussions follow about patent law, what can be patented, conditions for obtaining a patent, the process of registering patents, and who may apply. Also covered are filing and maintenance fees; models, exhibits, and specimens; correction of patents, the nature of patent rights, patent infringement, design and plant patents, treaties and foreign patents, and much more.
    Of immense use to inventors and prospective applicants, this brief general introduction to the subject will also be of value to students and other interested people.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDover Publications
    Release dateMay 24, 2012
    ISBN9780486157696
    Patents and How to Get One: A Practical Handbook

    Related to Patents and How to Get One

    Related ebooks

    Small Business & Entrepreneurs For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      © Opyright Basics

      Mar 4, 2021

      Celebrating its 21st anniversary on 26 April 2021, World Intellectual Property Day recognises the impact intellectual properties have on our day-to-day lives. As writers, many of us wouldn’t have a writing business if it wasn’t for copyright, because

      6 min read

    • Article

      No Children? Why You Still Need an Estate Plan

      Feb 11, 2019

      Estate planning is an extremely personal process, not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. When an individual has no close relatives (other than perhaps a spouse), the decisions required to prepare an estate plan can sometimes feel overwhelming. Over the

      3 min read

    • Article

      For Tribes, By Tribes

      Sep 1, 2020

      For Tribes, By Tribes
      6 min read

    • Article

      Are You Ready for Longevity? 4 Steps to Take Now

      Aug 13, 2018

      Did you know that a non-smoking 65-year-old woman today has a 50% chance of living until 88? A non-smoking 65-year-old man has a 50% chance of living until 85? That's how life expectancy works - the longer you live, the more likely you will live lon

      4 min read

    • Article

      Do Trustees Become The Legal Guardians Of Your Children?

      Jul 24, 2020

      The guardianship of children is governed in terms of section 18 of the Children’s Act, whereas the role of trustees is governed by the common law and the Trust Property Control Act, explains Elmarie Neilson of Neilsons Attorneys. The powers of truste

      1 min read

    • Article

      The Use Of Trusts For Business And Trading

      May 15, 2021

      BANKRUPTCIES in South Africa averaged 229 companies a month from 1980 until 2020. In August last year, an all-time high of 511 companies declared bankruptcy, compared to the record low of 63 companies in May 1988. The projected bankruptcies for 2021

      3 min read

    • Article

      Services

      Jul 18, 2023

      Dry Cleaning & Laundry Services Dry cleaning STARTUP COST $703.5K-$1.5M  TOTAL UNITS (Franchised / Co.-Owned) 212/14 Dumpster Rentals Construction dumpsters with attached portable restrooms STARTUP COST $646.2K-$748.3K  TOTAL UNITS (Franchised / Co.-

      1 min read

    • Article

      Common Law Principles And The CPA

      Dec 11, 2019

      Common Law Principles And The CPA
      1 min read

    • Article

      Busting Trust Myths

      Sep 3, 2020

      “Trust busting” is the term often used to describe instances where a court finds in favour of a claimant trying to access trust assets. Here, though, I do not want to talk about “trust busting”. Instead I want to bust some trust myths. There has been

      2 min read

    • Article

      Invention Protection

      Feb 1, 2019

      Invention Protection
      2 min read

    • Article

      How To Patent

      Feb 1, 2019

      How To Patent
      1 min read

    • Article

      5 Reasons Why the Regulatory Accountability Act is Bad for Science

      May 9, 2017

      Last week, Senator Rob Portman introduced his version of the Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA), a bill that would significantly disrupt our science-based rulemaking process. A version of this inherently flawed, impractical proposal has been floatin

      7 min read

    • Article

      ORIGINAL WILLS & THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE’S CONSULTATION

      Mar 8, 2024

      Wills are private legal documents, but are retained indefinitely and become public documents once probate has been granted. It has long been established in law that, once a will is proved, anyone has a right of access to inspect the will and other re

      4 min read

    • Article

      A Needle In A Legal Haystack Could Sink A Major Supreme Court Privacy Case

      Mar 28, 2018

      A Supreme Court case undone? The CLOUD Act, recently passed in the omnibus spending bill, likely to moot one of the term's blockbuster cases.

      2 min read

    • Article

      Trump's Action On China Helps All Inventors

      Mar 22, 2018

      In punishing China for patent theft, the president claims only a benefit for the US. But the action also affirms global rules on intellectual property that help nurture discoveries for all.

      1 min read

    • Article

      African Continental Free Trade Area Negotiations Under Way

      Dec 9, 2022

      The second phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) negotiations has started. This is where the negotiations focus on intellectual property rights, competition policy, investment, digital trade/e-commerce as well as women and youth i

      2 min read

    • Article

      L AW & THE FAMILY HISTORIAN

      Apr 8, 2022

      L AW & THE FAMILY HISTORIAN
      9 min read

    • Article

      A Dishonest Proposal: The House Science Committee Resurrects EPA Secret Science Nonsense in the HONEST Act

      Mar 7, 2017

      This week, Chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Lamar Smith will officially mark up a new (but not really improved) version of his long championed but always nonsensical Secret Science Act. Now rebranded as the Honest and

      4 min read

    • Article

      Who Has A Right In The Copy?

