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June 18, 2020

A Helpful Guide to Ribbon Copies, Certified Patents, Patent Plaques, and More

Anyone with an internet connection and a printer can download and print any U.S. patent from the USPTO, Google Patents, or other sources. When it comes to special physical copies, however, patent owners may understandably be unfamiliar with their purpose, how to treat them, and how to obtain them. These special physical copies include:

Ribbon Copies

Duplicate ribbon copies, certified copies, additional patent copies, presentation copies, patent plaques, certificates of correction and gold seal certificates of correction.

If you are a patent owner, there is a good chance that you already have at least one physical copy — the Ribbon Copy. This is because the USPTO sends the patent owner a Ribbon Copy for “free” upon issuance of the patent. As the trend toward paperless continues, you may be tempted to dismiss Ribbon Copies as dust collectors or souvenirs to hand out.

Think twice. As described below, a Ribbon Copy has significant value during trial and replacing it is difficult. You should store your Ribbon Copies in a safe location.

In addition to the Ribbon Copy, this guide summarizes other types of physical copies, their benefits, and how to obtain them.

After you pay the issue fee in an allowed patent application, the USPTO issues a patent on a subsequent Tuesday and mails out a Ribbon Copy. The Ribbon Copy is also referred to by the more formalistic name of Original Letters Patent.

Although the word “Ribbon” would suggest there is an actual ribbon binding the patent copy, the USPTO has not actually bound Ribbon Copies with a ribbon since 1985. The Ribbon Copy is printed on cardstock and wrapped with a cardstock cover that includes a gold seal (see example below). It has an ornate and official appearance that lends itself to jury presentations. It is also self-authenticating at trial.

The patent owner should consider keeping their Ribbon Copy in a safe, identifiable location (like a locking file cabinet) and not circulating it among anyone (even inventors) for display. This is due to the cost and difficulty of obtaining a replacement (see next section on Duplicate Ribbon Copies). Further, the patent owner should document the storage process and maintain an inventory of Ribbon Copies to help in the event of a loss (for example, a fire or flood).

Figure 1: Ribbon Copy (U.S. Patent Nos. 10,000,000 and up)

From 1985 until Patent No. 10,000,000, the Ribbon Copy looked different (see example below) and actually included two small lengths of ribbon, but is otherwise no different from present Ribbon Copies.

Figure 2: Ribbon Copy (1985-2018)

A duplicate Ribbon Copy (also called a duplicate letters patent) is the same as the original Ribbon Copy and may be obtained if the original Ribbon Copy is lost or destroyed. Obtaining a duplicate Ribbon Copy requires filing a petition under 37 CFR 1.182 and paying a fee under 37 CFR 1.17(f), which is currently $400 (discounts for small or micro entities are available). The petition should lay out the circumstances surrounding the loss, destruction, theft, etc. of the original Ribbon Copy.

From reviewing prior petitions, it appears that if the original Ribbon Copy was not received, the petition may be submitted under 37 CFR 1.181 without a fee. However, this petition must include evidence of the non-receipt at the address of record, such as a record of received mail demonstrating the absence of the original Ribbon Copy.

Duplicate copies are mentioned on the USPTO website , which suggests contacting the Office of Petitions at 571.272.3282 for more details.

A certified copy of patent is mostly an electronic printout of the patent PDF on regular paper, but with two distinctions. First, the certified copy includes a front cover sheet with a gold seal and ink signature (example below). Second, the certified copy includes a footer on every page to show it was printed by the USPTO. These features make certified copies self-authenticating at trial, just like Ribbon Copies and Duplicate Ribbon Copies.

Certified copies may be ordered through the USPTO’s Certified Copy Center . At only $25 per copy, a certified copy is a less expensive option to obtain a self-authenticating copy with an official appearance in the event that the Ribbon Copy is not available.

Figure 3: Cover sheet for a Certified Copy

When paying the issue fee for a patent, the patent owner may order additional copies of the patent to be mailed along with their Ribbon Copy. The additional copies are only $3 each.

The additional copies are not ornate like the Ribbon Copy, though. They are simply double-sided printouts of the patent PDF that are stapled on the left side, which anyone with access to the internet and a duplex printer can print on their own. As one example, patent PDFs are available from the USPTO’s Patent Full Text and Image Database for downloading and printing.

Also referred to as a “Presentation Patent,” a Presentation Copy is the first page of an issued patent printed on 24 lb. cardstock. It includes a certified signature in ink, a gold seal, and a blue ribbon (see example below). The Presentation Copy is ideal for framing, gifting to an inventor, or publicly displaying at an office. It also removes the need to cannibalize the Ribbon Copy for creating such a gift or display.

Despite its presentation value, the fact that a Presentation Copy includes only the patent’s first page means it is not well suited for use at trial or other legal purposes.

Presentation Copies cost $25 each and can be ordered through the USPTO’s Certified Copy Center .

Figure 4: Presentation Copy

Patent plaques are available in a wide array of options from many third parties (they are not available from the USPTO) and are an excellent choice for gifting to inventors or public display. They are generally a more attractive alternative than ordering and framing a Presentation Copy.

One example style of patent plaque, from Patentplaques.com, is provided here:

Figure 5: Patent Plaque (Image courtesy of PatentPlaques.com )

If errors are identified in an issued patent, a request for a Certificate of Correction listing the errors may be filed with the USPTO. There is a $100 fee if any of the listed errors resulted from a mistake made by the applicant.

When the USPTO issues a certificate of correction, a PDF of the certificate of correction can be downloaded from the USPTO’s PAIR system. The USPTO will also mail a Gold Seal Certificate of Correction, which is a printout of the certificate of correction with a gold embossed sticker. The Gold Seal Certificate of Correction creates an official appearance for jury presentation and is self-authenticating. It is a good idea to safely store the Gold Seal Certificates of Correction together with the Ribbon Copies for any future litigation.

You can contact the Certificate of Correction branch of the USPTO at [email protected] to obtain a replacement for the Gold Seal Certificate of Correction.

Figure 6: Gold Seal Certificate of Correction

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A Helpful Guide to Ribbon Copies, Certified Patents, Patent Plaques, and More

Anyone with an internet connection and a printer can download and print any U.S. patent from the USPTO, Google Patents, or other sources. When it comes to special physical copies, however, patent owners may understandably be unfamiliar their purpose, how to treat them, and how to obtain them. These special physical copies include:

Ribbon Copies

Duplicate Ribbon Copies

Certified Copies

Additional Patent Copies

Presentation Copies

Patent Plaques

Certificates of Correction and Gold Seal Certificates of Correction

If you are a patent owner, there is a good chance that you already have at least one physical copy — the Ribbon Copy. This is because the USPTO sends the patent owner a Ribbon Copy for “free” upon issuance of the patent. As the trend toward paperless continues, you may be tempted to dismiss Ribbon Copies as dust collectors or souvenirs to hand out.

Think twice. As described below, a Ribbon Copy has significant value during trial and replacing it is difficult. You should store your Ribbon Copies in a safe location.

In addition to the Ribbon Copy, this guide summarizes other types of physical copies, their benefits, and how to obtain them.

After you pay the issue fee in an allowed patent application, the USPTO issues a patent on a subsequent Tuesday and mails out a Ribbon Copy. The Ribbon Copy is also referred to by the more formalistic name of Original Letters Patent.

Although the word “Ribbon” would suggest there is an actual ribbon binding the patent copy, the USPTO has not actually bound Ribbon Copies with a ribbon since 1985. The Ribbon Copy is printed on cardstock and wrapped with a cardstock cover that includes a gold seal (see example below). It has an ornate and official appearance that lends itself to jury presentations. It is also self-authenticating at trial.

The patent owner should consider keeping their Ribbon Copy in a safe, identifiable location (like a locking file cabinet) and not circulating it among anyone (even inventors) for display. This is due to the cost and difficulty of obtaining a replacement (see next section on Duplicate Ribbon Copies). Further, the patent owner should document the storage process and maintain an inventory of Ribbon Copies to help in the event of a loss (for example, a fire or flood).

Figure 1: Ribbon Copy (U.S. Patent Nos. 10,000,000 and up)

From 1985 until Patent No. 10,000,000, the Ribbon Copy looked different (see example below) and actually included two small lengths of ribbon, but is otherwise no different from present Ribbon Copies.

Figure 2: Ribbon Copy (1985-2018)

A duplicate Ribbon Copy (also called a duplicate letters patent) is the same as the original Ribbon Copy and may be obtained if the original Ribbon Copy is lost or destroyed. Obtaining a duplicate Ribbon Copy requires filing a petition under 37 CFR 1.182 and paying a fee under 37 CFR 1.17(f), which is currently $400 (discounts for small or micro entities are available). The petition should lay out the circumstances surrounding the loss, destruction, theft, etc. of the original Ribbon Copy.

From reviewing prior petitions, it appears that if the original Ribbon Copy was not received, the petition may be submitted under 37 CFR 1.181 without a fee. However, this petition must include evidence of the non-receipt at the address of record, such as a record of received mail demonstrating the absence of the original Ribbon Copy.

