According to the United States patent and trademark office, a patent is “a property right granted by the Government of the United States of America to an inventor “to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States” for a limited time in exchange for public disclosure of the invention when the patent is granted” (USPTO, para. 2). There are three types of patents:
1. Utility patent – refers to the technical solutions that have industrial applications. For example, a new paint formula. Utility patent protects the functional features of the device.
2. Design patent – protects appearance of the device.
3. Plant patent – can be granted to people who invented, discovered or asexually reproduced a new variety of plant.
A cyber patent or Internet patent is a type of utility patent; it can be granted on an invention that combines software programs and business methods for Internet applications. Internet patent has the same scope of patent protection as any other type of patent (exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention). The patentee of an Internet or cyber patent also would be entitled to the same rights as the owners of any other type of patent. This type of patent needs to meet the same requirements for patentability as any other method or process.
According to the United States patent and trademark office, obviousness is when “the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed inventi...
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...ferences (BPAI). Decisions of the Council may also be appealed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. “Applicants can then appeal the decision of the Federal Circuit to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the U.S. Supreme Court Rarely grants review. In most circumstances, the Federal Circuit has the final word in approving or denying patent application” (Craig, 2013, p. 59-60).
Works Cited
1. The United States patent and trademark office. (n.d.). Patents. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from http://www.uspto.gov/inventors/patents.jsp#heading-1 2. The United States patent and trademark office. (n.d.). Examination guidelines for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 [R-11.2013]. Retrieved May 3, 2014, from http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s2141.html 3. Graig, B. (2013). Cyberlaw: the law of the internet and information technology. Boston, MA. Pearson.
The patent system grants an exclusive right of manufacturing, selling, and profiting from a specific invention. It is designed with the purpose of providing advance research and development and to encourage broader economic activity; however, complete disclosure is required in exchange for the twenty year protection to become monopoly.
The main idea behind patents is to promote technological innovations. For there to be technological innovation for society as a whole, two things must happen. First, people must be able to study other people's innovations in order to further technology in society, because they can use the ideas of others to make even greater innovations. Second, people must have incentive to innovate. The most obvious solution to the first idea would be to make all innovations public, so that as soon as someone invents something, others are free to build off of it to further technology.
The United States Patent Office (“USPTO”) faces criticism from its users and legislators that the timeliness of the patent process and ultimate quality of issued patents are inadequate. In order to address this criticism Congress made several changes to the authorities of the USPTO in the last decade and considered more changes in 2009. Nevertheless, problems persist and some stakeholders argue that reorganizing the USPTO as a government corporation would best alleviate these problems by broadening its authorities even further and releasing it from external constraints.
This case study will examine the moral issues of intellectual property rights and the effects they have on society. There are many varying stances on the subject of intellectual property, with people opposing either or both of intellectual property ownership and creative commons for various reasons. Mandatory copyrighting and patenting of inventions and published works has the potential to majorly restrict advancements in science and culture.
A trademark is a familiar sign, design or expression which identifies products or services of a specific source. It can be defined also as anything which takes a distinctive form terms, words, signatures, letters, symbols, titles, tax stamps, pictures, inscriptions, advertisements or packs or any other mark or a combination thereof, used or is intended to be used, either in distinguishing goods, products or services whatever their origin is, or to show that goods or products are owned by the mark owner by virtue of their manufacture, selection or dealing in, or to indicate the performance of a service.
"United States Patent and Trademark Office" Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 4 May 2005. Wikipedia. 7 May 2005.
Some restaurateurs invent new tools and gadgets in an effort to make existing processes more efficient. When this happens, it is important that they take the time to file a patent to secure the rights to their invention (Sanderson, 2013). A patent is form of intellectual property law used to protect an invention; regardless of use, patents last for 20 years (Newton,
What is gene patenting? Before you can investigate into gene patenting, one must understand what genes are and what the importance of genes. Genes are proteins and molecules that make up the DNA of everything around us. In essence, they are ingredients that complete everything we touch, feel, or see. We recognize genes as a part of the human DNA. Genes can determine a person’s race, sex, and even how healthy we are. Genetics have multiple purposes. The main purposes of commonly recognized genes are human genetics. Yet, we all do not know the facts about human genetics. The Health Research Funding Organization published a study in 2014 in where “99.5% of all humans do not know that we share a percent of each other’s DNA.”
To prevent others from using, making, importing or selling the invention without his permission, a patent is the right granted to the invention's owner. A invention would be patentable if it is a product or a process that provides a problem a new technical solution. It can also be the composition of a new product, a new method of doing things, or even a technical improvement on how certain objects work. A patent's term is 20 years from the date of filing and is subjected to the payment of annual renewal fees once it is granted.
Thus, it is clear that utility patents are much more valuable than design patents. In certain cases, though, where looks rather than functional features are just as important in the market place (furniture being one example), they provide another useful tool to protect products. We will discuss mostly utility patents, keeping in mind that similar rules regarding the process of obtaining and enforcing a patent apply to design and plant patents as well.
Basically, a trademark refers to a sign which you use to distinguish the goods or services you produce from those of other manufacturers. Graphically, a trademark could be represented as a signature or a logo of your company.
Intellectual property (IP) is defined as property that is developed through an intellectual and creative processes. Intellectual property falls under the category of property known as intangible rights, which includes patents (inventions of processes, machines, manufactures, and compositions of matter), copyrights (original artistic and literary works of), trademarks (commercial symbols), and trade secrets ((product formulas, patterns, designs). Intellectual property rights has a significant value to both individuals and businesses, providing in the case of large companies, over one half of their value on return. Since intellectual property rights are so important to the U.S. economy and its citizens, federal and state law provides protection, for example, civil damages and criminal penalties to be assessed against infringers. Due to the importance of intellectual property to a business, I don’t think that its protection and enforcement is going to be a thing of the past.
As we said above patents grant exclusive rights to an invention or a process of making and invention. So what does a patent cover? Chemical patents cover the structure of a molecule and also the process in which the molecule is made. This is a good thing for pharmaceutical companies who take out these patents as they can regulate the market. Because these companies own the rights of a molecule or drug exclusively they can restrict competition from competitors. Companies that have patents on drugs have the added benefit that they are the sole distributor of that drug and all profits go to them. Other companies cannot repl...
On the other hand, the Examiners may be guided by the lower threshold of novelty and inventiveness according to interpretation of the legislation[4]. There are several problems with this lower novelty and inventiveness threshold imposed by the legislation. Unnecessarily broad patents ...
Tanielian, M. (April 15, 2013). Comments of the Coalition for Patent Fairness. United States Patent and Trademark Office, 1-22. Retrieved from http://www.uspto.gov/ip/global/patents/comments/753609930-1_cpf_-_letter_to_uspto.pdf