      Jan 29, 2023

      Who Has A Right In The Copy?
      6 min read

    • Article

      At Stake in Supreme Court: Privacy in the Digital Age

      Nov 28, 2017

      A robbery prosecution raises the question of whether, in the era of smartphones and the internet, constitutional protections against warrantless searches need updating.

      5 min read

    • Article

      Europe's Copyright Reforms Are More Than (Just) A Boring Policy Change

      Sep 27, 2018

      Two weeks ago, the European Commission approved new rules that will change how tech companies are required to deal with copyright infringement on their platforms. Unsurprisingly, it was controversial.

      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Patents and How to Get One

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Patents and How to Get One - U.S. Department of Commerce

      INTEREST

      Functions of the Patent and Trademark Office

      The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The role of the Patent and Trademark Office is to grant patents for the protection of inventions and to register trademarks. It serves the interest of inventors and businesses with respect to their inventions and corporate products, and service identifications. It also advises and assists the bureaus and offices of the Department of Commerce and other agencies of the Government in matters involving intellectual property such as patents, trademarks and semiconductor mask works. Through the preservation, classification, and dissemination of patent information, the Office aids and encourages innovation and the scientific and technical advancement of the nation.

      In discharging its patent related duties, the Patent and Trademark Office examines applications and grants patents on inventions when applicants are entitled to them; it publishes and disseminates patent information, records assignments of patents, maintains search files of U.S. and foreign patents, and maintains a search room for public use in examining issued patents and records. It supplies copies of patents and official records to the public. Similar functions are performed relating to trademarks.

      Purpose of this Booklet

      The purpose of this booklet is to give users some general information about patents and the operations of the Patent and Trademark Office. It attempts to answer many of the questions commonly asked of the Patent and Trademark Office but is not intended to be a comprehensive textbook on patent law or a guide for the patent attorney. It is hoped that this information will be useful to inventors and prospective applicants for patents, to students, and to others who may be interested in patents by giving them a brief general introduction to the subject.

      Additional information may be obtained from the publications listed under the sections Publications of the Patent and Trademark Office and General information and correspondence. Also, information is available on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Web site at: http://www.uspto.gov. The Patent and Trademark Office does not publish any textbooks on patent law, but a number of such works for the specialist and for the general reader have been published by private concerns.

      What Is a Patent?

      A patent for an invention is a grant of a property right by the Government to the inventor (or his or her heirs or assigns), acting through the Patent and Trademark Office. The term of the patent shall be 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, if the application contains a specific reference to an earlier filed application under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121 or 365(c), from the date the earliest such application was filed, subject to the payment of maintenance fees. The right conferred by the patent grant extends only throughout the United States and its territories and possessions.

      The right conferred by the patent grant is, in the language of the statute and of the grant itself, the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention in the United States or importing the invention into the United States. What is granted is not the right to make, use, offer for sale, sell or import, but the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention. Most of the statements in the preceding paragraphs will be explained in greater detail in later sections.

      Some persons occasionally confuse patents, copyrights, and trademarks. Although there may be some resemblance in the rights of these three kinds of intellectual property, they are different and serve different purposes.

      Copyrights

      A copyright protects the writings of an author against copying. Literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works are included within the protection of the copyright law, which in some instances also confers performing and recording rights. The copyright protects the form of expression rather than to the subject matter of the writing. A description of a machine could be copyrighted as a writing, but this would only prevent others from copying the description; it would not prevent others from writing a description of their own or from making and using the machine. Copyrights are registered in the Copyright Office in the Library of Congress. Information concerning copyrights may be obtained from the Register of Copyrights, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20559. (Telephone 202-707-3000)

      Trademarks/Servicemarks

      A trademark or servicemark relates to any word, name, symbol or device which is used in trade with goods or services to indicate the source or origin of the goods or services and to distinguish them from the goods or services of others. Trademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a confusingly similar mark but not to prevent others from making the same goods or from selling them under a non-confusing mark. Similar rights may be acquired in marks used in the sale or advertising of services (service marks). Trademarks and service marks which are used in interstate or foreign commerce may be registered in the Patent and Trademark Office. The procedure relating to the registration of trademarks and some general information concerning trademarks is given in a separate pamphlet entitled Basic Facts About Trademarks.

      Patent Laws

      The Constitution of the United States gives Congress the power to enact laws relating to patents, in Article 1, section 8, which reads Congress shall have power . . . 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. Under this power Congress has from time to time enacted various laws relating to patents. The first patent law was enacted in 1790. The law now in effect is a general revision which was enacted July 19, 1952, and which came into effect January 1, 1953. It is codified in Title 35, United States Code.

      The patent law specifies the subject matter for which a patent may be obtained and the conditions for patentability. The law establishes the Patent and Trademark Office to administer the law relating to the granting of patents, and contains various other provisions relating to patents.

      What Can Be Patented

      The patent law specifies the general field of subject matter that can be patented and the conditions under which a patent may be obtained.

      In the language of the statute, any person who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent, subject to the conditions and requirements of the law. The word process is defined by law as a process, act or method, and primarily includes industrial or technical processes. The term machine

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1