| What is a patent? |
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DRUG PRODUCTS. THIS WEBSITE ALSO TALKS ABOUT SOME POPULAR HEALTH ISSUES AND DISEASES. ARTICLES IN THIS WEB SITE IS FOR
YOUR REFERENCE ONLY. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTION, YOU SHOULD CONSULT WITH YOUR DOCTOR IMMEDIATELY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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What is a patent? A patent is a property right granted by the Government of the United States
of America to an inventor “to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the
invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States” for a
limited time in exchange for public disclosure of the invention when the patent is granted. A
patent may be applied for only in the name(s) of the actual inventor(s).
What can be patented – utility patents are provided for a new, nonobvious and useful:
* Process
* Machine
* Article of manufacture
* Composition of matter
* Improvement of any of the above
What cannot be patented:
* Laws of nature
* Physical phenomena
* Abstract ideas
* Literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works (these can be Copyright protected).
* Inventions which are:
o Not useful (such as perpetual motion machines); or
o Offensive to public morality
Requirement:
* Novel
* Non-obvious
* Adequately described or enabled
* Claimed by the inventor in clear and definite terms
For applications filed on or after June 8, 1995, utility and plant patents are granted for a term
which begins with the date of the grant and usually ends 20 years from the date you first
applied for the patent subject to the payment of appropriate maintenance fees. Design patents
last 14 years from the date you are granted the patent. No maintenance fees are required for
design patents.
of America to an inventor “to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the
invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States” for a
limited time in exchange for public disclosure of the invention when the patent is granted. A
patent may be applied for only in the name(s) of the actual inventor(s).
What can be patented – utility patents are provided for a new, nonobvious and useful:
* Process
* Machine
* Article of manufacture
* Composition of matter
* Improvement of any of the above
What cannot be patented:
* Laws of nature
* Physical phenomena
* Abstract ideas
* Literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works (these can be Copyright protected).
* Inventions which are:
o Not useful (such as perpetual motion machines); or
o Offensive to public morality
Requirement:
* Novel
* Non-obvious
* Adequately described or enabled
* Claimed by the inventor in clear and definite terms
For applications filed on or after June 8, 1995, utility and plant patents are granted for a term
which begins with the date of the grant and usually ends 20 years from the date you first
applied for the patent subject to the payment of appropriate maintenance fees. Design patents
last 14 years from the date you are granted the patent. No maintenance fees are required for
design patents.