Duplicate copies are mentioned on the USPTO website , which suggests contacting the Office of Petitions at 571.272.3282 for more details.

A certified copy of patent is mostly an electronic printout of the patent PDF on regular paper, but with two distinctions. First, the certified copy includes a front cover sheet with a gold seal and ink signature (example below). Second, the certified copy includes a footer on every page to show it was printed by the USPTO. These features make certified copies self-authenticating at trial, just like Ribbon Copies and Duplicate Ribbon Copies.

Certified copies may be ordered through the USPTO’s Certified Copy Center . At only $25 per copy, a certified copy is a less expensive option to obtain a self-authenticating copy with an official appearance in the event that the Ribbon Copy is not available.

Figure 3: Cover sheet for a Certified Copy

When paying the issue fee for a patent, the patent owner may order additional copies of the patent to be mailed along with their Ribbon Copy. The additional copies are only $3 each.

The additional copies are not ornate like the Ribbon Copy, though. They are simply double-sided printouts of the patent PDF that are stapled on the left side, which anyone with access to the internet and a duplex printer can print on their own. As one example, patent PDFs are available from the USPTO’s Patent Full Text and Image Database for downloading and printing.

Also referred to as a “Presentation Patent,” a Presentation Copy is the first page of an issued patent printed on 24 lb. cardstock. It includes a certified signature in ink, a gold seal, and a blue ribbon (see example below). The Presentation Copy is ideal for framing, gifting to an inventor, or publicly displaying at an office. It also removes the need to cannibalize the Ribbon Copy for creating such a gift or display.

Despite its presentation value, the fact that a Presentation Copy includes only the patent’s first page means it is not well suited for use at trial or other legal purposes.

Presentation Copies cost $25 each and can be ordered through the USPTO’s Certified Copy Center .

Figure 4: Presentation Copy

Patent plaques are available in a wide array of options from many third parties (they are not available from the USPTO) and are an excellent choice for gifting to inventors or public display. They are generally a more attractive alternative than ordering and framing a Presentation Copy.

One example style of patent plaque, from Patentplaques.com, is provided here:

Figure 5: Patent Plaque (Image courtesy of PatentPlaques.com)

If errors are identified in an issued patent, a request for a Certificate of Correction listing the errors may be filed with the USPTO. There is a $100 fee if any of the listed errors resulted from a mistake made by the applicant.

When the USPTO issues a certificate of correction, a PDF of the certificate of correction can be downloaded from the USPTO’s PAIR system. The USPTO will also mail a Gold Seal Certificate of Correction, which is a printout of the certificate of correction with a gold embossed sticker. The Gold Seal Certificate of Correction creates an official appearance for jury presentation and is self-authenticating. It is a good idea to safely store the Gold Seal Certificates of Correction together with the Ribbon Copies for any future litigation.

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Processing goal

A processing goal is the approximate time required to retrieve, copy, certify (if required), and prepare the document for delivery. Processing goals are dependent on availability of system and USPTO business hours. USPTO business hours are 8:30 am – 5 pm ET, Monday – Friday (except federal holidays).

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How to Present a Patent: Expert Guide for Effective Presentations

Presenting a patent can be a daunting task, especially if you want to make a lasting impression on your audience. whether you are presenting to potential investors, colleagues, or even in a courtroom, a well-crafted presentation can significantly influence the success of your patent. in this expert guide, we will walk you through the key steps to deliver an effective patent presentation..

1. Understand Your Audience

Before diving into the details of your patent, it’s crucial to understand who you will be presenting to. Consider their level of technical expertise and adapt your language accordingly. Tailoring your presentation to the specific needs and interests of your audience will make it more engaging and understandable.

2. Start with a Strong Opening

The first few minutes of your presentation are crucial in capturing your audience’s attention. Begin with a compelling opening that clearly explains the problem your patent solves. This establishes the value and relevance of your invention right from the start.

3. Clearly State the Problem and Solution

Next, clearly define the problem you are addressing with your patent. Highlight the pain points and limitations of existing solutions. Then, introduce your patent as the innovative solution that overcomes these challenges. Make sure your solution is easy to understand and its benefits are clearly highlighted.

4. Visualize Your Patent

Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words. Visual aids such as diagrams, charts, and images can significantly enhance the clarity and memorability of your presentation. Use visuals to demonstrate how your patent works, its unique features, and its potential applications.

5. Showcase Supporting Data and Evidence

If you have conducted experiments, tests, or gathered data to support your patent, showcase them in your presentation. This tangible evidence will strengthen the credibility of your invention. As the saying goes, “Show, don’t tell.”

6. Anticipate Questions and Objections

During your presentation, be prepared for questions or objections from your audience. Anticipate potential concerns and address them proactively. Rehearse your presentation with a critical eye to identify any weak points, and prepare clear and convincing responses.

7. Use Engaging Delivery Techniques

Engage your audience by incorporating interactive elements into your presentation. This can include demonstrations, prototypes, or even interactive Q&A sessions. Utilize your speaking skills to maintain a confident and enthusiastic tone throughout the presentation.

8. Keep It Concise and Focused

Avoid overwhelming your audience with too much technical information. Keep your presentation concise and focused on the key aspects of your patent. Use simple and straightforward language to ensure everyone can follow along.

9. Practice, Practice, Practice

Don’t underestimate the power of practice. Rehearse your patent presentation multiple times to refine your delivery, timing, and overall flow. Practicing will boost your confidence, allowing you to deliver a polished and professional presentation.

Presenting a patent requires careful planning, preparation, and an understanding of your audience. By following these expert tips, you can confidently present your patent and leave a lasting impression. Remember to tailor your presentation, use visuals effectively , and be ready to handle any questions or objections. With practice, your patent presentation will become a powerful tool in showcasing the value and uniqueness of your invention.

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What Is a Patent?

Understanding patents, types of patents, how to apply for a patent, patent statistics, examples of patents.

• Patent vs. Trademark vs. Copyright

Patent FAQs

The bottom line.

• Business Essentials

What Is a Patent in Simple Terms? With Examples

Investopedia / Xiaojie Liu

A patent is the granting of a property right by a sovereign authority to an inventor. This grant provides the inventor exclusive rights to the patented process, design, or invention for a designated period in exchange for a comprehensive disclosure of the invention. They are a form of incorporeal right .

Government agencies typically handle and approve applications for patents. In the United States, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which is part of the Department of Commerce, handles applications and grants approvals.

Key Takeaways

• A patent is the granting of a property right by a sovereign authority to an inventor. 
• A patent provides the inventor exclusive rights to the patented process, design, or invention for a certain period in exchange for a complete disclosure of the invention.
• In June of 2018, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued its 10 millionth patent.
• Utility patents are the most common patent issued in the United States, accounting for 90% of all issued patents.
• Utility and plant patents are granted for 20 years, whereas design patents are granted for either 14 or 15 years, depending on when filed.

Most patents are valid for 20 years in the U.S. from the date the application was filed with the USPTO, although there are circumstances where exceptions are made to extend a patent's term. U.S. patents are only valid in the United States and U.S. Territories. If seeking protection outside of the United States, it is important to research the intellectual property rights of other nations and apply for protection with their governing authorities.

According to the United States Code, a patent can be granted to:

Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof....

There are three types of patents available in the United States: utility patents, design patents, and plant patents. Each has its own specifications and durations. A patent can also be pending , indicating that the inventor has begun applying for a patent.

Utility Patents

Utility patents , or patents for invention, issue legal protection to people who invent a new and useful process, an article of manufacture, a machine, or a composition of matter. Utility patents are the most common type of patent, with more than 90% of patents issued by the U.S. government belonging to this category. A utility patent lasts for 20 years from the date of filing as long as maintenance fees are paid. Maintenance fees are surcharges applied to utility patent applications filed after Dec. 12, 1980.

Design Patents

Design patents are patents issued for original, new, and ornamental designs for manufactured products. Design patents protect the design or look of something. They require the invention to which the design belongs to be original. Design patents last for 15 years for applications filed on or after May 13, 2015. For applications filed before May 13, 2015, patents last for 14 years from the date of the filing. Maintenance fees do not apply to design patents.

Plant Patents

Plant patents go to anyone who produces, discovers, and invents a new kind of plant capable of reproduction. These patents are granted for 20 years from the date of filing and no maintenance fees apply.

Patents provide an incentive for companies or individuals to continue developing innovative products or services without the fear of infringement. For example, large pharmaceutical companies can spend billions of dollars on research and development. Without patents, their drugs and medicines could be duplicated and sold by companies that didn't research or invest the needed capital for R&D.

In other words, patents protect the intellectual property of companies to help their profitability. However, patents also serve as bragging rights for companies demonstrating their innovativeness.

Before making a formal application, an applicant should research the Patent and Trademark Office's database to see if another person or institution has claimed a patent for a similar invention. The invention must be different from or an improvement upon a previous design to be considered for a patent. Applicants need to take care to maintain accurate records of the design process and the steps taken to create the invention. Enforcing the patent is up to the person or entity that applied for the patent.

