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| Terms: |
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Parent
Application: The
term "parent" is applied to an earlier application of an
inventor disclosing a given invention. Such invention may or may not be
claimed in the first application. Benefit of the filing date of
copending parent application may be claimed under 35 U.S.C. 120. The
term parent will not be used to describe a provisional application. |
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Paris
Convention: The Paris Convention, established as a result of the efforts
of inventors and industrialists, is an example of an attempt at uniform
treatment of trademark owners and international trademark law. The
initial objective of the convention was "the creation of a union
which, without encroaching on the municipal law of the contracting
countries, would lay down a number of general principles securing the
interests of industrial property in the interior of a country as well as
abroad." Ladas, Stephen P., Patents, Trademarks, and Related
Rights, National and International Protection, Harvard University Press,
1975, p. 63.The two key principles
set by the Paris Convention are the right of national treatment (Article
2) and the right of priority (Article 4). The right of national
treatment obligates each country to which the Convention applies
("countries of the Union") to accord to the nationals of all
other countries of the Union treatment no less favorable than the
treatment it accords to its own nationals. The right of priority permits
applicants to claim the benefit of a filing date (called the priority
filing date) in one Paris country with regard to applications filed in
another country of the Union within the applicable period. This permits
the applicant to avoid the effects of actions that may have occurred
subsequent to the priority filing date.
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Partial
Views: When
filing a patent application a drawing with a partial view may be
necessary, a view of a large machine or device in its entirety may be
broken into partial views on a single sheet, or extended over several
sheets if there is no loss in facility of understanding the view.
Partial views drawn on separate sheets must always be capable of being
linked edge to edge so that no partial view contains parts of another
partial view. A smaller scale view should be included showing the whole
formed by the partial views and indicating the positions of the parts
shown. When a portion of a view is enlarged for magnification purposes,
the view and the enlarged view must each be labeled as separate
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Patent:
A property right granted by the Government of the United States of
America to an inventor “to exclude others from making, using, offering
for sale, or selling the invention throughout the United States or
importing the invention into the United States” for a limited time in
exchange for public disclosure of the invention when the patent is
granted.
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Patent
And Trademark Depository Library:
The
Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program
is
comprised of a network of Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries (PTDLs)
located in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico
which provide access to many of the same products and services offered
at the USPTO search facilities in Arlington, VA. Such
as receive copies of patents, CD-ROMs containing registered and pending
marks, and patent and trademark materials that are made available to the
public for free. The libraries also actively disseminate patent and
trademark information and offer internet access to USPTO's online
collections. The scope of PTDL collections, hours of operation, services,
and fees (where applicable) vary depending on PTDL location. Users are
advised to call ahead to determine products and services available at a
particular PTDL. PTDLs also offer automated access to patent and
trademark information. All PTDLs offer free access to the Cassis CD-ROM
series search tools to assist patrons in the use of patent and trademark
collections. Please refer to the USPTO’s Web site for a complete list
of PTDLs.
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Patent
And Trademark Office (USPTO): The
PTO promotes industrial and technological progress in the United States
and strengthens the national economy by: Administering the laws relating
to patents and trademarks; Advising the Secretary of Commerce, the
President of the United States, and the administration on patent,
trademark, and copyright protection; Advising the Secretary of Commerce,
the President of the United States, and the Administration on the
trade-related aspects of intellectual property. The
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) is the
government agency responsible for examining patent applications and
issuing patents. A patent is a type of property right. It gives the
patent holder the right, for a limited time, to exclude others from
making, using, offering to sell, selling, or importing into the United
States the subject matter that is within the scope of protection granted
by the patent. The USPTO determines whether a patent should be granted
in a particular case. However, it is up to the patent holder to enforce
his or her own rights if the USPTO does grant a patent.
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Patent
Application: A non-provisional
utility patent application must include a specification, including a
claim or claims; drawings, when necessary; an oath or declaration; and
the prescribed filing fee. |
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Patent
Application Publication:
Pre-Grant Publication of patent application at 18 months from priority
date.
