What Is Patent?
A patent is a selective right conceded for invention, which is a product or a process that gives, as a rule, a new method of accomplishing something or offers another technical answer for an invention. For obtaining a patent, technical data of an invention/discovery should be unveiled to the general society in a patent application. In other words, a patent is the conceding of intellectual property directly by a sovereign authority to an inventor. This acceptance gives the inventor the selective rights to the patented cycle, plan, or innovation for an assigned period in return for an extensive disclosure of the invention. They are a type of exquisite right.
Government organisations regularly deal with and support applications for patents. In the United States, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which is essential for the Department of Commerce, handles applications and grant endorsements.
This page will help you understand what is the patent and how is it obtained along with the types of patents in detail and certain examples on patents. You will also go through the Key Takeaways on how to obtain Patents as well.
Understanding Patents: What Is The Patent And How Is It Obtained?
In the US, most patents hold validity for 20 years effective from the date when the application was filed with the USPTO. However, there are conditions when exceptions are accepted to extend a patent's term.
Please note that the US patents are only valid in the United States and its Territories. If seeking validity outside the US, it is important for you to research the intellectual property rights of that country, say India. Also, you need to apply for protection with India’s governing authorities.
Types Of Patents: Three Types Along With Their Understanding And Applications
The types of patents are as follows:
Utility patents,
Design patents, and
Plant patents.
The above three patents have their own applications and durations. Now, let us go through these types in detail:
Utility Patents: Applications And Durations
Utility patents are the patents for innovation, issue legitimate protection to individuals who invent a new and useful process, an article of manufacture, the machine, or a composition of matter. Utility patents are the most well-known kind of patent, with over 90% of the patents given by the U.S. government having a place with this category. A utility patent remains valid for 20 years from the date of documenting as long as maintenance charges are paid. Please note that maintenance charges are overcharges applied to utility patent applications documented after December 12, 1980.
Design Patents: Applications And Durations
Design patents are patents given for unique, new, and ornamental designs for manufactured items. Design patents ensure the design or look of something. They require the invention to which the design has a place to be unique and valuable. Design patents last for 15 years for applications documented after May 13, 2015. For applications documented before May 13, 2015, patents last for 14 years from the date of the documentation. Maintenance charges don't apply for design patents.
Plant Patents: Applications And Durations
Plant patents can go to any individual who produces, finds, and invents a new sort of plant capable of reproduction. These patents are conceded for 20 years from the date of documenting, and no maintenance charges apply. Plant patents offer an incentive to organisations or people to continue developing inventive products or services without the dread of infringement. For instance, huge pharmaceutical organisations can spend billions of dollars on innovative work. Without patents, their medications and drugs could be copied and sold by organisations that didn't search or contribute the required capital for R&D.
On the whole, patents secure the intellectual property of organisations to help their productivity. In any case, patents additionally fill in as gloating rights for organisations exhibiting their innovativeness.
How To Obtain Patents?
Before drafting a formal application, an applicant must have done thorough research on the Patent and Trademark Office's database to check whether or not another person or institution has claimed a patent for a similar invention.
Further, he/she must ensure that the invention is different from or an improvement upon a previous design to be regarded as a patent.
Furthermore, applicants are required to maintain accurate and consistent records of the design process and the successive steps to be taken while working on the invention.
Please note that enforcing the patent is entirely on the person or entity that an applicant has applied for the patent.
Therefore, before applying for a patent in the United States, the applicant submits relevant documents and pays linked fees. Written documentation incorporates descriptions, drawings, descriptions, and claims of the product to be patented.
It is mandatory that the formal oath or declaration validating the authenticity of the invention or improvement of a persisting invention must be signed and submitted by the inventor. After fee payment, the application is reviewed and then either approved or denied.
Patents Statistics: Current Data And Information On Patents From 1963-2020
As per the recent data, the USPTO receives 500,000 or above patent applications every year, with around 300,000 of them granted. The USPTO agency has over 11,000 employees. Among these, about 75% of them are patent examiners, while the rest look into the legal and technical areas.
As of June of 2018, the USPTO issued its ten millionth patent, where most of the patents issued go to companies in the technology sector. Apple was granted 2,000 in 2018. Besides this, Microsoft and Google were also granted patents.
It is noticed that IBM typically receives more patents than any company in the U.S., i.e., CNN Business reported that over 9,000 patents were granted to IBM in 2017 alone.
Below, you can find the statistics of patents issued and granted in the US from 1963 to 2020:
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Examples of Patents
One of the most remarkable patents in the past 40 years was the PC filed in 1980 by Steve Jobs and three employees of Apple Inc.
In the year 1904, King C. Gillette patented the razor and was dubbed a "safety razor." Then in 1923, a patent was granted to Garrett Morga for the traffic light.
In 1930, the patent for the television was issued to Philo Taylor Farnsworth for the "first television system."
Farnsworth, at the age of 20, created the first-ever electric television image and invented an early model of the electronic microscope.
Key Take Aways On Patents
A patent is the granting of a property right by a sovereign authority to an inventor.
A patent gives an opportunity to the inventor the exclusive rights to the patented process, design, or invention for a specific period in exchange for a complete disclosure of the invention.
In June 2018, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued its ten millionth patent.
Utility patents are the widespread patent issued only in the US that account for 90% of all issued patents.
Utility and plant patents are granted for 20 years from the date of application, whereas design patents are granted for only 14 to 15 years, depending on when the application was filed.
Patents are lawful rights conceded to designers for their manifestations. Government divisions, for instance, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, issues patents and other safeguarded innovation rights to U.S. residents. Patent rights give selective rights to utilise, reproduce, or sell the shielded innovation without obstruction from other people who wish to do likewise. In return, the responsible authority is allowed the option to distribute the subtleties of the innovation.
Patents are allowed for a restricted time frame, like a long time from the date of petitioning for plant and utility patents and 14 or 15 years for configuration patents. Patents gave in the United States just deal security inside the U.S. to expand security in different countries; the candidate should apply with the overseeing authority of that country.
FAQs on Patent
Q1: What's the significance of a patent?
A patent is a lawful right to an innovation given to an individual or substance without obstruction from other people who wish to duplicate, use, or sell it. Patents are allowed by governing authorities and have a period limit, generally 20 years.
Q2: What are examples of patents?
Instances of noteworthy licensed creations incorporate normal items that we utilise every day, including the phone, dishwasher, and light. Ones without terminated assurance incorporate Boeing's Water Harvesting framework, Disney's strategy for imitating human activities with robots, and Google's clinical reaction drone.6
Q3: What are the 3 types of patents?
The three sorts of patents are utility patents, plant patents, and plant patents. Utility patents are given for creations that are novel and valuable. Configuration patents secure the plan or picture of an item. Plant patents are given to candidates for plants that can reproduce.
Q4: What is the amount of a Patent?
Patent expenses fluctuate as per the kind of patent applied for and depend on a few different components, like the sort of candidate, temporary or nonprovisional status, and related charges - search charges, assessment expenses, post-remittance charges, and the sky is the limit from there. On the off chance of utilising the systems of a lawyer, you can anticipate that costs go from ＄5,000 to more than＄ 20,000.
Q5: How long does a patent last?
Utility and plant patents keep going for a long time from the date of documenting, while configuration patents keep going for a very long time whenever recorded after May 13, 2015, or 14 years whenever documented before May 13, 2015.