To apply for a patent in the United States, the applicant submits specific documents and pays associated fees. Written documentation includes drawings, descriptions, and claims of the item to be patented. A formal oath or declaration confirming the authenticity of the invention or improvement of an existing invention must be signed and submitted by the inventor. After fee payment, the application is reviewed and either approved or denied.

Patents protect the intellectual property of companies and help ensure their profitability, but patents also serve as marketing for a company's innovation.

The USPTO receives more than 500,000 patent applications per year with just over 300,000 of them granted. The agency had over 14,000 employees in 2023, of whom approximately 60% of them were patent examiners while the remaining worked in the legal and technical areas.

In June of 2018, the USPTO issued its 10 millionth patent. Many patents issued go to companies in the technology industry where Apple was granted 2,285 in 2022. Microsoft and Google were also granted patents. However, IBM typically receives more than any company in the U.S.—IBM was granted over 8,000 patents in 2021 alone.

One of the most notable patents was for the personal computer, filed in 1980 by Steve Jobs and three other employees of Apple Inc.

King C. Gillette patented the razor in 1904. It was dubbed a "safety razor." Garrett Morgan was granted a patent for the traffic light in 1923. The patent for the television was issued in 1930 to Philo Taylor Farnsworth for the first "television system."

At age 21, Farnsworth had created the first electric television image and went on to invent an early model of the electronic microscope.

Patents vs. Trademarks vs. Copyrights

Patents are legal rights issued to inventors to protect their inventions for a certain time, usually 20 years. They exclude others from reproducing, using, or profiting from it without the expressed permission of the patent owner. The granting authority issues a patent in exchange for permission to publish details about the invention, such as how it's made and what it's used for.

Trademarks are legal protections on words, phrases, designs, or marks that identify a specific product or service. Trademarks are intellectual property that contribute to the image and reputation of the product or service to which it belongs, and to the company to which it belongs. Beyond symbolism, a trademark can be incredibly valuable to a company, prompting some companies to include them in their valuation. Trademarks are protected forever, as long as it's in use and the holder can defend it. Examples of trademarks include the golden arch for McDonald's, the Nike swoosh, and Apple's apple.

Copyrights are legal protections on creative works of the mind, or according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office "original works of authorship." They include visual art, literary works, other writings, choreography, and software. Copyrights prevent others from reproducing the work without the express permission of the copyright owner. Like other intellectual property, copyrights are granted for a specific time, allowing the holder to benefit from its creation. Copyrights are granted for the maximum period of 70 years from the death of the author for works created on or after Jan. 1, 1978. Exceptions apply to works for hire and anonymous works.

Copyrights for works for hire or anonymous works are granted for 95 years from their publication or 120 years from creation, which occurs first.

What Does Patent Mean?

A patent is a legal right to an invention given to a person or entity without interference from others who wish to replicate, use, or sell it. Patents are granted by governing authorities and have a time limit, usually 20 years.

What Are Examples of Patents?

Examples of historic patented inventions include common products that we use daily, including the telephone, dishwasher, and lightbulb. Patents protected until 2033 include Boeing's Water Harvesting system, Disney's method for reproducing human actions with robots, and Google's medical response drone.

What Are the 3 Types of Patents?

The three types of patents are utility patents, design patents, and plant patents. Utility patents are issued for inventions that are novel and useful. Design patents protect the design or image of a product. Plant patents are issued to applicants for plants that can reproduce.

How Much Is a Patent?

Patent costs vary according to the type of patent applied for and are based on several other factors, such as the type of applicant, provisional or nonprovisional status, and associated fees—search fees, examination fees, post-allowance fees, the cost of a patent agent or attorney, and more. If using the services of an attorney , you can expect costs to range from approximately $5,000 to more than $45,000.

How Long Does a Patent Last?

Utility and plant patents last for 20 years from the date of filing, while design patents last for 15 years if filed on or after May 13, 2015, or 14 years if filed before May 13, 2015.

Patents are legal rights granted to inventors for their creations. Government divisions, such as the United States Patent and Trademark Office, issue patents and other intellectual property rights to inventors, authors, and other creators. Patent rights give exclusive rights to use, replicate, or sell the protected invention without interference from others who wish to do the same. In exchange, the issuing authority is granted the right to publish the details of the invention.

Patents are granted for a limited time, such as 20 years from the date of filing for plant and utility patents and 14 or 15 years for design patents. Patents issued in the United States only offer protection within the U.S. To extend protection in other nations, the applicant must apply with the governing authority of that nation.

United States Code. “ 35 USC 101: Inventions Patentable .”

United States Patent and Trademark Office. “ U.S. Patent Statistics Chart Calendar Years 1963 - 2020 .”

United States Patent and Trademark Office. “ Patent Essentials .”

United States Patent and Trademark Office. " Maintain Your Patent ."

United States Patent and Trademark Office. “ Applying for Patents .”

United States Patent and Trademark Office. " Types of Patents ."

U.S. Department of Commerce. “ U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Fiscal Year 2023: The President’s Budget and Congressional Justification .” Pages 3, 10.

United States Patent and Trademark Office. “ United States Issues Patent Number 10,000,000 .”

Statista. “ Companies With the Most U.S. Patents Granted to Them in 2021 and 2022 .”

Google Patents. “ Personal Computer .”

Google Patents. “ Razor ."

United States Patent and Trademark Office. “ Of Courage and Caution .”

Google Patents. “ Television System .”

National Inventors Hall of Fame. “ Philo Taylor Farnsworth .”

United States Patent and Trademark Office. “ What Is a Trademark? ”

United States Patent and Trademark Office. " Copyright Basics ."

Google Patents. “ Water Harvesting System .”

Google Patents. “ Robot Action Based on Human Demonstration .”

Google Patents. “ Multi-Part Navigation Process by an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Navigating to a Medical Situatiion .”

Patent Trademark Blog. " How Much Does a Patent Cost? It Really Depends ."

United States Patent and Trademark Office. " 2701 Patent Term [R-10.2019] ."

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Patents presentation, a patent for an invention (something useful, unique and non-obvious) is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by a government or an authorized multi-national agency., the patent rights include the right to exclude others, unlike copyrights and trade secrets, independent creation is not a defense to a claim of infringement., patents are considered the strongest form of intellectual property, patents = the right to exclude others, a patent gives the owner the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling, or importing the invention. note, this is not the right to make the invention., this right is only valid in the country that issued the patent., the patent owner may authorize others to use his/her property right under certain conditions. these are called patent licenses., the term of a new patent is usually 20 years from the filing date of the patent application., not enforceable until the application issues into a patent..

Patents – What Kinds Are There?

Utility patents, – protect functional use or functional structure, other types of patents, – design patents – how products “look“, their ornamental design, apart from utilitarian/functional features – plant patents – grafting or genetic alteration, provisional “patent“ application, – not itself an enforceable patent, as such, but allows claim of “patent pending” – not examined, expires in one year, only as good as technical disclosure, but may establish an early filing date, non-provisional patent application, examined and granted as the standard enforceable 20 year patent, patents – why file a patent application, → create a defensive portfolio and thereby create cross-license opportunities, → create design freedom for technical staff, → increase business valuation – us and abroad, → create obstacles for competitors, → create licensing assets for potential revenue, → create an offensive portfolio for patent enforcement, → open monopolies with patent leverage, →obtain recognition in a technology area, → maintain ownership of employee designs, patents – what ideas to file on, protect features which distinguish a product in the marketplace., → patents should be sought for ideas which give products a technological or other competitive advantage over competitors., protect ideas which are easily identifiable., → it is important to have patents for inventions which, when embodied in a third party’s product, can be readily identified or that can be easily determined through reverse engineering., protect ideas that have a relatively long product life (greater than 2 years)., → a patent will take approximately 2-4 years to issue and is not enforceable until then., do not discount “business method” patents., → amazon’s “one-click” patent. obtained injunction against b&n and forced them to redesign their site., → priceline.com obtained a patent on on-line reverse auctions. suit filed against microsoft in late 1999., → fantasysports.com obtained patents for on-line fantasy football games. suit filed against sportsline.com, yahoo, espn, and others in late 1999., patents – legal requirements, ⚆ statutory – the invention must fit one of the legal categories of protectable inventions (e.g., a mechanical device, a machine, a compound, a composition of matter, a method/process, or software apparatus/system), ⚆ novel and useful- the invention must be useful and new or novel (e.g., no one else has, before certain prescribed dates, either patented, used, sold or otherwise publicly disclosed the invention which is sought to be patented), ⚆ non-obvious – the invention cannot be “obvious” to persons of ordinary skill in the relevant field of technology, when viewed in light of knowledge such persons would ordinarily have, ⚆ not abandoned – the inventor has not somehow abandoned the invention, patents – business criteria, legal criteria, → new / novel, → not obvious, business criteria, → business value > something competitors likely to copy > how significant if we could stop them, → detectable > would we be able to detect whether a competitor is using the invention, → policy > better to keep as trade secret, → longevity > will the feature/concept become obsolete soon, patents – time element, patent rights for an invention are forfeit if a patent application is not filed on the invention within one year of the earliest of:, ⚆ first printed publication or patent issued (anywhere in the world) in which the invention was described, ⚆ first sale or offer for sale in the united states, ⚆ first public use in the united states, → 12 month grace period, → not publicly disclosed/used more the 12 month before filing date, → not sold/offered for sale more that 12 month before filing date, → patent rights accrue to the ‘first to invent’, → no 12 month grace period, → not publicly disclosed before filing date of patent application, → but sale/offer for sale does not necessarily = public disclosure, → patent rights accrue to the ‘first to file’, patents – patent application process, ⚆ disclosure, ⚆ optional search, ⚆ optional provisional application, ⚆ regular u.s. non-provisional national application, ⚆ prosecution || appeal, ⚆ issue/maintenance fees, patents – application content, → what is the current state of the art, → what are problems with the current state of the art, detailed description, → engineering portion = disclosure, → must meet “disclosure” requirements, → describe drawings, → legal portion = monopoly, → define “metes and bounds”/scope of patent, → patent attorney’s value-add, → must meet novelty and non-obviousness criteria, patents – claim types.

