Patent in the United States
Patent History and Definition
A grant of some privilege, property, or authority, made by the government or sovereign of a country to one or more individuals. Phil. Pat. 1. As the term was originally used in England, it signified certain written instruments emanating from the king, and sealed with the great seal. These instruments conferred grants of lands, honors, or franchises; they were called letters patent, from being delivered open, and by way of contradistinction from instruments like the French lettres de cachet, which went out sealed. In the United States the word patent is sometimes understood to mean the title deed by which a government, either state or federal, conveys its lands. But in its more usual acceptation it is understood as referring to those instruments by which the United States secures to inventors for a limited time the exclusive use of their own inventions. (1)
Plain-English Law
Patent as defined by Nolo’s Encyclopedia of Everyday Law (p. 437-455): A legal monopoly, granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), on the right to use, manufacture, and sell an invention.
United States Constitution
According to the Encyclopedia of the American Constitution, the Article I grants to Congress the power to “promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” This clause confers authority on the federal government.
A patent is a grant issued by the federal government that gives an inventor the right to exclude others from making, using, or selling his invention for a specific period of time. The historical purpose of granting these exclusive rights has not changed to this day.
Patents in the U.S. Code
The United States Patent Code appears in Title 35 of the United State Code.
Patent meaning
An exclusive right of the owner of the patent to enjoy a monopoly over the use of their invention for a limited period in time.
patent in relation to Invention and Patent Law
A document issued by the Patent office that purports to give an inventor the exclusive right to make use and sell an invention as specified in the claims of that patent. A patent, which is the mature form of a patent application, consists of drawings of the invention, a specification explaining it, and claims which define the scope of exclusivity.
Patent in Foreign Legal Encyclopedias
For starting research in the law of a foreign country:
| Link | Description |
|---|---|
| Patent | Patent in the World Legal Encyclopedia. |
| Patent | Patent in the European Legal Encyclopedia. |
| Patent | Patent in the Asian Legal Encyclopedia. |
| Patent | Patent in the UK Legal Encyclopedia. |
| Patent | Patent in the Australian Legal Encyclopedia. |
Resources
Notes
- This definition of Patent is based on the The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
See Also
Further Reading (Books)
F. L. Vaughan, The United States Patent System: Legal and Economic Conflicts in American Patent History (1956); B. W. Bugbee, Genesis of American Patent and Copyright Law (1967); C. MacLeod, Inventing the Industrial Revolution (1989).
North American Free Trade Agreement
Further Reading (Articles)
Patent of Addition: An Indian Perspective, Mondaq Business Briefing; April 30, 2014
Patents.(Patent infringement ), Mondaq Business Briefing; June 10, 2010; Filatov, Oleksiy
Patent Reform: Time for a Step Change?, Mondaq Business Briefing; October 28, 2012
Patent Searches: Step-by-Step, The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association, Inc.; December 1, 2002; Pennington, Brian
Patents to Utahns drop 16.8%, Deseret News (Salt Lake City); January 31, 2006; Karl R. Cannon
Patent Term Adjustment and Double Patenting, Mondaq Business Briefing; March 10, 2014; Brinckerhoff, Courtenay
Patent Rights and Economic Freedom: Friend or Foe?, Journal of Private Enterprise; October 1, 2002; Park, Walter G.
Patents are part of the solution, not the problem Livesaving drugs, International Herald Tribune; July 12, 2004; Robert J. Shapiro
Patents for battery, injector among 22 issued for Utahns, Deseret News (Salt Lake City); November 20, 2007; Karl R. Cannon
Patents now seen as cash cows for tech firms ; Large companies are exploiting their extensive back portfolios, writes Jamie Smyth, The Irish Times; October 24, 2003
Patent Law Changes: What You Should Know, Research-Technology Management; March 1, 2000; Berkowitz, Leonard
Patent lawyers, prepare, Pharmaceutical Executive; June 1, 2000; Schwartz, Harry
Patent Web Site Provides Background, Potential Sources, Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. The IRE Journal; July 1, 2002; Edds, Carolyn
Patent Issued for Information Processing System, Method of Processing Information, and Program for Processing Information, Journal of Engineering; July 10, 2013
PATENTS, The Washington Post; January 11, 1988; Joseph O. Evans
PATENTS IN SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA, The Roanoke Times (Roanoke, VA); December 11, 2011
Patent Watch in Junctions Back and Forth, Mechanical Engineering-CIME; April 1, 2012; Teska, Kirk
Patent Reform Bill Progresses through the House, Mondaq Business Briefing; December 20, 2013; Kaminski, Jeffri
Patents about Patents: Searching, Validating, Drafting, Challenging, or Evaluating: Somebody Owns an Idea on How to Do It, Mechanical Engineering-CIME; April 1, 2013; Teska, Kirk
Patents a Real Player in Cyberspace, AP Online; July 12, 2000; MAY WONG, AP Technology Writer
Leave a Reply