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Patent
Classification: There are over
400 classes in the U.S. Patent Classification System, each having a
title descriptive of its subject matter and each being identified by a
class number. Each class is subdivided into a number of subclasses. Each
subclass bears a descriptive title and is identified by a subclass
number. The subclass number may be an integral number or may contain a
decimal portion and/or alpha characters. A complete identification of a
subclass requires both the class and subclass number and any alpha or
decimal designations; e.g., 418/161.2A identifies Class 418, Subclass
161.2A.
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Patent
Cooperation: Provides
a mechanism by which an applicant can file a single application that,
when certain requirements have been fulfilled, is equivalent to a
regular national filing in each designated Contracting State. There are
currently over 112 PCT Contracting States.
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Patent
Disclosure: The specification
shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the
manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise,
and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to
which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make
and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated
by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
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Patent
Drawing: The
applicant shall furnish a drawing where necessary for the understanding
of the subject matter to be patented. When the nature of such subject
matter admits of illustration by a drawing and the applicant has not
furnished such a drawing, the Commissioner may require its submission
within a time period of not less than two months from the sending of a
notice thereof. Drawings submitted after the filing date of the
application may not be used (i) to overcome any insufficiency of the
specification due to lack of an enabling disclosure or otherwise
inadequate disclosure therein, or (ii) to supplement the original
disclosure thereof for the purpose of interpretation of the scope of any
claim.
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Patent Infringement:
Unauthorized making, using, offering to sell, selling or importing into
the United States any patented invention.
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Patent
Law: Title 35 of the United
States Code (USC).
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Patent
Number: Unique number assigned
to a patent application when it issues as a patent.
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Patent
Pending: A phrase that often
appears on manufactured items. It means that someone has applied for a
patent on an invention that is contained in the manufactured item. It
serves as a warning that a patent may issue that would cover the item
and that copiers should be careful because they might infringe if the
patent issues. Once the patent issues, the patent owner will stop using
the phrase "patent pending" and start using a phrase such as
"covered by U.S. Patent Number XXXXXXX." Applying the patent
pending phrase to an item when no patent application has been made can
result in a fine.
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Patent
Prior Art: All patents subject
matter bearing on the novelty and non-obviousness of a claimed invention
pursuant to 35 U.S.C. Sections 102 and 103.
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Patent
Rules: Section 37 of the Code
of Federal Regulations (CFR)
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Patentable:
Suitable to be patented;
entitled by law to be protected by the issuance of a patent.
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Patentability:
An invention has patentability it is new, useful and non-obvious.
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Patentability
Search: The objective of any
preliminary patentability search is to discover issued “prior art”
United States patents which is similar to the invention being
investigated so that a judgment can be made as to the potential for
obtaining patent protection. Basically,
there are two (2) main types of patents, (i.e., utility patents
and design patents). When
possible, a patentability search is directed to both utility and design
features of an invention so that a determination can be made as to which
type of patent protect made be available.
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Patentee:
The person to whom a patent issues; in the U.S., the inventor(s) is
named, even though the patent may be assigned to another. The patent
must issue before the person can be considered a patentee.
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Pending
Application: The state an
application is in during the time that a patent application is examined
or is in the process of an appeal.
An application is no longer pending after it is abandoned or a
patent has issued.
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Person: 7
CFR 1.27(a)(1)
defines a person as any inventor or other individual (e.g., an
individual to whom an inventor has transferred some rights in the
invention), who has not assigned, granted, conveyed, or licensed, and is
under no obligation under contract or law to assign, grant, convey, or
license, any rights in the invention. An inventor or other individual
who has transferred some rights, or is under an obligation to transfer
some rights in the invention to one or more parties, can also qualify
for small entity status if all the parties who have had rights in the
invention transferred to them also qualify for small entity status
either as a person, small business concern, or nonprofit organization.