Patents – Use of Claims

⚆ claims are used by the patent examiner to determine patentability (useful, novel, non-obvious), ⚆ claims used by plaintiffs to determine infringement by defendants, ⚆ claims used by defendants to determine validity of plaintiff’s patent, ⚆ claims used by potential licensors/licensees to determine need and cost of a patent license, patents – detailed description.

⚆ Enable someone of ordinary skill in the art to make the invention * Without “undue experimentation”

⚆ If invention has more than one implementation, must disclose the best way * No “hiding the ball”

Patents – Technology to Cover

E.g., electronics and software, ⚈ systems (computer, comms., network), ⚈ database structures, ⚈ architectures (ic, system, etc.), ⚈ user interfaces), ⚈ methods of doing business (transaction processes), patents – drawings.

Networking Architecture Drawing Example

Procedure at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office

⚈ patent application is received and assigned a filing date and serial number. the patent application is kept confidential in the patent office during pendency until publication at 18 months after filing., ⚈ application is assigned to an art group and an examiner., ⚈ examination commences after a long delay after filing, sometimes up to two years., ⚈ examiner performs a search and issues an office action, which is the examiner’s report of his/her results of the examination of the patent application. the examiner cites all prior art found that relates to the claimed invention. typically, the examiner rejects the claims the first time., ⚈ the applicant/patent attorney responds to the office action by making arguments asserting that the claims are patentable over the prior art and/or amending the claims if necessary to differentiate from the prior art., ⚈ repeat office action / response as necessary., ⚈ application is allowed or finally rejected., ⚈ patent issues if allowed – appeal is possible if finally rejected., wright brothers patent, iu.s. patent no. 821,393, issued may 22, 1906, claim 1. in a flying-machine, a normally flat aeroplane having lateral marginal portions capable of movement to different positions above or below the normal plane of the body of the aeroplane, such movement being about an axis transverse to the line of flight, whereby said lateral marginal portions may be moved to different angles relatively to the normal plane of the body of the aeroplane, so as to present to the atmosphere different angles of incidence, and means for so moving said lateral marginal portions substantially as described..

Amazon One-Click Patent

U.s. patent no. 5,960,411, issued sep. 25, 1999, a method of placing an order for an item comprising: under control of a client system, displaying information identifying the item; and in response to only a single action being performed, sending a request to order the item along with an identifier of a purchaser of the item to a server system; under control of a single-action ordering component of the server system, receiving the request; retrieving additional information previously stored for the purchaser identified by the identifier in the received request; and generating an order to purchase the requested item for the purchaser identified by the identifier in the received request using the retrieved additional information; and fulfilling the generated order to complete purchase of the item whereby the item is ordered without using a shopping cart ordering model..

Managing Patents

⚈ develop a strategy for patent use, ⚈ inventory and register inventions and key technologies. use engineer notebooks and invention disclosure forms., ⚈ provide incentives to inventors, ⚈ evaluate competitors, ⚈ avoid infringement, ⚈ integrate product development and patent strategy, ⚈ conduct internal patent awareness and training programs to encourage and enable submission of invention disclosures., ⚈ become involved early in the product development cycle., ⚈ some level of in-house patent prosecution capability may ultimately be desirable, ⚈ consider patent acquisition from related businesses or individual patent owners., ⚈ use an annuity service to pay patent maintenance fees., ⚈ closely monitor patent expenditures. it is not unusual to spend $50k – $70k over the life of a patent for u.s. and foreign prosecution and annuities., managing foreign patents, ⚈ u.s. filing date can be used as foreign priority date by treaty., ⚈ invention cannot have been made available to the public prior to the priority date., ⚈ consider which foreign countries or regions may most likely make, use, or sell the invention, ⚈ countries requiring translation will be more expensive. estimate $3k-$5k per english-speaking country, $8k – $12k per non-english-speaking country, ⚈ in general, file 15% – 25% of the u.s. applications in appropriate foreign countries, ⚈ patent cooperation treaty (pct) applications can be used to defer foreign national filings for up to 30 months after priority date. however, a pct application is not an enforceable patent., ⚈ use foreign associates to assist foreign prosecution and to pay foreign annuities., ⚈ closely monitor foreign filing expenditures..

What Can Be Patented?

If you’re someone who has been working on an invention in your garage for months and have finally invented something useful, you might be wondering: can my invention be patented? We are here to explain what inventions or ideas can be patented and why protecting your invention is a good idea. We will cover what you can patent and how to choose between utility patents or design patents.

Under United States patent law, any person who comes up with a new invention, process, or design to protect it with a patent. To patent an invention, an inventor will have to satisfy four requirements that we will cover below to qualify for a patent. Source

Why Should You Patent Your Invention?

If you’ve invented something you’ve probably heard that to make money from it, the first thing you need to do is protect your idea before someone steals it. By protecting your invention, you will put yourself in a position to control who can use your invention and who can profit from and who cannot. If you’ve invented something that is commercially viable, protecting your invention can increase the chances that you’ll be able to profit from creating your invention. Now that we have encouraged you to patent your invention, you should figure out whether your invention is patentable? To find out, read below.

What Can You Patent?

We will describe the four elements that you need to qualify for a patent in detail below.

Step#1 What is Patentable Subject Matter?

What does u.s law list as patentable subject matter, what can be patented | examples of patentable subject matter include the following:, what can’t be patented | examples of non-patentable subject matter include:, step#2 patent usefulness (utility) requirement.

To make things easier, the satisfy the usefulness requirement, the invention must have some real-world use. Often, applicants explicitly state the utility requirement in the patent application, however this is not always necessary especially in cases where the utility requirement is apparent.

In the event that your application gets rejected on the basis that it lacks utility, the USPTO will give you a chance to amend your application to claim a specific utility. Once amended, the patent examiner will re-examine your application to determine whether your invention meets the utility requirement.

Overall, most inventions pass the utility rest. It’s a relatively easy part of the application process.

Step#3 Your Invention Must be “Novel”

If you want to profit from your invention you should probably patent but make sure you keep your invention secret until you obtain a patent. This is so because you have one year to file a patent application from the date you first published or first sold the patented item.

To wrap things up, the novel requirement requirement is quite simple and requires a showing that:

Step#4 Your Patent must be Nonobvious

Obviousness is a fact-based and subjective inquiry that should be approached with an open-mind. Many inventors are not capable of making an honest determination, making the obviousness inquiry a significant hurdle for those seeking to patent their invention.

Factors to Determine Nonobviousness

Objective evidence of obviousness / nonobviousness includes:, can you patent a design.

Yes, you can patent a design. A design patent gives you legal claim to your original design, allowing you to exclusively use it, sell it, and profit from the unique look of your object. If you want a design patent, you can file a Design Patent Application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Can you Patent a Plant?

Yes, you can apply for a plant patent to protect your creation of a new plant species. Plant patents last for 20 years.

Can you Patent Software?

Patent scope, patent life.

Plan Patent Term: Last for 20 years from the date you file your patent application

What Inventions Can be Patented Conclusion

Similar posts, how long is a design patent good for, can you patent a card game, what is a patent license agreement, can you patent a purse design, selling your patent, what is a patent agent, leave a reply cancel reply.

How to Patent an Idea in 13 Steps

“How Do I Patent an Idea?”

The real answer to this question is: you can’t.

That’s right, you can’t get a patent for an “ idea ” alone, not even the best idea in the world. 

My name is J.D. Houvener, a patent attorney at Bold Patents Law Firm. My goal for this article is to give you everything you need to know on how to patent an invention.

Since this article covers a lot of important information, I included a table of contents/navigation menu for your convenience. Feel free to skip ahead to any section that interests you. 

