ABSTRACT
So, to start, what is a patent? Well, a patent is a document granted by a government to the authors of an invention which confirms their priority in the discovery and asserts that certain rights are granted to the inventors. –ese rights are given only over a limited time period and, in exchange for that, the authors agree to public disclosure of their invention. –us, if you happen to be an inventor, getting these rights might be worth all the trouble, because once the patent is granted, everyone but you is excluded from making, using, selling, importing, or offering for sale your invention. Having said so, one must realize that the power
1.1 Some Necessary Definitions 1 1.2 Patents through Human History (ante Internet) 3 1.3 Patents Today (Taking Advantage of the Internet) 4 1.4 Requirements for Patenting 6 1.5 Patents Continuity: Parent-Child Relationship 8 1.6 Provisional Application 9 1.7 From Conception to Birth: U.S. Patent Timeline 10 1.8 Patent Limitations: Territory, Duration of the Patent, and
the Scope of Claims 11 1.8.1 National Patent 11 1.8.2 Patent Life Span 12 1.8.3 Scope of Claims 12
1.9 Limited Access to Patents and Applications 13 1.10 Differences between U.S. and European Union Patent Law 14 1.11 Conclusions 16 References 16
of patent is not unlimited, as it does not preclude other scientists from working on the same problem and improving existing solutions. Now, once you have made an informed and deliberate decision to proceed with patenting, a number of steps should be taken, and the first of these is to figure out what type of patent should you strive to get.
