Patents, publications, and other materials that describe ideas similar to your invention. Prior art is used to define what part of your invention is new, or novel, and what part has been invented before.
A procedure to locate prior art for an invention. It involves looking for other patents and publications that would tend to get in the way of obtaining a patent on the invention.
To be patentable, an invention must be new, useful, non-obvious, and be “patentable subject matter”.
The invention must fit into at least one of the four categories to be eligible for a utility patent. These categories are:
machine – something with parts that interact with each other; manufacture – a manufactured item without moving parts, such as a pencil, paper clip, etc.; composition of matter - a chemical mixture or compound, such as a fertilizer or shampoo; and process – a method of doing something.
One of the requirements for an invention to be patentable. The prior art must not describe an invention exactly like yours.
An invention must have some minimal non-illegal use. This is usually an easy requirement to meet.
Another requirement for patentability. If there is no prior art that describes your exact invention, but the changes you have made would be obvious, your invention is not patentable. For example:
you invent a pen that is identical to “prior art” pens, except your pen dispenses red ink, while the prior art pens only dispense black ink. The patent office would probably consider a change in the color of the ink to be obvious and would consider your “red pen” to be un-patentable.
A document filed in the Patent Office to apply for a patent. The patent application is a carefully prepared document that describes the invention in both technical and legal terms. The patent application highlights the differences between the invention and the prior art. The application has two major portions; the disclosure, and a series of proposed patent claims.
A portion of the patent application that includes considerable detail about the invention. The disclosure describes the invention to an extent necessary to enable another to produce the invention, and provides details about the inventor’s best known embodiment for the invention.
The claims are concise sentences in the application that define exactly what is new about the invention. The claims define the boundaries of what you own.
On the date your file the patent application, your invention is officially “Patent Pending”. You can mark this status on your invention. At this point, it is relatively safe to show your idea to others. It notifies others that you have applied for a patent and have staked your claim.
Usually about 6 months after you have filed the patent application, the patent office reviews your application. They conduct their own search to locate prior art. Based upon the prior art they locate, they will determine if they are going to allow the patent application. They may also reject some or all of the patent claims.
After examining the patent application, the Patent Office may issue an Office Action rejecting the application. The Office Action indicates why the patent application is rejected. Many patent applications are initially rejected, but are later allowed after amendment.
In response to an Office Action, the inventor can modify the patent application to comply with the formalities, and argue that the invention is patentable.
When the patent office accepts the patent application it is “allowed”. Within a few months after allowance, the patent application will issue as a “United States Patent”.
A valid U.S. Patent gives the inventor the right to exclude others from making, using, or selling the claimed invention within the territorial United States for 20 years from the date of filing of the application. It also gives the inventor the right to exclude others from importing unauthorized copies of the invention into the United States.
The owner of a valid U.S. patent can seek redress in a U.S. court of law when unauthorized persons make, use or sell the invention described in the patent claims.
Another name for the process one goes through from patent application to patent issuance. An inventor may handle this process alone. Typically though, all aspects of patent prosecution are handled by a patent agent or attorney.