(For your visual learners, here is a video I created to help you understand the basics of getting a patent for an idea. )

In addition, here is a simplified patent application process flow chart showing the 4 major steps to patenting your idea.

They are even color-coded throughout this article to help you understand what part of the process you are at.

• Prep Work – Small tasks we recommend you complete before you start the patent process. 
• Patent Search – Searching the database of existing patents. Ensuring the marketability of your invention. 
• Filing Your Patent – Decided on the best course of action. Design, Utility, Plant, Continual, International, etc. 
• Post Filing – Responding to office actions, appeals, creating profiles, etc. 

I must take a minute and feature our “Patent Chart”, which is the single most important chart showing the 3 major steps (I call it the “A-B-C Patent Flowchart” as well). It showcases the Patent Search, the Provisional, and the Nonprovisional Patent Application, the key timing considerations and major deliverables:

Chapter 1: Prep Work 

Before you even think about hiring a patent attorney or attempt to do the patent filing process on your own (not recommended) there are some important questions you need to be able to answer. 

If you have already done these, feel free to skip to Chapter 2 where you will learn about how to perform a patent search & ensure the marketability of your patent.

Step 1: Do You Have an Idea or Invention?

(CH1 – Prep Work)

When I give legal advice to first-time clients, it always hurts to tell them, “ideas are a dime-a-dozen.”

Here is a list of reasons why they need to hear it:

• Most inventors (not all) this will fire them up and motivate them to want to strive to work hard to get their invention to a stage of “invention”
• Clients will gain an appreciation for the diligence and hard work it takes to fully conceive of an eligible invention that has practical application* [See new blog on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility]
• It helps to give pause to quick flashes of genius and innovation to think about whether the idea has enough merit in the market to warrant further investigation

Inventors that have done their homework respond by giving me the following:

• Drawings or examples of how their invention would work or could work 
• Tell me about how feasible it would be to build a prototype 
• Describe the materials they would need to gather
• The order they would need to assemble the device
• What component systems would be required for the idea to work

Once you have an idea that can be described in such detail so that someone could build it just by reading the description and viewing the drawing – then you have identified an invention.

When having the discussion please enter it with an open mind. Many times I speak with clients and try to give them helpful advice but they are stuck in their ways making assumptions with regard to the surrounding technology. Take the critique, it might end up saving you thousands of dollars and headaches down the road. 

Helpful links:

• Blog Article: How to Invent Something in 10 Steps
• Blog Article: Confidentiality Agreements: What Are They? When Do You Need Them?
• Blog Article: 10 Tips for Inventors: Meeting with a Patent Attorney
• Great Video describing the ABC Patent Flowchart
• Another reason I love to point out how ideas are “dime-a-dozen” is to point out how courageous the client is being by acting. We encourage our inventors to Go Big Go Bold℠ !

The patent statute, 35 USC 101 tells us that any:

“new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof is eligible for patent protection.”

While that list of what is eligible seems quite broad (and it is), there are some things that clearly fall outside of that definition and have been solid agreement from courts over the years.

Get an Eligibility Opinion

You need to seek an Eligibility Opinion from a licensed and registered USPTO Patent Attorney , who understands the recent case law and can help you decide whether to go down the patent route or find another.

Your attorney will probably not tell you in black-and-white terms:

“…You should seek a patent on this,” or “you shouldn’t seek a patent on this.”

Instead, you will receive a careful opinion that covers different aspects of your invention and places weight on certain characteristics to give you a level of risk to proceed.

With so much changing in the courts, and with the USPTO examiners, there is no way to be 100% certain about anything, so the opinion will just give opinions on risk and it will be up to you whether you proceed.

TAKE BOLD ACTION NOW : Are you ready to book a consult now? Get on our calendar today!

Helpful Links:

• Blog Article: Is My Idea Patentable? (The #1 Question to Ask…)
• Blog Article: Is My Invention Eligible for Patenting? 3 Simple Steps
• Blog Article: Business Method Patent
• Blog Article: Cannabis & Patents: What’s Coming Next?
• Blog Article: Can You Patent an App? 7 Steps to Patent an App!

Step 3: Determine Who the Inventors Are and Who Will Own it

After you talk with a Patent Attorney , and signs point to eligibility, you are on your way to getting a patent for your idea!

There are TWO big questions to address right up front so that they don’t trip you up down the road.

Inventorship & Ownership.

1. Inventorship – Who is the Inventor?

“Who invented this? Were there any third parties, contractors, developers, employees involved in the conception of the invention?”

These questions will become very important as the inventor prepares to provide a required oath disclosing all known inventors, under 37 CFR 1.66.

A question that comes up a lot is about individuals or entities that helped to create a prototype or developers that made a   software type application. 

The simple answer is that these people are likely NOT the real inventors.

Whether through admission, knowledge or through discovery via the inventorship inquiry above, it is critical to identify all co-inventors prior to filing a   patent application .

“All co-inventors must be named on patent applications by law.”

Co-inventors, get equal rights as any of the inventors to have exclusivity to the ENTIRE invention to prevent any (non-inventor) in the applicable jurisdiction from making, using, selling or importing the invention.

That also means that no co-inventor can prohibit another co-inventor from exercising their rights to exclude others from making, using, selling, or importing the invention. These rules are true so long as the inventor has not assigned their invention to another individual or entity (see patent assignments).

If you’ve co-developed or think you are unsure about who the inventors are in your project follow the steps below or click here to book a free consultation to get help. 

Not sure who the inventors are? Take these steps:

• Decide on the scope of the invention ( see invention disclosure above)
• Document date(s) of conception for the invention above
• Make a list of all parties that were involved in the invention
• Who in that list merely helped to develop/prototype/manufacture the invention? NOTE: These are NOT co-inventors 
• Who in that list contributed to the functional aspects of the invention?  NOTE: These are co-inventors of any utility patent applications
• Who in that list contributed to the design aspects of the invention? NOTE: These are co-inventors of any design patent applications

How to make the invention disclosure process easier for your Patent Attorney:

• Prepare sketches, drawings, or photos showing how your invention looks (and could look) with attention to hard to see details with inside/cut/angled views
• Write down instructions on how you would build your invention (physical or digital)
• Think outside the box in terms of materials, methods, applications, and industries that could benefit from the utility or design of your invention
• Simplify, Simplify, Simplify : Distill your invention in a format that is as simple as possible – what is the core innovation?

Six Steps to Determine Inventorship

• NOTE: These are NOT co-inventors
• NOTE: These are co-inventors of any utility patent applications
• NOTE: These are co-inventors of any design patent applications

2. Ownership – Who has Ownership?

It becomes critical to understand if you as the inventor are either:

• Inventing on behalf of the company (if it’s related to your job if you’ve worked on the invention on-hours, using the company’s resources) or…
• If it is more like your own personal invention (not related to your job description, has been worked off hours, not using employer’s equipment/resources).

Your invention is likely owned by your EMPLOYER if…

• Your invention subject matter is related to your job description
• Your invention was created while working on the job 
• You used company equipment/tools to develop/produce your invention
• Your employer asked you to develop or research the invention topic/subject

Your invention is likely owned by YOU if…

• Your invention topic/subject is not related to your job description/responsibilities
• The invention was not created while on work hours or on-site
• The development/conception work did not happen on employer’s equipment
• Your employer didn’t ask you to develop or research your invention subject

This inquiry can be quite detailed and opinion on invention ownership can be an important thing to discuss with your local state-barred Patent Attorney. ( Click here to book your free consultation )

Infographic Explaining Inventor Ownership

Step 4: What Are Your Goals for Inventing?

Before jumping head-first into a patent project, it is very important to take some time to make sure that the ends will justify the means. In other words, what are your goals? For most entrepreneurs, it is to make money!  

I love the “Seeing the forest from the trees” analogy.

In order to see this big-picture, an inventor must remove themselves from the functions and performance and details of their invention (the tree) and zoom way back so that they can see the opportunity (or lack thereof) from a commercial point of view (the forest) before they continue pursuing the solution. 

There are many patent eligible, novel, and non-obvious inventions out there that have been pursued, but without a forest-view. 

Meaning, the market size and opportunity wasn’t worth the time and/or monetary investment into seeking patent protection in the first place. In other words, had those inventors actually thought about how much they could possibly make if their product sold to as many potential customers as there are, will they make the return they are looking for? 

For many inventions (and those we’ve likely seen on the As-Seen-On-TV ads) the answer is no . 

…Now, in a very candid analysis, the people that did get paid on those ventures were the attorneys! Don’t you all just LOVE your attorney so much you want to make them rich? 

…Didn’t think so 🙂 

The attorneys got their legal bills paid, to help them research, draft and prosecute the patent claims through the USPTO (note that average cost to prosecute a patent average well over $25,000). 

The moral here is to not let the Patent Attorney be the only one that profits from innovation. 

Also, here’s a video that goes through just one way to monetize your invention through licensing… have a look. 