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Plant
Patent: May be granted to
anyone who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct
and new variety of plant.
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Power
Of Attorney: A
written document signed by a person giving another person the power to
act in conducting the signer's business, including signing papers,
checks, title documents, contracts, handling bank accounts and other
activities in the name of the person granting the power. The person
receiving the power of attorney (the agent) is "attorney in
fact" for the person giving the power. There are two types of power
of attorney: a) general power of attorney, which covers all activities,
and b) special power of attorney, which grants powers limited to
specific matters, such as selling a particular piece of real estate,
handling some bank accounts or executing a limited partnership
agreement. A power of attorney may expire on a date stated in the
document or upon written cancellation. Usually the signer acknowledges
before a notary public that he/she executed the power, so that it is
recordable if necessary, as in a real estate transaction.
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Prior
Art: Prior art references
include any source from anywhere such as patents, publications and the
like. If there is prior that teaches, motivates or suggests an invention
the invention is not patentable.
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Priority
Date: a) In accordance with
the conditions and requirements of subsections (a) through (d) of section 119 of this
title, a national application shall be entitled to the right of priority
based on a prior filed international application which designated at
least one country other than the United States
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Priority Claim: Claims under 35 USC 119(a)-(e) and 35 USC 120 for the
benefit of the filing date of earlier filed applications.
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Product
By Process Claim: A product
claim that defines the claimed product in terms of the process by which
it is made.
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Pro Se: A term used to designate an independent inventor who has
elected to file an application by themselves without the services of a
licensed representative.
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Prosecution:
The process of making amendments, statements, arguments, and representations to
the USPTO for the purpose of obtaining a patent is usually referred to
as patent prosecution.
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Prosecution
History: Comprises all
documents produced by both the examiner and applicant in course of obtaining a patent.
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Prosecution
History Estoppel: This doctrine relates to the amendments, statements,
arguments, and representations made by the patent applicant during the
course of obtaining a patent. Any statement that limits the scope of the
patent made for "a reason related to patentability" is binding
and the applicant will be forbidden (estopped) from later attempting to
argue that the limitation does not exist. |
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Provisional
Patent Application: A
provisional application for patent is a U. S. national application for
patent filed in the USPTO under 35 U.S.C. §111(b). It allows filing
without a formal patent claim, oath or declaration, or any information
disclosure (prior art) statement. It provides the means to establish an
early effective filing date in a non-provisional patent application
filed under 35 U.S.C. §111(a) and automatically becomes abandoned after
one year. It also allows the term "Patent Pending" to be
applied.
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Provisional
Patent Application Term: Provisional
application for patent (provisional application) has a pendency lasting
12 months from the date the provisional application is filed. The
12-month pendency period cannot be extended. Therefore, an
applicant who files a provisional application must file a
corresponding non-provisional application for patent (non-provisional
application) during the 12-month pendency period of the provisional
application in order to benefit from the earlier filing of the
provisional application.
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Public
Domain: Intellectual property
that is not owned by anyone and is commonly used by the pubic is said to
be in the Public
Domain.
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Publication
Number: A number
assigned to the publication of patent applications filed on or after
November 29, 2000. It includes the year, followed by a seven-digit
number, followed by a kind code.
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Public
Knowledge: The statute (35
U.S.C. § 102(a)), states that “a person shall be entitled to a patent
unless: (a) the invention was known or used by others in this
country,” means knowledge or use that is accessible to the public.
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Publication:
The distribution or disclosure in a form, which is readily accessible or
distributed to the public of copies, audio recordings or any creative
work.
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Publication Of A
Patent: The "American Inventors Protection Act of
1999" provides for the publication of a U.S. patent application
after the expiration of eighteen months from the earliest filing date to
which a claim of priority is made. The eighteen-month publication rules
apply to U.S. patent applications filed on or after November 29, 2000,
and to U.S. applications resulting from international applications filed
on or after November 29, 2000.
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