Requirements to Patent an Invention Is my idea patentable? Conditions for Obtaining a Patent Non-Obviousness - meaning that the technology must be different enough from the prior art so as to not be obvious in view of the prior art. Novelty - meaning that the technology is not "anticipated" or identical to an invention disclosed in a single piece of prior art. Non-Obviousness - meaning that the technology must be different enough from the prior art so as to not be obvious in view of the prior art. Utility - meaning that the invention must have a useful purpose. Virtually all inventions meet the utility requirement which has largely been used to prevent the patenting of "quack" inventions such as perpetual motion machines. A patent cannot cover a pure law of nature or a business idea. In addition, there is a time limitation which may be applicable to a given invention. Under U.S. law, a patent must be applied for within one year of the first offer for sale, public use or publication of the invention. Who May Apply for a Patent Under U.S. law, only the inventor may apply for a patent. If the inventor is deceased, application may be made by the inventor's legal representatives, that is, the administrator or executor of the Estate. If the inventor is mentally incapacitated, the application for a patent may be made by a guardian. Frequently, companies file patents in the name of inventory employees. Two or more inventors may apply for a patent as joint inventors though they did not physically work together on an invention, did not contribute equally to the invention or their contribution is not represented in every claim of the invention. However, each inventor must claim some role in the final conception of the invention. An investor or venture capitalist is not a joint inventor and cannot be named in the application as an inventor. If the inventor refuses to sign the application or cannot be found, a joint inventor or a person having a proprietary interest in the invention may apply for a patent on behalf of the refusing inventor. The Patent Term The term of a U.S. utility patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for patent was filed. If the application contains a specific reference to an earlier filed application under 35 U.S.C. §120 for Continuation (applications that broaden the scope of a previous disclosed invention) and Continuation-in-Part (applications that add new matter or material to a previously disclosed invention) applications, §121 for Divisional (applications that arise from dividing a previous application that contains two separate inventions) applications or §365(c) for International applications, the term begins from the date the earliest such application was filed. Issued utility patents are subject to the payment of periodic maintenance fees which must be paid at intervals during the life of the patent. Failure to pay these fees results in the expiration of the patent. International Patent Protection The United States is a signatory to several major international conventions which permit U.S. inventors to seek foreign patent protection. The most important of these is the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) ratified in the 1970's. The PCT provides for the filing and processing of a single international patent application in a special branch of the Patent and Trademark Office called the U.S. Receiving Office. The PCT process is akin to an "options" contract in which a single application is filed which claims the right to file in over 90 countries of the world. The PCT provides for a preliminary examination procedure which is given weight by regional and national patent offices. International protection must be procured within one year of the U.S. filing date in the case of a utility patent.

Your first step when you get a patent idea is a professional patent search to see what related inventions are out there and to see if you can protect your idea. This is important because: 1) A patent search documents your idea and serves as a record of invention date. 2) You do not want to waste time developing an idea that already exists. Why should I get a patent search?