But what is your goal? For most entrepreneurs, it’s to make money! So, if the goal for a majority of inventors is to make money, the question becomes…

“…Will you make a reasonable return on your investment?”

Otherwise, the entire venture is a waste.

Here is a great chart that should help enlighten you on the BIG upside of market analysis and developing a business plan for your invention. 

(Explained in more depth in Chapter 2, Step 7 Below) 

Additional Resources:

• A book called One Simple Idea by Stephen Key

Step 5: Are you Barred from Patenting?

This may not come as a surprise to seasoned professionals that know IP is key to competing at the highest levels, but for many newbies and especially millennials – they grew up on a notion of sharing, open-source, and crowd-funding , and grants for patents .

As you will see below, if you disclose your invention to the public in the wrong way, prior to filing your patent application you stand to lose the ability to claim your invention for yourself – you’ve given it to the public, without any recourse for monetary gain.

The United States’ patent statute provides a one-year limited grace period for inventors to have published their invention before it becomes dedicated to the public domain. This means that if you publish your invention (take it to a trade show, put it on Kickstarter, pitch your business and technology at an angel convention, etc.) you’ve started that one-year timer.

Each country has its own rules about whether disclosure prior to patent filing is permissible.

Be wary of publishing your invention in a trade journal, a show, or presenting it to a panel of sharks, etc. you’ve potentially lost rights in many countries to have exclusivity to make, use, and sell there. 

Another trigger that can start the one-year grace period is called an “on-sale” activity.

Whenever you make a sale, or even offer to sell your patented product or service, that TOO starts the one-year grace period in the US and may cause you to lose rights in other countries.

There is a saving grace to this situation…

Confidentiality Agreements

This is a contract, much like any other contract, and it should be taken quite seriously, and an attorney should be hired to assure that it will be binding and enforceable on all parties who are signatures on it.

A major downside to the Confidentiality Agreement (also called a Nondisclosure Agreement or NDA) is that you’re relying on a contract to save your invention.

If the other party breaches the contract and shares your invention with someone else – your only recourse is to fight the legal battle to enforce your contract…and now you’ve lost precious time and resources toward what you really should be focused on: learning how to write a patent application and getting it filed and protected!

The real answer to this is…

File your Patent Application

Instead of relying on an NDA to protect your interest and confidentiality, unless it’s absolutely required to bring someone else into the project for funding, or additional technical consideration – you should work with a registered USPTO Patent Attorney to get your patent application filed , to get your all-important FILING DATE. Then, you can share your invention with anyone and everyone without any worry about confidentiality.

That’s the real beauty of filing a patent application is that you are “ patent pending ,” and it relieves the inventor of having to worry about showing all of their cards.

Don’t Go Crazy. Share Only what was Filed.

You must only disclose to 3rd parties what you filed in the patent application.

This means that any improvements you’ve come across, any potential new applications, or alternative embodiments you have come across in user studies, or feedback from customers must remain confidential.

You should treat each improvement (no matter how subtle) as close to your chest as a new invention (because it may very well be).

The way patents are monetized is by enforcing them, and the best way to enforce a technology is not with just one patent, but with a portfolio of patents that cover a broad area/swath of the industry and market.

Doing this is a painstaking process which is why you need a patent attorney .

Chapter 2: Patent Search

At this point you understand the difference between an idea and invention, realize your idea is patentable, determine the inventorship & ownership, developed goals, and hopefully, you learned you are not barred from patenting.

Now it is time to do both a patent search and market analysis to determine both the patentability and marketability of your idea.

A patent search is a process for researching the database of existing patents to ensure your invention doesn’t already exist.

A patent search helps you save both time and money by learning early on if your idea is worth pursuing.

I recommend doing a patent search by yourself first (I provided a guide for you below) then after doing your due diligence,  book a free consultation  so an attorney can do a professional search. 

• Blog Article:  How to Perform a Patent Search in 6-Steps (The Definite Guide) 
• Blog Article:  Advanced Guide to Google Patent Searching 

Step 6: The Patent Success Matrix – Patentability & Search Basics

(CH2 – Patent Search)

We briefly talked about the patent success matrix in step 4 on how to patent your idea.

Here we dive into it even further to further emphasize the importance of having a plan in place for making a return on investment.

I tell inventors that simply having a patent granted does not bring you money – you have to go to the market and make it happen.

The lightbulb in the inventor’s eye doesn’t really go off until I show them the matrix.

The Patent Success Matrix was created to help these inventors, entrepreneurs, and business owners see that marketability (the economic viability) is just as important as the patentability  (the ability to get a patent often determined by the patent search) when it comes to having a successful invention.

The patent success matrix is composed of two areas. One focused on the patentability of your invention and the other focused on how it will perform in the market. Both areas are needed for a successful invention.

For this step, we will focus on patentability or search. In step 7 we will shift our focus to marketability.

Patentability Analysis Explanation:

The first axis of the Patent Success Matrix is Patentability or often called the Patent Search , which is the likelihood that your invention will become a granted patent. It measures the degree to which the invention is novel (new) and nonobvious (different) as compared to other innovations in the same industry.

There are three big considerations to make under this patentability analysis.

• Eligibility (35 USC 101) . We’ve discussed eligibility above, and this weighs higher for those inventions that have very little if any risk to being assessed as “abstract ideas.”
• Novelty (35 USC 102) which assess how new your invention is as compared to the prior art.
• Non-obviousness (35 USC 103) assesses whether your invention is an obvious variant of prior art. The more eligible, novel, and non-obvious, the higher the score will be on the vertical (patentability) axis.

Let’s dive into each of these areas in more depth.

1. Eligibility : 

This is where you must start the analysis! Many inventors and even patent Attorneys forget to stop here first (before patentability) and confirm subject matter eligibility before anything else.

I recently wrote an article specifically on eligibility ( 3 Steps to Patent Eligibility article ). I’ll keep it brief here. 

BOLD TIP: For an excellent article dedicated to answering this question “Is my patent eligible?” read here . 

The thing to know is that there are 5 categories of an invention that the courts and the USPTO have deemed to NOT be patent-eligible:

• Laws of Nature
• Organization of Human Activity
• Natural Phenomena
• Mathematical Concepts
• Mental Processes

Now… even if your invention could arguably fall into one of these categories, the latest 2019 guidance provides not one but TWO ways in which your invention may still be eligible:

• If the invention is directed to a practical application
• It has an inventive concept and is no obvious as compared to the prior art

2. Novelty: Is your Invention New?

This is THE biggest question in patent law. It’s the simplest, and most straightforward part of the law and most everyone I talk with gets it right away.

In order to get a 20-year patent for your invention, you need to convince a USPTO examiner (that by the way looks at inventions of your type all day every day) that you’re the FIRST EVER, in the WORLD.

Don’t be scared. As we mentioned above, the inquiry that the examiner is going to make is not whether EVERYTHING we describe in the specification and drawings is the first-ever in the world – but instead, they will be looking at the CLAIMS of the invention to see whether what you are claiming is the first-ever in the world and that no one has ever done it before.

The USPTO examiner is assigned to a single art-unit. Art units are broken up into very specific different areas of technology. These examiners only review patent applications within a specific art unit.

They are trained at colleges/universities just like engineers or scientists are and then they are trained in the Manual of Patent Examination Procedure (MPEP) and (just like Patent Attorneys) they have to take and pass the daunting Patent Bar Examination. They know their stuff.

They know their field of technology so well, they know what applications are pending in foreign countries, the state of the art in general and even what problems are unsolved in the industry.

Your patent attorney is here to help. Crafting claim language is likely the most difficult thing to do with the English language. It’s the Patent Attorney’s responsibility to attempt to carve out in precise fashion what the inventor has created, and help it stand out as new/different from the state of the art as it is today.

3. Nonobviousness: Is my invention an obvious version of something else?

Don’t over-think this word. It simply means that the examiner must not think that your invention is just an obvious variation/version of something else that exists in present-day technology. This is just one step of the process that usually follows the novelty analysis.

The inquiry is that even if your invention is novel, and the examiner can’t find anything exactly like what you’ve claimed, if what you’ve claimed is an obvious iteration or variation of something else that’s already published, you will not get a patent granted.

Thus, you need to show the examiner in that case, that a person of ordinary skill in the technology would not have known to combine elements A and B, and that there was nothing to point to the combination of A and B.

How a Patent Search is Conducted

When conducting a patent search you use a variety of online tools provided by Google, the USPTO, and other third parties to research and determine the patentability of your invention.

Once again, this process can be a bit complicated and making the wrong move can cost you quite a bit of time and money.

I highly recommend you seek legal help. Click here to book a free consultation if you would like to work with us.

It would be our honor to help bring your visionary idea to reality!

Step 7: The Patent Success Matrix: Marketability Analysis

Now that you clearly understand what it takes to have patentability and have performed a search here are three indices that make up the overall marketability score:

• Industry and size:   Quantify/predict the demand for the product/service.
• Level of competition in the market:   Wee how many competitors there are, how mature they are and how spread out they are.
• Marketability analysis: Barriers to entry – which are legal, financial, governmental or credential-based barriers to getting started.

