Patents : Novelty Is The Key

By Author: Thepatent Office
Total Articles: 8
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If you have come up with a unique design or procedure then it's important for you to protect the originality element. The best way to do that is by considering patents. In general terms, design patent refers to protecting the looks of your product. While utility patent refers to the way an invention is used or works.
Utility patent is a type of patent that protects the way a new invention works. Utility patents do not protect designs or abstract concepts. There are generally two types of utility patents. First being provisional utility patent. A provisional utility patent is the first step towards obtaining a utility patent. Once you file for you will be able to mark your invention as "Patent Pending". With Patent Pending status the inventor is curious to know the results, if the patent is being granted or not. Then comes non-provisional utility patent.
The first step towards a utility patent is filing for a provisional utility application. Your filing date will be set for one year hence. In this time period you can raise interest to raise interest ...
... and test the working of your invention. If in a year things don't fall in place your application will simply expire. But if you want to go ahead you should start the conversion of provisional to non-provisional utility patent process.
A non-provisional utility patent application includes claims, while provisional applications do not. These claims are of importance as they form the basis of what your patent protects. The costs incurred for filing for a non-provisional application are less compared to just filing a provisional application. This is because when you file a non-provisional application, you avoid the fees that is associated with filing the provisional application. The process of converting a patent to a non-provisional utility patent application can take up to two years. It's also possible that your patent application gets rejected due to obviousness or lack of novelty.
There are plenty of benefits once your non-provisional patent is approved. No one will be permitted to make or you can say try to copy your product, as this will lead to infringement. In that case you can take legal action against that entity. Only the owner is permitted to sell and manufacture the invention through contractual agreements. After twenty years of the patent expiring can other manufacturers be given the right to sell the product or similar products. It's better to protect your inventions with patents so as to keep the novelty aspect intact.