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Law Office of John B. Hudak, PLLC

An intellectual property law firm: patents, trademarks, and copyrights.

Patent Questions and Answers

Is my invention patentable? Can I gain a patent for my idea?

At a minimum, in order for your idea to have the ability to gain a patent, the idea must be: (1) patentable subject matter; (2) novel; and (3) nonobvious.

Patentable subject matter is a new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, which is not an abstract idea, natural phenomena, or law of nature.

An idea is novel if there is no prior art (which can be written materials like patents or scientific articles, or other public disclosures of the idea) which describes every element of the idea.

An idea is nonobvious if there is no prior art or combination of prior art, which would make it clear to someone having ordinary knowledge of the subject area to think of the idea.

For a further explanation view: Is My Idea Patentable?

What are the different types of patents?

There are three types of patents: (1) utility patents; (2) design patents; and (3) plant patents.

(1) A utility patent protects how something functions or the usefulness of something, which can be an object, a part of an object, a method for doing something, or chemical composition.

(2) A design patent protect the visually appears or the form of an object, which can include the whole object, a part of the object, or an applied element to an object.

(3) A plant patent protects a plant that: has been reproduced without seeds; is new; found in nature; and is not a tuber.

For a further explanation visit: Types of Patents

What is the USPTO?

The USPTO is the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Patents are granted – and trademarks are registered – through the USPTO.

What is the US Patent Office?
The US Patent Office is another name for the USPTO. Frequently, when referring to the agency where approval is sought for a patent – the USPTO can be called the Patent Office.

What is the Trademark Office?
The Trademark Office is another name for the USPTO. When referring to the agency where approval is sought for a trademark – the USPTO can be called the Trademark Office.

Where is the US Patent Office?
The US Patent Office is headquartered in the city of Alexandria in the state of Virginia (technically the Commonwealth of Virginia) - in the United States. Almost all business is done electronically with the Patent Office so its physical location is not of too much importance - although its location is important for some issues such a the time zone where the Patent Office is located because the time when documents are submitted to the Patent Office electronically is based on the local Eastern Time Zone in Alexandria. There are four other satellite offices other than the headquarters in Alexandria.

What is a patent?

A patent is an applied for right which is granted by the United States government - specifically the government agency called the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Who gives patent rights?

The US government - specifically the government agency called the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) - gives patent rights. This power to grant patent rights is detailed in the United States Constitution Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 (Where the Congress is given the power "to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.")

Do my patent rights apply in another country?

A patent granted by the US government (USPTO) - in other words a US patent - gives rights to the owner of that US patent only within the geographical United States. US patents rights do not apply in other countries.

Can you renew a patent?

No. A patent cannot be renewed.
Once a patent’s term expires the patent cannot be renewed.
Generally, a patent term lasts for 20 years after the issue date.
A patent does require three maintenance payments made at specific times during the patent term. (patent maintenance description here)

What does patent pending mean?

Patent pending is a term used to indicate that an invention has a current patent application submitted to the Patent Office - and the application has not been approved yet.
A provisional or nonprovisional patent application can give an invention a patent pending status.

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