T he larger the size of the market, the fewer competitors, the lower the barriers to entry, the higher the marketability score will be.

Gaining a clear understanding of your market size, addressable market, and target market will help you and your team realize the true potential revenue that your innovation could bring.

Market Research

While these types of research projects are never going to be guaranteed predictors of the future, they will help you the inventor make a very informed decision on whether to pull the trigger on spending time/money on a patent for your invention.

Working closely with someone who can help you predict revenue 3 or even 5 years down the road will help you build a strategy around cost structure so that you don’t go out of business before your product hits the market.

One of the most important aspects of our jobs as attorneys is an ethical and moral obligation to help our clients succeed. Success can be defined in many ways, but in terms of dollars, we want our clients to be able to be commercially viable, making profits and most of all creating positive change in the world.

The whole point of inventing and publicizing your creations is so that we as a country and a world get smarter every day and help make each other’s lives safer, more efficient, and more enjoyable through innovations.

There is Too Much Risk, I’m Not Willing to Seek a Patent, Now What?

If after doing the hard work, and conducting Market Research, and after talking with your Patent Attorney, you decide that there is too much risk to go down the patent protection route (either based on legal/eligibility challenge or financial/market outlook), there are still alternatives for you to choose.

Protecting your innovations with trade secret protections is a great place to start.

Trade secret law is closely tied with employment law, and in summary, helps to prevent unauthorized disclosure of your company’s valuable information to third parties or the public at large. Trade secrets allow your company to have and maintain a competitive edge if the trade secret remains within your company.

There is work that needs to be done to keep trade secret status. But, remember, there is not a certificate or registration of a trade secret by any government body, only the ability to meritoriously sue someone who takes (misappropriates) your trade secret information.

• Trade Secrets

Trade secret law is governed by each state; however, each state has adopted the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA) as part of its statute. In addition, in 2016, the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) was adopted to provide for a federal remedy in federal court to address the sprawling nature of companies that exist in multiple states and employ many people across the country (if not the world).

To enforce your company’s trade secret rights, you must show three elements:

• The Trade Secret information must not be readily ascertainable (meaning not known in the public)
• The Trade Secret information must be actively kept a secret (modern encryption software, locks, access permissions, etc.)
• The Trade Secret information must be valuable to the company (usually shown by demonstrating the immediate value to a competitor)

There is a lot of power in trade secret protection.

One of the key insights here is that the duration of protection for a trade secret is theoretically in perpetuity (without end!), if the secret remains valuable, not known by the public, and efforts are being made to keep the secret – you can protect your innovations well beyond the 20 years that Patent Law affords you.

• Blog Article: Trade Secrets – Knowing When to Keep Them
• Blog Article: Patents v. Trade Secrets

Chapter 3: Filing Your Patent

If you completed your patent search and it is time to file your patent!

Before you get to filing it’s a good idea to understand the different applications, costs, and timelines you can expect. Although I won’t be able to go over all of this in this article I will make sure to link to other useful resources to ensure you have everything you need to bring your visionary idea to life!

It’s time to live to your purpose by protecting and bringing to market your visionary idea.

#improveourworld

Step 8- Filing your Patent Application (What are They? Which One?)

(CH3 – Filing Your Patent)

Filing the right application with the right information

There are a lot of different types of patent applications available for inventors. What’s nice is that there are some common threads that are true no matter what, and they are:

• The invention must be novel and non-obvious (as discussed above in chapter 2).
• Only one patent will issue for each invention.
• When you have been given patent rights, you can prevent others from making, using, or selling your invention.

Below I have provided a graph that shows you the process.

Please Note:  A utility patent means the same thing as a  non-provisional patent application  (NPA).

Provisional Patent Application

A provisional patent application is an informal application that serves to preserve a filing date for an invention that must be followed up by a nonprovisional patent application within one year.

After you file a provisional application you enter patent-pending status. (Blog Article: What Does Patent Pending Mean?)

The provisional application will contain a specification and drawings, but usually not a claim set.

The beauty of a provisional is that it allows the inventor time to develop prototypes, take their invention to market and explore customer feedback before locking in the all-important claims of the patent application. A provisional application, by preserving the filing date, allows an inventor to legally state their invention is patent pending.

The America Invents Act of 2013 turned our country from a first-to-invent system to a first-to-file system. That means that it’s a literal race to see which inventor files the invention first (Assuming more than one inventor has the same/similar invention at the same time).

If you are interested in learning more about how to go about filing a provisional patent application check out the video or resources below!

• Blog Article: How to File a Provisional Patent Application in 13-Steps (The Ultimate Guide)

Nonprovisional Patent Application

This is the formal application that gets submitted and examined by the United States Patent and Trademark Office USPTO.

The application is formal because it must have specific sections within the specification and must have a properly formatted claim set.

In addition, it must have drawings with proper formatting.

On top of the rigorous requirements for formality, a nonprovisional patent application must be submitted with a large stack of paperwork comprising an oath/declaration, invention disclosure statement, and an application data sheet. These documents will be outlined and explained in detail by your patent attorney or paralegal.

The Nonprovisional Application is the basis for all follow-on applications that we’re going to discuss later including divisional, continuations, and international patent applications.

Additional Information:

• Blog Article: What is the Difference Between a Provisional and a Nonprovisional Patent Application?

Divisional Patent Application

These types of applications must come after a Nonprovisional patent application – and usually come as the result of a restriction requirement office action.

When the patent office receives an application, one of the first things they will do is evaluate whether there are multiple inventions within the one claim set filed for.

Often times, the attorney submits a large claim set covering many different aspects of the invention – and in some cases, those are so different, that the examiner sees them as two or more patentably distinct subjects.

The rule is that you are only allowed ONE patent for ONE invention. It seems obvious, but many inventors forget about this when they submit their claims.

Continuation Application

These applications are for those inventors that just can’t keep from, well… INVENTING (and re-inventing)! In other words, they have found improvements on their originally filed invention, and want to separately protect those improvements (bells & whistles I call it).

As long as those bells and whistles (improvements) to the base invention were described at least in part in the base nonprovisional filing, then you can file what is called a continuation or ‘continuation in part’ patent application.

This is THE key way to build a patent portfolio.

A patent portfolio is a fancy term for more than one patent. If you go to try to license or sell your invention, a buyer or licensee will want to see that you have more than one claim set that covers your invention – it spreads out the potential infringing net and strengthens the overall schema.

The more claims and patents you have in your portfolio, generally, the more powerful and more difficult it will be to get around (by a competitor).

• Blog Article: Continuation & Divisional Patent Applications – Build a Patent Family!

Design Patent Application

Very different from utility patent applications , design patent applications seek to protect purely the 3-dimensional SHAPE or ornamental appearance of the object/product/device.

Design patents (if granted) provide exclusive rights for only 14 years from the day of filing as opposed to 20 years for their utility counterparts.

You can do BOTH!

Yes, you can (and for most hardware/devices you SHOULD) seek protection for both the utility – which protects the functionality and the design – which protects the way it looks.

Watch the video below to learn more about how to patent a design patent or click on my resource to get a better understanding of the filling process.

• Blog Article: How to Easily File a Design Patent in 10-Steps 

Plant Patents

These are quite rare, not necessarily because they are hard to acquire, but there is just less innovation in plants and botany.

The requirements for getting a plant patent are still the same for utility patents, although the major difference is that the eligibility only requires that they be non-tuber and asexually reproducible.

Don’t get weirded out by that – it just means that the plant must be able to be propagated in a lab-setting without the use of pollination (or nature) to procreate. Grafting, bonding, or otherwise combining plant tissue to form repeatable functional, and beneficial results through plants is patentable.

Genetically modified and/or genetically engineered foods are prime examples of potentially patentable plants or seeds.

Watch the video below to learn more about how to patent a plant patent or click on my resource to get a better understanding of the filling process.

• Blog Article: How to file a plant patent in 5-steps

Step 9: International Patent Applications

International patent application.

This is such an important topic – as many inventors overlook this, or even yet, don’t know to ask about it.

When seeking patent protection from the USPTO, you can’t forget that it is only the “US” that you’re seeking rights for.

You should definitely consider getting patent protection in all countries that have a market demand for your product.

In some rare cases, US inventors (after doing a thorough marketability study) will actually be wise to seek patent protection in countries other than the US as that is where the customers are!

An international application that is common to use if the inventor is going to see protection in more than 3 countries is the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). This treaty allows the inventor up to 30 months to decide which foreign countries they want to file into while their US patent is pending.

The PCT also allows the inventor to save time/money by not having to pay for and wait for the patent search to come back from each country – instead, they will ALL recognize the US examiner’s search.

Learn how to expedite an international patent filing by watching the video below.

• International Patent Application 

Chapter 4: Post Filing

At this point, you know how to patent a product and you have completed your patent application. Now are waiting patiently for the prosecutor’s decision.

You may be wondering, how long does it take to get a patent? What are the costs involved?

