Patents
American Patent Registrations
American Patent Registrations – An Introduction To The Process
American patent registrations are governed under the USA Patent Act (Article 35). For inventions to qualify for American patent registrations, the inventions must be new and must have a useful process, manufacture, machine or composition of matter.
As such the inventions must also meet the requirements of novelty and usefulness.
You can apply for utility or design American patent registrations. In essence design patents protect the decorative appearance and ornamental design of an invention.
Perhaps the best example of such is the original Coca-Cola bottle. Design patents have a lifespan of 14 years in the USA.
American patent registrations for utility patents are the most popular. Utility patents have a lifespan of 20 years subject to the payment of patent maintenance fees which must be paid at specific intervals of 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years.
Utility patents can include brand new inventions or functional improvements on existing ones. Under utility patents one can find processes, composition of matter, products and machines.
Provisional American Patent Registrations
The USA makes provision for provisional patent applications allowing for immediate filing and then a 12 month grace period in which to file for a utility patent.
It is essentially allowed to protect inventors from spending a lot of money on registration if the invention is simply not worth the investment. During the 12 months, inventors can test the market and obtain funding.
Once the provisional application has been submitted the invention gets a patent pending status. It can take up to two years for a patent to be granted and there have been cases where the process has dragged on for as long as six years.
This can be the case where the applications for American patent registrations have been rejected and where the applicants then modified the inventions, descriptions and drawings or have filed for an appeal regarding the rejections.
Contact us at Smit & Van Wyk to assist with American patent registrations.
Intellectual Property Articles
|
