There are three types of patents:
1) Utility patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof
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Provisional Patent:
A provisional provides simplified filing with a lower initial cost with one full year to assess the invention’s commercial potential before committing to the higher cost of filing and prosecuting a non-provisional application for patent
It establishes an official United States patent application filing date for the invention.
A provisional patent permits one year’s authorization to use “Patent Pending” notice in connection with the invention;
A provisional patent enables immediate commercial promotion of the invention with greater security against having the invention stolen.
There are no official USPTO forms or electronic filing available for a provisional patent. Parts of the application will need to be written by you or by a professional and you will need to accompany the application with a “provisional cover sheet” and a “fee transmittal form”, which are USPTO provided. You should consider hiring professional help to assist you preparing your application and in deciding what type of patent protection is best for you, however, getting educated in the entire process will benefit you.
Since a provisional utility patent application is often connected to your later filing a nonprovisional utility patent application, you should educate yourself in How To File For A Utility Patent.
2) Design patents may be granted to anyone who invents a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture; and
3) Plant patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant.
Patent Pending
They are used by a manufacturer or seller of an article to inform the public that an application for patent on that article is on file in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The law imposes a fine on those who use these terms falsely to deceive the public.
What is a Trademark or Service Mark?
A trademark is a word, name, symbol, or device that is used in trade with goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of others. A servicemark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. The terms “trademark� and “mark� are commonly used to refer to both trademarks and servicemarks.
Trademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a confusingly similar mark, but not to prevent others from making the same goods or from selling the same goods or services under a clearly different mark. Trademarks which are used in interstate or foreign commerce may be registered with the USPTO.
What is a Copyright?
Copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of “original works of authorship� including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. The 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to reproduce the copyrighted work, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work, to perform the copyrighted work publicly, or to display the copyrighted work publicly.
The copyright protects the form of expression rather than the subject matter of the writing. For example, a description of a machine could be copyrighted, but this would only prevent others from copying the description; it would not prevent others from writing a description of their own or from making and using the machine. Copyrights are registered by the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress. http://www.copyright.gov/
What Can Be Patented
In the language of the statute, any person who “invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent,�
Patent Attorneys
Don’t try to submit you patent yourself. There are too many mistakes an inexperienced person can make. Hiring a patent attorney is expensive but worth every penny. Their fees vary from attorney to attorney
Non Disclosure Agreements
A paper disclosing an invention (called a Disclosure Document) and signed by the inventor or inventors may be forwarded to the USPTO by the inventor (or by any one of the inventors when there are joint inventors), by the owner of the invention, or by the attorney or agent of the inventor(s) or owner. The Disclosure Document will be retained for two years, and then be destroyed unless it is referred to in a separate letter in a related patent application filed within those two years.
Independent Inventor Resources
A section of the USPTO’s Web site www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/iip is devoted to independent inventors (“Independent Inventor Resources�) and offers a broad range of material covering most aspects of the patent and trademark process. The Web site also endeavors to educate independent inventors about fraudulent invention development and marketing firms and the scams that may affect these inventors and offers tips and warning signs on avoiding these scams. The site also publishes complaints against these firms and any responses received from them. The site further provides links to other USPTO sites, as well as links to other federal agencies.
Inventor’s Assistance Program
Mail Stop 24
Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450Â Â E-mail: independentinventor@uspto.gov
The Inventors Assistance Center (IAC) provides the primary point of contact to the independent inventor community and the general public for general information about filing a disclosure document, a provisional patent application, or a regular, non-provisional patent application.
Resources:
Basic Facts about Trademarks http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/tac/doc/basic/
Free booklet www.inventionhome.comÂ
http://www.idea4invention.com
http://www.inventsai.com
Local Resources Available
There are state government agencies that can help in developing and marketing of invention. In nearly all states there are state planning and development agencies or departments of commerce and industry which seek new product and new process ideas to assist manufacturers and communities in the state. If you do not know the names or addresses of your state organizations you can obtain this information by writing to the governor of your state.
Summary:
What a patent is.
What a trademark is.
What a copyright is.
Three types of patents
About patent attorneys
Resources available for inventors
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