FAQ Patents - LAW OFFICE OF ELIAS M. GORDAN

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=175 BGCOLOR="#A6CAF0" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="21"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="21"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="HOME PAGE LAW OFFICE OF ELIAS M. GORDAN"><U><B><IMG SRC="00d0d1d0.gif" border=0 width="13" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> <B>© </B>2001 Elias M. Gordan</div> <div> All rights reserved</div> <bR> <div> <B>Law Office of</B></div> <div> <B>Elias M. Gordan</B></div> <div> Post Office Box 60</div> <div> Palos Park, IL  60464</div> <bR> <div> Phone  708.923.9735</div> <div> Email  gordanlaw@att.net</div> <div> Web    www.gordanlaw.com</div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="HOME PAGE LAW OFFICE OF ELIAS M. GORDAN"><U><B>HOME</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LAW OFFICE OF ELIAS M. GORDAN About Us"><U><B>About Us</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LAW OFFICE OF ELIAS M. GORDAN Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LAW OFFICE OF ELIAS M. GORDAN Contact U"><U><B>Contact Us</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> FACT SHEET ON PATENTS</div> <bR> <div> <B>What is a patent?</B>  A right given by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to an inventor, to stop others from making, using, selling, or importing a particular invention.  Patent rights are “personal property”, which can be licensed, inherited, or sold outright.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Who can get a patent?</B>  Only the actual inventor(s).  Employers can have an employee assign (turn over) the rights to the employee's inventions.</div> <bR> <div> <B>What are the different types of patents?</B>  There are three types of patents:</div> <div> utility patents, which cover a functional device or process</div> <div> plant patents, which cover particular types of plants  (such as crops)</div> <div> design patents, which cover a nonfunctional shape</div> <bR> <div> <B>How long is a patent good for?</B>  </div> <div> <B>Utility, plant patents: </B>Twenty (20) years after the filing date of the application (or 17 years after the patent issues, whichever is longer).  Renewals must be made before 4, 8, and 12 years, to preserve patent rights.</div> <div> <B>Design patents:</B>  Fourteen (14) years after the date of issue.</div> <bR> <div> <B>What qualifies for a patent?</B>  A <U>useful, new, and unobvious</U> invention.  Many inventions are refused patent rights because they lack novelty (i.e. someone beat the inventor to the particular invention claimed), or because they are an obvious development of the technology, in light of the prior art.  Public use, sale, or offers to sell (and other forms of commercialization) start a one-year “time clock” for the inventor to file a patent application, or be ineligible for a patent.</div> <bR> <div> <B>How does one go about filing a patent application?</B>  First, an inventor should speak with a patent attorney as early as possible in the invention process, to avoid making costly mistakes in developing the invention.  A patent attorney is licensed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and has a specialized background in engineering or science, in addition to his or her legal background. </div> <div>      Once a working model or written description of the invention is ready, a patent search should be done, to determine the prior art.  The invention can then be refined, and a patent application drafted, to bypass the prior art.  If the invention is claimed too broadly, it can run into prior art.  It the invention is claimed too narrowly, copycats can easily develop around the invention.  The main challenge is to look 20 years into the future, capturing as many future developments as possible, yet clearing the prior art.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>For links to additional useful information, </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000BF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LAW OFFICE OF ELIAS M. GORDAN IP Links"><U><B>click here</B></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> DISCLAIMER:   For general information only.  Not to be considered legal advice, nor create an attorney-client relationship.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> Law Office of Elias M. Gordan</div> <div> <B>16335 S. Harlem Ave., Suite 400</B></div> <div> <B> Tinley Park, IL  60477</B></div> <div> <B>708.923.9735, </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="mailto:gordanlaw@att.net" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:gordanlaw@att.net"><U><B><U>gordanlaw@att.net</U></B></U></A></FONT><B>, </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.gordanlaw.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.gordanlaw.com"><U><B><U>www.gordanlaw.com</U></B></U></A></FONT><B> </B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="HOME PAGE LAW OFFICE OF ELIAS M. GORDAN"><U><B>BACK TO HOME PAGE</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>