Federal statutes give an inventor the exclusive right to use, sell, and market his invention. The types of things that can be patented are things that are new, useful, and not obvious to those in the business to which the invention relates. An invention also may be a process, a new chemical or even a new type of plant.
Patents are granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, D.C.
There are three types of patents: utility patents, design patents and plant patents. The difference between a design patent and a utility patent is that a design patent protects the ornamental design, configuration, improved decorative appearance, or shape of an invention. This patent is appropriate when the basic product already exists in the marketplace and is not being improved upon in function but only in style. For example, designer eyeglass frames, the original Coca-Cola bottles, and “Pet Rocks” would have all been protected with design patents. A U.S. design patent lasts for 14 years.
A utility patent protects any new invention or functional improvements on existing inventions. This can be to a product, machine, a process, or even composition of matter. Examples of a utility patent would include a better carburetor, a new type of self-fastening diaper or a new recipe. The life of a U.S. utility patent lasts 20 years from the date of filing assuming the patent is granted, but the owner of the patent must pay maintenance fees to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to keep a utility patent from expiring.
A plant patent may be issued for a new and distinct, invented or discovered asexually reproduced plant including cultivated mutants, hybrids, and newly found seedlings, other than a plant found in an uncultivated state. A plant patent permits its owner to exclude others from making, using, or selling the plant for a period of up to twenty years from the date of patent application filing. Plant patents are not subject to the payment of maintenance fees.
Before a patent is granted the applicant must submit his idea to a patent examiner in the patent office who will make a determination as the whether or not the invention is new and not obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the area in which the invention is related. The examiner=s decision can be appealed to the Board of Patent Appeals or the Court of Appeals for D.C. circuit.