It depends on so many factors. An example would be poorly written applications which results in a long time to examine and understand the language of the patent you are trying to protect. 

That is why it is recommended that you do not file a patent yourself, and let a professional patent attorney file it for you. 

If you want to dig deeper I provided you with additional information below. 

• Blog Article: How much does a patent cost?
• Blog Article: How long does it take to get a patent?

Below, I have also provided you a flow chart that gives you a general idea of some post-filing procedures and when to expect them. I will do my best to reference the items as I go through the final steps of the “How to Patent an Idea” blog article.

Step 10: Patent Prosecution: Office Actions

(CH4 – Post Filing)

Knowing how to Navigate the Examiners and USPTO

As soon as the application is filed, there are multiple eyes that see the spec, claims, and drawings and decide on which art unit to send it to. There are around 10 different art units and it is important only so much that it will determine who the examiner is that will be assigned to the invention.

Once you get assigned an examiner – you are stuck with them, for better or worse.

Office Actions

This term reflects any and all correspondence that may be received from the USPTO after submitting the patent application. These office actions can be anything from merely procedural typo corrections to substantive rejections or objections.

The most common first office action is a restriction requirement office action – this means that the examiner sees that there is actually more than one invention in the claim set.

This can be a good thing!

A response can be as simple as electing the main embodiment of your invention, and then filing a divisional application to cover the remainder – more on divisionals later.

Typical office actions that are “on the merits” are those that you really need to watch out for. These rejections, objections, or allowances are the results that come after an examiner has done their own searching, and has come up with their determination on whether they will allow the patent application to go through to issuance.

It is typical to get at least one rejection – so don’t be saddened if your patent application gets a non-final or even a final office action. They are in most cases, able to be overcome with some combination of legal arguments or amendments.

Watch the video below to learn more about patent office actions.

Examiner Interviews

There’s nothing like being face to face (or at least ear-to-ear – if over the phone) with the examiner. So much in today’s world (including the patent office) is done through electronic communication, email, and exchanges that lack the human quality.

An interview can make up SO much ground, where there may have been some emotion growing on either side, a personal human conversation can smooth all of that out.

It’s great to know that an examiner’s job is to simply apply the rules the patent office passes down. A level-headed, objective approach to working with them is always going to win the day versus an adversarial, judgmental and emotional approach.

Step 11: Escalation – Petitions and Appeals

Petitions and appeals.

It happens. Sometimes, examiners just don’t see eye-to-eye with inventors and their attorneys. And because of a technical or process reason, there is a need to escalate the examination to a higher authority.

However, most petitions are process-based and have pre-designed objectives whether it is for moving up the application (an example is making an application special based on the age of the inventor, or other circumstance), or allowing certain exceptions to rules that are out of the hands of the individual examiner.

Petitions serve just this purpose. By petitioning to the art-unit director – the inventor is able to achieve at least another set of eyes on the legal argument.

In other cases, when the examiner has made an error or substantively disagrees about the novelty, non-obviousness or utility of an invention – the examiner’s decision can be appealed to the patent trial and appeal board (PTAB).

What the video below to better understand the patent trial and appeal board (PTAB).

The PTAB sees patent decisions all day, and the judges on the panel are experts at parsing good from bad legal arguments against examiners. While it is rare, appeals can serve to help inventors get patent rights, where the examiner would have rejected them.

Step 12: Creating Portfolios: Divisional and Continuation Applications

Building a patent portfolio during prosecution.

While a patent is still pending, a portfolio can (and should) be created. The primary way, as mentioned before is by creating at least one or more divisional applications when there is a restriction requirement separating claim sets.

Another great way to create additional parallel patents covering technology is to file continuation applications when the inventor has improvements on their invention that come up after filing the original nonprovisional patent application.

These continuations will stand on their own, and the improvements need to be substantial enough so that they will not be simply considered obvious variants of the underlying nonprovisional application.

Both divisional and continuation applications will undergo separate examination (not necessarily by the same examiner – but usually they are). And have completely separate issue dates and authority for claiming/allowing.

Step 13: Patent Granted!

Notice of allowance and patent granted: you made it.

Once you respond to the last office action and the examiner is satisfied, they will send back what is called a Notice of Allowance, and that is when the champagne bottles should pop! You’ve been told by the patent office that your invention is worthy of being granted.

The reason why they provide you notice of allowance is to give you a chance to file those continuation applications to complete the patent portfolio. It’s your last call to submit any other improvements or variations that were not covered by the base invention.

After you pay your issue fee, the USPTO will GRANT YOUR PATENT RIGHTS! They will send you a hard ribbon copy of your patent, as granted and provide you with the official patent number and date.

What’s Next?

There is so much more to come after you’ve received your patent – we will save that for another blog article (or two).

Follow These 13-Steps To Get a Patent For Your Idea

Remember that ideas are a dime-a-dozen. It’s your courage to take the idea to the next level by knowing how to patent a product that makes you stand out from the rest of the inventors.

Follow these 13-steps to protect and bring to market your visionary idea:

• Do you have an idea or invention?
• Is your patent eligible?
• Determine who the inventors are and who will own it.
• What are your goals?
• Are you barred from patenting?
• Patent success matrix – patentability
• Patent success matrix – marketability
• Filing your patent application
• International Patent Applications
• Patent Prosecution: Office Actions
• Escalation: Petitions & Appeals
• Creating Portfolios: Divisional and Continuation Applications.
• Patent Granted!

Because you are up for the challenge, I encourage you to book a free consultation with us where we will also provide you with our Bold Patents The Inventor’s Guide to Patents book free of charge! ( Click here to get started today! )

What did you think of the article? What questions do you have about protecting and bringing to market your visionary idea? Please let me know in the comments below!   I am here to help! 

Legal Note: This blog article does not constitute as legal advice. Although the article was written by a licensed USPTO patent attorney there are many factors and complexities that come into patenting an idea. We recommend you consult a lawyer if you want legal advice for your particular situation.  No attorney-client or confidential relationship exists by simply reading and applying the steps stated in this blog article.

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What is a patent?

Nov 19, 2014

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Patents 101 Jeffrey Sears, Ph.D., J.D. Chief Patent Counsel, Columbia University Adjunct Professor, Columbia Business School. What is a patent?. national legal protection for an invention invention = solution to a real-world problem that works for its intended purpose

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Presentation Transcript

Patents 101Jeffrey Sears, Ph.D., J.D.Chief Patent Counsel, Columbia UniversityAdjunct Professor, Columbia Business School

What is a patent? • national legal protection for an invention • invention = solution to a real-world problem that works for its intended purpose • exclusive right to prevent others from practicing the invention for 20 years

Let’s look at a real patent. “Modern folklore includes many mystical entities, such as Santa Claus. [I]n the minds of young children, Santa Claus’ arrival is denoted by the presence of … presents under the tree and/or … stockings filled with treats. However, none of these customary practices … provides a … stocking which is capable of being selectively illuminated to signal the arrival of Santa Claus.” (1/12 – 1/39.)

What are the parts of a patent? • Title Page • Drawings • Detailed Description • Claims • Everything Else

Is your invention good enough? • patentable subject matter • utility • novelty • non-obviousness

What are the key hurdles? Legal Are patent rights available? Timing Ownership Business Should you apply for them? Money Value

FAQs • Will I get a patent on my invention? • evaluate differences between your invention (i.e., the claims) and the prior art • Are they ripping off my invention? • evaluate differences between your invention (i.e., the claims) and their product

The Hypo • We all love pizza. • How do you prevent the inside of the upper lid of the pizza box from contacting the cheese, making a gooey mess?

Behold the package saver! (v. 1)

Behold the package saver! (v. 2)

Example -- Patentability Prior Art (v. 1) InventionClaim (v. 2) A lid support comprising: a platform, three support legs, and a serrated edge connected to one of the support legs. Is the invention patentable over the prior art?

Example -- Infringement PatentClaim (v. 1) A package saver comprising: a platform, and three support legs. Product (v. 2) Can the product be made without risk of infringement?

What happens is … OR • Option 1 – Let’s work together! • We will both make lots of money on pizza! • Option 2 – Fight it out! • Our lawyers will make lots of money! • What about the public? • How long must we suffer?

Conclusion • Inventions can make a lot of dough! • File before disclosing. • Critically evaluate the commercial merit of your invention early.

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Welcome to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)

Would you like to:.

contact the PCT@WIPO to ask a question?

• Call the PCT @ WIPO at +41 22 338 83 38 (from 9.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. Central European time)
• Send a PCT question to WIPO: [email protected]

gain a broad understanding of the PCT in a 3-minute overview video? video

review a short written summary of how the PCT works ?

increase your understanding of the PCT through additional introductory video presentations?

• Introduction to the PCT video
• Basics of the PCT video

learn more through a short FAQ document ab out the PCT and how it works?

take a free introductory PCT Distance Learning Course ?

consult recent statistics (in the PCT Yearly Review ) about how the PCT system is being used?