Every inventor, entrepreneur, and company needs protection to prevent their unique ideas and intellectual property being copied by the competition. Applying for a patent in the United States is a smart move, and it starts by applying for a patent with the United States Trademark and Patent Office. This valuable protection keeps others from copying your invention for 20 years. You can start with a provisional patent, which is a placeholder patent, so you do not need to worry that someone will use your idea. A provisional patent will extent the life of the patent by 1 year. What Happens If You Don't Have a Patent? Patent attorneys can tell you what can happen if you don’t have a patent. Without one, your competitors could take advantage of and use your invention without your permission. This would result in reduced market share, among other things. You would be limited in licensing, selling, or transferring your innovation without a patented invention. Someone else could potentially also patent your idea first. This is why filing a provisional patent application with the patent and trademark office is helpful, allowing you to block any copycats while you finalize funding or the final touches on your invention. What Are the Three Types of Patents? The United States patent office allows you to file three different types of patents – utility patents, design patents, and plant patents. You may find it helpful to discuss patents with a patent lawyer to help you figure out which one will best protect your invention. Utility Patents Utility patents apply to any invention, new discovery, or an improvement of any useful process, machine, product, or item already in existence. A utility patent would be ideal [...]

Getting a patent is how you protect your intellectual property. With a patent, you can prevent others from copying your idea and profiting from your creation. Patent protection ensures you have exclusive control over your invention. You are not limited to filing a patent application on an idea when a prototype or tangible item is already brought to life. Applying for a patent is done through the United States Patent and Trademark Office, which can stop someone else from making, using, selling, or importing your idea. Before taking the steps to become a patent holder, you should understand the types of patents and how they can protect your invention. What Are the Three Types of Patents? The United States Patent and Trademark Office has three different patents to protect your creation. Before you begin the patent application process, you need to know which of these patents is the right match for your idea. A patent lawyer can help you understand everything you need for these processes. Utility Patents Also called patents for invention, utility patents are the most common United States patents. A utility patent is for new and useful machines, processes or compositions of matter, such as tools, computer software, machines, and medical equipment. To obtain a patent for this, you must show you have a new and useful device or process that makes it different from any other existing patent or known idea. You will generally have broader protection with a utility type of patent versus a design patent, but you will need to pay maintenance fees once the patent issues. And although a utility patents may generally offer broader protection it does not necessarily mean it offers stronger protection. Design Patents A [...]

In virtually all cases, there are three main requirements to determine whether an invention is patentable. The three requirements are: Utility – Utility means that the invention has usefulness.  If the invention is not useful, it cannot be patented.  Patent Attorney Matthew Sean Tucker has previously discussed in a blog post what it means for an invention to be useful.  For example, an invention used only for illegal purposes lacks utility.  Inventions are not useful for their intended purpose if their only purpose is illegal, immoral, inoperable, have only aesthetic purposes, thoeretical phenomena, invovle nuclear weapons, avoid paying taxes, or is a human organism. Novelty – Novelty takes a look at what existed prior to the invention and determines whether an identical invention existed.  A slight variation or distinction, no matter how small, will satisfy the novelty requirement.  Differences in structure, processes, and the like are looked at to determine novelty.  New combinations also satisfy the novelty requirements, so long as it has never been combined in that way before.  New uses is another way to satisfy the novelty requirement.  Additionally, inventions lose their novelty in the U.S. after you have placed it into the stream of commerce, or even offered it for sale, within one year thereof. Nonobviousness – The nonbviousness looks at whether it would have been obvious to arrive at the present invention based on prior inventions to one of ordinary skill in the art.  Registered Patent Attorney Matthew Sean Tucker has encountered instances where the invention would have been obvious in one field of art, but not in another.  For example, what is obvious to a neurosurgeon may not be obvious to a school teacher, and vice-versa.  Because obviousness is a legal term of art, the [...]

What is a Patent? Let Tucker Law help provide you both basic patent facts, as well as the complex nuances of the practice.  A patent is a form of legal protection granted by the government to inventors for their original and useful discoveries or creations, such as products, processes, or machines. Patents give the holder exclusive rights to prevent others from making, using, or selling the invention for a certain period of time, usually 20 years from the date of filing. In exchange for this exclusivity, the inventor must publicly disclose the details of the invention so that others may learn from it. Patents are granted by the government and are enforceable in courts.  Contact our patent attorney today at 1-800-TUCKERWINS! Patent Law: The Fundamentals of Patent Protection To be eligible for patent protection, an invention must be novel, non-obvious, and have a practical application. The patent application process is governed by patent law, and patent attorneys can advise inventors seeking to protect their creations. The Patent Office is the location where patent applications are filed. Inventors can file patent applications and obtain patent protection at the patent office. Filing a patent application, which includes detailed information about the claimed invention and prior art references, is the first step in obtaining patent protection. What You Should Know About Patented Inventions A patented invention is a novel and useful process, machine, manufacture, or material composition that has received patent protection. Inventions that have been patented are valuable assets that can be licensed or sold to potential partners. Finding Relevant Prior Art in Patent Searches Prior art refers to publicly available technical information that is relevant to the claimed invention. Patent searches are an important part of the patent application [...]