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Patent Lawyer Orange County
Patents have been a part of the United States since the very beginning of the country and smart inovators have been making good use of patent applications to protect their creations. In fact, it was the U.S. Constitution which gave congress the power to grant them. This led to the development of the first patent law in 1790, which slowly evolved into the U.S. Patent Act which we know today. This law gives inventors the right to prohibit other people or organizations "from making, using, offering for sale, or selling" their creation or anything similar to it. Patents encourage people to create new inventions by eliminating the fear that people will copy and profit from those discoveries.
The Patent Lawyer Orange County firm can help you successfully navigate patent laws, the patent process, and properly protect your intellectual property.
PATENT LAW
The U.S. Patent Act states that any individual 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,” as long as they meet the conditions of the law. These conditions require that the invention be:
- Patentable
- Useful
- New
- Not Obvious
- Enabled
Although U.S. patent law has some of the most liberal requirements for patent-ability in the entire world, including almost anything which can be made by man, there are still some things which are not patentable. These include laws of nature, mathematical formulas, abstract ideas, and physical occurrences.
The invention must have some useful function and achieve the intended goal when operated.
This means that not only can this invention or anything similar to it not be in use in this country, but it can not have been known about or explained in any published material anywhere in the world.
This clause of the patent law is one of the most difficult to interpret. It states that the invention can not be obvious “to one of ordinary skill in the art.”
According to United States patent law, an idea or suggestion is not patentable. Therefore, the United States Patent and Trademark Office requires inventors to explain their invention and the procedures involved in creating it. This must be done in enough detail that anyone who understands the technology behind it could “make and use” it. This process is known as enablement.
The Patent Lawyer Orange County firm can help you make sure that all of these requirements are met.
TYPES OF PATENTS
There are three different types of patents which can be obtained. The patents include:
- Utility Patents
- Design Patents
- Plant Patents
Utility patents protect actual processes, manufacturing methods, machines or other inventions.
Design patents protect the way something looks. These can be obtained for something which has already been invented as long as the design is in some way new or original.
Plant patents safeguard the invention of new types of plants.
The Patent Lawyer Orange County firm is well versed in all types of patents and can help you determine which category your patent would fall under.
PATENT FILING REQUIREMENTS
In order for an inventor to obtain a patent, he must meet several conditions. The conditions that must be met include:
- Filling out a patent application and paying the required fees.
- Submitting the name, address and other required information about the inventor. In most cases, only an inventor can apply for a patent.
- Providing a written description of the invention.
- Presenting a drawing of the invention, where this is required to understand it.
- Detailing the claims about the invention. This is the place where the applicant describes what differentiates his invention from other inventions and explains what will be included in the patent.
The Patent Lawyer Orange County firm will ensure that all of these requirements are fulfilled correctly.
WHY YOU NEED THE PATENT LAWYER ORANGE COUNTY FIRM
It is possible to obtain a patent by yourself. However, patent law is complex, can be difficult to correctly interpret, and changes all the time. In addition, there is a lot of complicated paperwork involved. If it is not done correctly, your patent application may be denied or you may obtain a patent that does not adequately cover you. If you want to be sure that your invention is protected, you need to contact the Patent Lawyer Orange County firm.
