What Is A Patent?

By Author: John Smith
Total Articles: 197
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A patent is an Intellectual property right. It is a grant conferred by the government on an inventor. This gives the inventor the exclusive right to use, make or sell the invention for 20 years. In return, the inventor makes his idea public. So, do you have a patentable idea? Are you wondering how to file a patent? To be eligible, your invention should meet the following conditions
• The idea should be a novelty.
• It should not be something obvious
• It should work and it should be useful
• It should not be immoral
How to Apply for a Patent
In the U.S, you file a formal patent application, exactly one year after your invention has been publicly disclosed. You can get an expert to teach you how to get a patent. Mistakes can happen. Your application will be barred if any one of the following things happens in the mean time.
• If a description has appeared in print in some part of the world
• If someone else has patented the same invention
• If another country has granted you a patent for the same invention
...
... • If it is being used publicly or has been offered for sale in the U.S
Types of Patents
Provisional Patent - you can file a simplified, one year, temporary application within a year of the disclosure. This buys you a years’ grace time to file a formal patent application with a description of your invention. If you don’t file a formal application within this time frame, you will lose your right to patent. This is one of the reasons you need expert guidance on how to apply for a patent. When you don’t know how to go about it, you either don’t have a clear strategy or you infringe on an already existing patent. If you delay things too long, you end up losing the patent altogether.
Formal Patent - how to get a formal patent? Do it within a year of applying for the provisional patent. It usually takes a number of years for a patent to be granted. You can now start using the “patent pending” informal legend in advertisements for your invention.

Your patent is valid for 20 years after filing or 17 years after the patent was granted whichever is longer. If you forget to pay the maintenance fees specified, the term expires. A design patent is valid for 14 years. No. A patent cannot be renewed. Anyone can use the invention once the patent expires. If you are wondering how to get a patent, put yourself in the hands of a professional. Don’t risk doing it yourself