Smirman IP Law, PLLC provides patent filing, prosecution and maintenance services

What Is a Patent?

A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Generally, the term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, in special cases, from the date an earlier related application was filed, subject to the payment of maintenance fees.  U.S. patent grants are effective only within the United States, U.S. territories, and U.S. possessions.  Under certain circumstances, patent term extensions or adjustments may be available.

The right conferred by the patent grant is, in the language of the statute and of the grant itself, “the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling” the invention in the United States or “importing” the invention into the United States.  What is granted is not the right to make, use, offer for sale, sell or import, but the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention. Once a patent is issued, the patentee must enforce the patent without aid of the USPTO.

There are three types of patents:

1) Utility patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof;

2) Design patents may be granted to anyone who invents a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture;and

3) Plant patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant.

What Can Be Patented? The patent law specifies the general field of subject matter that can be patented and the conditions under which a patent may be obtained.

In the language of the statute, any person who “invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent,” subject to the conditions and requirements of the law.  The word “process” is defined by law as a process, act, or method, and primarily includes industrial or technical processes.  The term “machine” used in the statute needs no explanation.  The term “manufacture” refers to articles that are made, and includes all manufactured articles.  The term “composition of matter” relates to chemical compositions and may include mixtures of ingredients as well as new chemical compounds. These classes of subject matter taken together include practically everything that is made by man and the processes for making the products.

Provisional Application for Patent

Inventors also have the option of filing a Provisional Application for Patent. Since June 8, 1995, the USPTO has offered inventors the option of filing a provisional application for patent which was designed to provide a lower cost first patent filing in the United States and to give U.S.applicants parity with foreign applicants. Claims and oath or declaration are NOT required for a provisional application. Provisional application provides the means to establish an early effective filing date in a patent application and permits the term “Patent Pending” to be applied in connection with the invention. Provisional applications may not be filed for design inventions.

Provisional applications are NOT examined on their merits.  A provisional application will become abandoned by the operation of law 12 months from its filing date.  The 12-month pendency for a provisional application is not counted toward the 20-year term of a patent granted on a subsequently filed non-provisional application which claims benefit of the filing date of the provisional application.

Examination of Applications and Proceedings in the United States Patent and Trademark Office

Applications, other than provisional applications, filed in the USPTO and accepted as complete applications are assigned for examination to the respective examining technology centers (TC) having charge of the areas of technology related to the invention.  In the examining TC, applications are taken up for examination by the examiner to whom they have been assigned in the order in which they have been filed or in accordance with examining procedures established by the Director.

The examination of the application consists of a study of the application for compliance with the legal requirements and a search through U.S. patents, publications of patent applications, foreign patent documents, and available literature, to see if the claimed invention is new, useful and non-obvious and if the application meets the requirements of the patent statute and rules of practice.  If the examiner's decision on patentability is favorable, a patent is granted.

Office Action

The applicant is notified in writing of the examiner’s decision by an Office “action” which is normally mailed to the attorney or agent of record.  The reasons for any adverse action or any objection or requirement are stated in the Office action and such information or references are given as may be useful in aiding the applicant to judge the propriety of continuing the prosecution of his/her application.

Applicant’s Reply

The applicant must request reconsideration in writing, and must distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the examiner’s Office action.  The applicant must reply to every ground of objection and rejection in the prior Office action.  The applicant’s reply must appear throughout to be a bona fide attempt to advance the case to final action or allowance. The mere allegation that the examiner has erred will not be received as a proper reason for such reconsideration.

In amending an application in reply to a rejection, the applicant must clearly point out why he/she thinks the amended claims are patentable in view of the state of the art disclosed by the prior references cited or the objections made.  He/she must also show how the claims as amended avoid such references or objections.  After reply by the applicant, the application will be reconsidered, and the applicant will be notified as to the status of the claims, that is, whether the claims are rejected, or objected to, or whether the claims are allowed, in the same manner as after the first examination. The second Office action usually will be made final.

Interviews with examiners may be arranged, but an interview does not remove the necessity of replying to Office actions within the required time.

Final Rejection

On the second or later consideration, the rejection or other action may be made final.  The applicant’s reply is then limited to appeal in the case of rejection of any claim and further amendment is restricted.  Petition may be taken to the Director in the case of objections or requirements not involved in the rejection of any claim.  Reply to a final rejection or action must include cancellation of, or appeal from the rejection of, each claim so rejected and, if any claim stands allowed, compliance with any requirement or objection as to form.  In making such final rejection, the examiner repeats or states all grounds of rejection then considered applicable to the claims in the application.

Allowance and Issue of Patent

If, on examination of the application, or at a later stage during the reconsideration of the application, the patent application is found to be allowable, a Notice of Allowance and Fee(s) Due will be sent to the applicant, or to applicant’s attorney or agent of record, if any, and a fee for issuing the patent and if applicable, for publishing the patent application publication, is due within three months from the date of the notice.  If timely payment of the fee(s) is not made,the application will be regarded as abandoned.

Patent Term Extension and Adjustment

The terms of certain patents may be subject to extension or adjustment. Such extension or adjustment results from certain specified types of delays which may occur while an application is pending before the USPTO.

