The US Patent System: An Overview

88 questions on the US patent system, answered and cited by the UpLaw editorial team.

• Are invention promotion companies legitimate?
• Can a confidential sale trigger the on-sale bar?
• Can an AI system be named as an inventor on a U.S. patent?
• Can I file a patent application myself without an attorney?
• Can one product be covered by patents, trademarks, and copyrights at the same time?
• Can software be patented after Alice?
• Can the USPTO tell me whether my idea is patentable or whether I am infringing?
• Does a patent give me the right to make and sell my own invention?
• Does "patent pending" give you any legal rights?
• Does the "poor man's patent" of mailing yourself a description work?
• Does the USPTO enforce patents?
• Do I need a working prototype to file a patent application?
• How are trade secrets protected if there is no registration?
• How can I hold a patent and still not be allowed to sell my product?
• How did KSR v. Teleflex change the obviousness analysis?
• How did LKQ v. GM change design patent obviousness?
• How do design patents differ from utility patents in cost and duration?
• How long does a patent last?
• How much does it cost and how long does it take to get a patent?
• Is a patent property that you own?
• Is there anything you absolutely cannot patent as a matter of policy?
• Is there such a thing as a worldwide patent?
• Should I patent my invention or keep it as a trade secret?
• What are patent maintenance fees?
• What are provisional rights in a published patent application?
• What are small entity and micro entity status at the USPTO?
• What are the four statutory requirements for patentability?
• What are the Graham factors?
• What are the judicial exceptions to patent eligibility?
• What are the major statutes that built modern U.S. patent law?
• What are the three types of patent in the United States?
• What are the types of patent infringement under Section 271?
• What can you generally not patent?
• What can you generally patent?
• What constitutional provision authorizes the U.S. patent system?
• What defenses can an accused patent infringer raise?
• What did Amgen v. Sanofi decide about patent enablement?
• What did Bilski v. Kappos decide about business method patents?
• What does a design patent protect?
• What does first-inventor-to-file mean?
• What does Section 101 require beyond falling into a statutory category?
• What does Section 112 require in a patent application?
• What happens after a patent issues — is the work finished?
• What is a patent Office Action?
• What is a patent?
• What is a plant patent?
• What is a prior art search and should you do one before filing?
• What is a provisional patent application?
• What is claim construction and who decides it?
• What is divided infringement?
• What is double patenting?
• What is ex parte reexamination?
• What is inter partes review?
• What is patent exhaustion?
• What is patent marking and why does it matter?
• What is post-grant review and how does it differ from IPR?
• What is prior art?
• What is prosecution history estoppel?
• What is supplemental examination?
• What is the Alice two-step test?
• What is the all-elements rule in patent infringement?
• What is the danger of filing a thin provisional patent application?
• What is the difference between anticipation and obviousness?
• What is the difference between a patent, a copyright, and a trademark?
• What is the difference between a patent attorney and a patent agent?
• What is the difference between Patent Term Adjustment and Patent Term Extension?
• What is the duty of candor before the USPTO?
• What is the effective filing date of a patent application?
• What is the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure?
• What is the one-year grace period for patent filing?
• What is the Paris Convention priority window?
• What is the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)?
• What is the presumption of validity for an issued patent?
• What is the standard for patent nonobviousness under Section 103?
• What is virtual patent marking?
• What kind of evidence overcomes an obviousness rejection?
• What makes a patent claim indefinite?
• What must a nonprovisional patent application include?
• What options does an applicant have after a final Office Action?
• What remedies are available for patent infringement?
• What subject matter qualifies for a utility patent?
• When is a patent application published?
• Where can a patent infringement lawsuit be filed?
• Who can be named as an inventor on a patent?
• Who owns a patent on an invention made by an employee?
• Why are patent claims compared to property lines?
• Why can't a copyright protect a machine described in a book?
• Why should you file a patent application before publicly disclosing an invention?