A patent for a new invention grants property rights to the inventor, usually for 20 years, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). It gives the patent holder the legal right to make, sell or import an invention in the United States and territories, excluding others from doing so for the duration of the patent. According to the American Inventors Protection Act, enacted by Congress in 1999, 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."

Patent Search

Conduct a patent search to ensure your invention is original, or to check out other inventions in a similar vein. Search the online USPTO Patent Full-text and Image Database. You may search for patents using an advanced range of data, from keywords to the name of the inventor. However, if the patent was issued before 1975, the search parameters are limited to issue date, patent number and current U.S. classification.

Types of Patents

According to the USPTO, there are three kinds of patents. Utility patents are granted to those who "invent or discover any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter." This also applies to those who invent or discover any new and useful improvement of said processes. Design patents are granted to anyone who "invents a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture." Plant patents can be granted to anyone who "invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant." There are two types of utility and plant patent applications, provisional and nonprovisional. Of the 350,000 patent applications the USPTO received annually, the majority are nonprovisional utility patents. Patent applications are complex documents, and, like grants, have strict formatting and applications guidelines. There are separate forms and requirements for each type of patent. Guidelines may be found on the USPTO website.

Fee Schedule

Look up the U.S. Patent Fee Schedule, to note costs.

Filing a Patent

Apply for patent online through the ESPTO via its web-based application, EFS-Web, which facilitates filing patent documents in PDF format. You can check the status of a current patent application through the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system.

Source:

United States Patent and Trademark Office: How to Get a Patent

United States Patent and Trademark Office: General info concerning patents

American Inventors Protection Act of 1999

More Information:

USPTO: Patent Full-text and Image Database

USPTO: Inventor's Assistance Center

USPTO: Fee Schedule