When you’re hoping to protect your intellectual property, either as an individual or a business, you may look into patents. There are several legal ways to protect your intellectual property, including copyrights and trademarks. If you have an idea for an invention, you may wonder if you can get a patent. It’s important to understand the requirements and process of obtaining a patent to know if you’ll likely receive those legal protections for your intellectual property.
Understanding the Requirements
First, know that your idea must be more than just an idea to become patentable. It must be more than a theoretical concept to gain a patent. Most inventions can be patented in one of three categories: plant, design, and utility patents. Utility patents cover new processes or methods, design patents are for new ornamental designs, and plant patents cover new plant discoveries or reproduction. It’s likely your invention fits one of those categories.
Beyond those categories, your invention must fit three requirements: that it is novel, non-obvious, and useful. The use requirement is one reason you can’t have a patented idea. It must be functional and have a use and benefit to receive a patent. It also can’t be an invention that is obvious to anyone with the same understanding in the same field. Finally, it’s important to document the process of creating your invention, take detailed and dated notes, and have reliable witnesses.
What Makes Patents Different From Copyrights
Copyright protections exist without the creator having to do anything legally. They are meant to protect original written works of anything tangibly written down and cover most creative works. Copyright protections are meant to protect artists and creators, giving them full legal control and ownership over their works of creation, including literature, drama, musical, artistic, and other works. It applies to the works, whether published or not, and gives the owner exclusive rights to sell, make, reproduce, and distribute copies of their work.
However, patents work differently. While they also provide the inventor rights to sell, make, use, and offer for sale their invention, those protections are not given automatically upon completing an invention. Instead, the inventor has to apply for one of the patents with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to receive a patent for their invention.
If granted, they then have legal rights to their invention. Patents give legal protection to the inventor for the process, design, or function of their product for 20 years, effectively giving the inventor a government-gifted monopoly. In addition, a patent is given in exchange for the disclosure of the invention to the public so that other people can recreate it. This allows for public knowledge of useful inventions.
Searching Through Current Patents
To check if your invention is new, it’s helpful to check current and existing patents. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has a library of all the current patents, so you can browse all patents and patent applications. You can search through foreign patents, as well, and search journals related to your area of invention. This is a time-consuming process, but it’s worth it to be sure of your efforts in obtaining a patent. You can also hire people to assist you, but early in the process, you are the one who knows the invention best.
You can also use the information you find in your search to show how your invention adds something that similar inventions don’t have. Again, this can prove its use as an invention and potentially as a patent.
The Process of Patenting
The process starts when an inventor applies for one of the three patents: utility, design, or plant, with the USPTO. In order to gain a patent, some specific documents must be filed, and fees must be paid. However, an inventor can also apply for a provisional patent with the same entity. A provisional patent application preserves an earlier date for inventors and gives them 12 months to file the final patent applications.
Provisional patents don’t ever become full patents, but they secure the date. This is important because of the first to file basis in the patent process. The date that an invention patent is filed is held over the actual date of invention, and provisional patents give inventors the ability to secure the rights for the invention. For example, these rights could be lost if the inventor publicly discloses or offers to sell the product or invention more than 12 months before the full patent is filed. However, provisional patents can help preserve these rights.
If an inventor wants to receive patent protection outside the United States, they must apply in each country and its patent office. A patent in this country only gives legal protection in the United States.
What Is Patent Infringement?
If you’ve gained a patent over an invention, and someone uses, sells, or makes that invention without your permission to do so, that is patent infringement. Your patent is your intellectual property; if someone is using or importing it unauthorized, you should file a claim with the federal court to protect your invention and your rights.
Both utility and plant patents last 20 years after the application date, and design patents last 14 years. Once the expiration date is reached, the product or invention becomes public and can be used, made, or sold by anyone.
Legal Protections for Patent Infringement
If your patent is integral to your business methods or process, it’s in your best interest to solve legal matters quickly. On the other hand, if you’re an individual inventor, facing patent litigation without the help of a qualified attorney is difficult and costly. In case of patent infringements, you must protect your rights. If you have a patent currently or are trying to obtain one and are running into legal issues, contact The Myers Law Group. Our group has more than 80 years of professional experience with a concentration on intellectual property law, and we can help with patent litigation and protect your rights.