Imagine you own a small business that invents original products. If imitators come along and undermine your strengths, all your hard work will be wasted and you probably won’t bother trying to invent something else. Intellectual Property Laws—and patent The law in particular—can protect you and mean the difference between profit and bankruptcy.
Learn more about the most common types of patents, utility patents, what they cover, and what you need to do to get one.
What is a utility patent?
Utility patents, sometimes called invention patents, are the most common type of patent in the United States. They cover four broad categories of useful and novel inventions: machines, processes, compositions of matter, and articles of manufacture.
Specifically, utility model patents protect how people use an invention and its functions. For a period of 20 years, it gives the patent holder the exclusive commercial right to directly sell or license their invention. Patent protection encourages innovation by giving inventors the time and space to profit from their efforts in the marketplace without having to compete with cheap imitations.
Utility model patent qualification
Not all new inventions deserve utility patent protection, said Karan Jhurani, the firm’s Atlanta-based patent attorney. fish and richardson. “Something may be creative, but it may not have a practical use,” he said. To justify utility patent protection, an invention cannot simply “do something for the sake of doing something,” Callan said. below 35 USC Article 101 (the section of the U.S. Code concerning the patentability of inventions), the key element is “usefulness.”
In addition to being useful, your invention must be novel, or not already known to the public and non-obvious. According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), this may be too obvious for utility patent protection if “a reasonably skilled person” in your field of invention could easily come up with a similar invention. If your invention meets these three formal requirements in addition to falling into one of four qualifying categories (machine, process, composition of matter, and article), the USPTO will grant a patent.
What can be covered by a utility model patent?
In order to qualify for utility patent protection, your invention must fall into one of the following four statutory qualifying categories:
machine
A machine is generally anything that consists of moving parts, such as an engine, as well as a computer. Exercise bikes, vacuum cleaners and cell phones are all machines under patent law.
composition of matter
“Material ingredient” usually refers to drugs, but it can also cover new compounds that are the basis of man-made materials, such as synthetic polymers such as nylon.
process
A patentable process can be a software application, a digital display, a proprietary technology or an industrial process, or even a single component or subcomponent contained in a machine, such as a new suction system for a vacuum cleaner or an image processor in a digital camera.
Products
“Artifacts” refer to man-made items, not the sum of various mechanical parts. Essentially, an article is any product that cannot be designated as a machine, such as a piece of clothing, a storage container, or a piece of cooking utensils.
Utility Patent vs. Design Patent: What’s the Difference?
A utility patent protects the functionality of a product, while a design patent provides separate legal protection for the appearance of an invention. Design patents protect visual elements such as shape, configuration, and surface decoration. In patent law, these are called the decorative appearance of the invention.
Utility model patents and design patents also have different terms. Design patents expire 15 years after the patent application date, while utility patents expire after 20 years.
“Sometimes, the same product can have overlapping protections,” Karan said. Inventors can obtain utility patents to protect the functionality of their inventions, and design patents to protect their decorative designs.
How to obtain a utility model patent?
- Research
- Prepare to apply
- Deciding to be provisional or non-provisional
- Submit application
- Pay the fees
To obtain a utility patent, you must apply to USPTO. The specific method is as follows:
1. Research
Before filing a utility model application, conduct a thorough utility patent search to see if anyone has previously patented or otherwise produced a similar invention. You can do this yourself, but it can be helpful to hire an experienced patent attorney to conduct all necessary due diligence.
“We will conduct all kinds of due diligence, competitive due diligence, market research, freedom of operation studies,” Callan said. Based on this due diligence, a patent attorney can usually tell you whether seeking patent protection is worth the cost or hassle and whether something similar already exists on the market, thereby disqualifying your application.
2. Prepare to apply
Once the patent search is complete and you conclude that your invention is initially patentable, an attorney or patent attorney (a licensed non-attorney patent professional) can help you prepare your application. Utility patent applications require diagrams to illustrate how the invention works. They also require a detailed description of how it works, sometimes down to the part and sub-part level. This is another example of how utility patents differ from design patents: A design patent application typically only requires a drawing and a brief description of the design, whereas a utility patent application requires a written description that is detailed enough so that others in the same technical field can easily recreate it. illustrate.
“Essentially, you allow someone skilled in the art to make the invention by understanding your patent drawings and following your written description,” Callan said. Callan said it makes sense to hire a patent draftsman or technical illustrator to capture the complexity of the invention while controlling costs.
3. Decide whether temporary or non-temporary
You can file a provisional patent application or a final non-provisional patent application. A provisional patent application is for an invention that is still in development, while a non-provisional patent application is for an invention that is ready for the market. The purpose of a provisional application is to preserve an earlier filing date for you, and in the event of patent litigation, a provisional application can be important evidence of who came up with the idea first.
4. Submit application
Once the application is complete, an attorney or agent will submit it to the USPTO on your behalf. Depending on the type of invention, the USPTO assigns the application to a patent examiner with the appropriate technical background. Patent examiners review applications, conduct their own patent searches on behalf of the USPTO, and, if necessary, challenge or object to your claimed uses of the invention. You must respond adequately to these questions for the patent application to proceed. A lawyer or agent will typically do this on your behalf, a process called patent filing.
“Prosecutors work with the patent office throughout the application process to get the application approved, at which point it becomes a patent,” Karan explained.
5. Payment
Throughout the utility patent application process, you will pay various fees, including the USPTO filing fee and separate patent examination fees. These fees are usually included in the fees you pay to the law firm prosecuting the patent on your behalf. If the USPTO grants a utility patent, you will also need to pay a licensing fee, as well as a series of maintenance fees over its 20-year term.
What is a utility model patent FAQ
What are the four basic requirements for a utility model patent?
The four basic requirements for an invention to obtain utility patent protection are:
- usefulness. It must be useful to achieve some purpose.
- novel. No existing similar patent exists or is not known to the public.
- Non-obviousness. For those working in the same field, this was not an obvious innovation.
- Legal qualifications. It falls into one of the four main categories of invention: machine, composition of matter, process or article of manufacture.
What are the three types of patents?
The three types of patents are utility patents, design patents and plant patents.
How long is the validity period of a utility model patent?
A utility patent is valid for 20 years from the date of application. Once a patent expires, it cannot be renewed.
