Intellectual Property
Patents
Patents protect inventions and processes which possess sufficient originality, novelity and utility, and which are not obvious. Examples include utility patents, design patents, and plant patents.
- Utility patents generally protect new and useful processes, machines, articles of manufacture, compositions of matter, or any new and useful improvements thereof for up to twenty (20) years. Examples of potentially patentable subject matter may include fiber optics, computer hardware and software, and medications.
- Design patents generally protect an article of manufacture's ornamental designs for up to fourteen (14) years. Examples of potentially patentable subject matter may include the design of an athletic shoe or the design of a bicycle helmet.
- Plant patents generally protect the invention or discovery of a new and distinct variety of asexually reproduced plant varieties for up to twenty (20) years. Examples of potentially patentable subject matter may include hybrid tea roses and genetically altered agricultural commodities.
Technically, a patent does not exist until it has been granted by the Federal government. Click here for information on filing a patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