The term of the patent shall be generally 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, if the application contains a specific reference to an earlier filed application, from the date of the earliest such application was filed, and subject to the payment of maintenance fees as provided by law. 

Maintenance Fees

All utility patents that issue from applications filed on and after December 12, 1980 are subject to the payment of maintenance fees which must be paid to maintain the patent in force.  These fees are due at 3 1/2, 7 1/2 and 11 1/2 years from the date the patent is granted and can be paid without a surcharge during the “window-period” which is the six-month period preceding each due date, e.g., three years to three years and six months.   

Failure to pay the current maintenance fee on time may result in expiration of the patent.  A six-month grace period is provided when the maintenance fee may be paid with a surcharge.  The grace period is the six-month period immediately following the due date.  The USPTO does not mail notices to patent owners that maintenance fees are due.

Correction of Patents

Once the patent is granted, it is outside the jurisdiction of the USPTO except in a few respects.  The USPTO may issue without charge a certificate correcting a clerical error it has made in the patent when the printed patent does not correspond to the record in the USPTO.  These are mostly corrections of typographical errors made in printing.  Some minor errors of a typographical nature made by the applicant may be corrected by a certificate of correction for which a fee is required. 

When the patent is defective in certain respects, the law provides that the patentee may apply for a reissue patent.  Following an examination in which the proposed changes correcting any defects in the original patent are evaluated, a reissue patent would be granted to replace the original and is granted only for the balance of the unexpired term.  However, the nature of the changes that can be made by means of the reissue are rather limited; new matter cannot be added.  In a different type of proceeding, any person may file a request for reexamination of a patent, along with the required fee, on the basis of prior art consisting of patents or printed publications. At the conclusion of the reexamination proceedings, a certificate setting forth the results of the reexamination proceeding is issued.

Infringement of Patents

Infringement of a patent consists of the unauthorized making, using, offering for sale, or selling any patented invention within the United States or U.S. Territories, or importing into the United States of any patented invention during the term of the patent.  If a patent is infringed, the patentee may sue for relief in the appropriate federal court.  The patentee may ask the court for an injunction to prevent the continuation of the infringement and may also ask the court for an award of damages because of the infringement.  In such an infringement suit, the defendant may raise the question of the validity of the patent, which is then decided by the court. The defendant may also aver that what is being done does not constitute infringement.  Infringement is determined primarily by the language of the claims of the patent and, if what the defendant is making does not fall within the language of any of the claims of the patent, there is no literal infringement.

Patent Marking and Patent Pending

A patentee who makes or sells patented articles or a person who does so for or under the patentee is required to mark the articles with the word “Patent” and the number of the patent.  The penalty for failure to mark is that the patentee may not recover damages from an infringer unless the infringer was duly notified of the infringement and continued to infringe after the notice.

Smirman IP Law, PLLC provides copyright filing, prosecution and renewal services

What is copyright?

Copyright is a form of protection grounded in the U.S. Constitution and granted by law for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression.  Copyright covers both published and unpublished works.

What does copyright protect?

Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture.  Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed.

How is a copyright different from a patent or a trademark?

Copyright protects original works of authorship, while a patent protects inventions or discoveries.  Ideas and discoveries are not protected by the copyright law, although the way in which they are expressed may be.  A trademark protects words, phrases, symbols, or designs identifying the source of the goods or services of one party and distinguishing them from those of others.

When is my work protected?

Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

Do I have to register with your office to be protected?

No.  In general, registration is voluntary.  Copyright exists from the moment the work is created.  You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work.

Why should I register my work if copyright protection is automatic?

Registration is recommended for a number of reasons. Many choose to register their works because they wish to have the facts of their copyright on the public record and have a certificate of registration.  Registered works may be eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees in successful litigation.  Finally, if registration occurs within 5 years of publication, it is considered prima facie evidence in a court of law. 

Is my copyright good in other countries?

The United States has copyright relations with most countries throughout the world, and as a result of these agreements, we honor each other's citizens' copyrights.  However, the United States does not have such copyright relationships with every country.

Can I copyright my website?

The original authorship appearing on a website may be protected by copyright.  This includes writings, artwork, photographs, and other forms of authorship protected by copyright.

Can I copyright my domain name?

Copyright law does not protect domain names. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a nonprofit organization that has assumed the responsibility for domain name system management, administers the assignation of domain names through accredited registers.

Does my work have to be published to be protected ?

Publication is not necessary for copyright protection.

How long does a copyright last?

The term of copyright for a particular work depends on several factors, including whether it has been published, and, if so, the date of first publication.  As a general rule, for works created after January 1, 1978, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus an additional 70 years.  For an anonymous work, a pseudonymous work, or a work made for hire, the copyright endures for a term of 95 years from the year of its first publication or a term of 120 years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first.  For works first published prior to 1978, theterm will vary depending on several factors.

Do I have to renew my copyright?

No.  Works created on or after January 1, 1978, are not subject to renewal registration. As to works published or registered prior to January 1, 1978, renewal registration is optional after 28 years but does provide certain legal advantages.