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| Terms: |
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Scope:
What is included in the claim; as in the scope
of a claim. |
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Search: To reach a decision
regarding the patentability of a new invention, it is initially
necessary to compare the invention to other inventions. One way to make
this comparison is to search “prior art” patents. |
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Search
Copy: A copy of an
international application filed under the Patent
Cooperation Treaty maintained by
the International Searching Authority. |
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Serial
Number: A number assigned to a
patent application when it is filed. A serial number is usually used
together with a two digit series code to distinguish
between applications filed at different times. |
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Skill
In The Art: Where no single prior art
patent discloses the functional subject matter or appearance of an
invention, a government patent examiner will frequently argue that
someone with ordinary skill in the art is already in possession of the
cumulative information and knowledge shown in two or more patents, and
that person will then know how to combine the knowledge of these several
prior art patents so as to make the subject invention “obvious” and
therefore unpatentable. In
resolving the obviousness issue, the law requires that the invention was
non-obvious to an individual with ordinary “skill
in the art” at the time the invention was made.
Thus, the law creates a hypothetical "skilled mechanic"
with the knowledge of the entire pertinent prior art in the world. The
question, then, is whether the prior art references, considered
individually or collectively, contain sufficient teaching, suggestion or
motivation, such that the inventive subject matter would have been
obvious to a person “skilled in the art” at the time the invention was made. |
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Small
Entity: For purposes of small
entity determination per MPEP
509.02 - means an independent inventor, a small business
concern, or a nonprofit organization eligible for reduced patent
fees. |
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Specification:
A written description of the
invention or discovery and of the manner and process of making and using
the same. The specification is required to be in such full, clear,
concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art or
science to which the invention or discovery appertains, or with which it
is most nearly connected, to make and use the same. |
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Status:
The official condition of a patent or application. The status of an
application is defined by action and time. The status of a patent is
often referred to as new, rejected, amended, Allowed or in Issue,
Abandoned, Incomplete, Abandonment for Failure to Pay Issue Fee, lapsed,
pending, protected, expired, re-issued and the like. "Status
Letters" or inquiries as to the status of applications by persons
entitled to the information, can be directed to the USPTO. |
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Statutory
Bar: Any public disclosure,
publication or offer for sale of an invention more than one year before
a patent application is filed will serve as a Statutory Bar to obtaining
a patent. Any sale of the invention or publication or disclosure of the
invention before a United States patent application is filed will
destroy the possibility of obtaining foreign patent protection in most
foreign countries. |
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Statutory
Disclaimer: Under 35 USC §
253 (paragraph 1) and 37 CFR 1.321(a), the owner (in part or in
entirety) of a patent may relinquish all rights to a complete claim or
claims of the owner's patent. |
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Statutory
Invention Registration: A
(SIR) statutory invention registration is not a patent. It has the
defensive attributes of a patent but does not have the enforceable
attributes of a patent. It is meant for the situation where a person
occasionally invents something solely for personal use (not for
production or sale) and does not want to go through the effort and
expense of obtaining a patent on the invention. At the same time, the
inventor wants to prevent someone else from later obtaining a patent on
a like invention. In that situation, the inventor can register a
statutory invention and have it published. Once published, it cannot be
claimed by another person. A published statutory invention registration
contains the specification and drawings of a regularly filed
nonprovisional application for a patent without examination if
the applicant - (1) meets the requirements of 35 USC 112; (2) has
complied with the requirements for printing, as set forth in regulations
of the Commissioner; (3) waives the right to receive a patent on the
invention within such period as may be prescribed by the Commissioner;
and (4) pays application, publication, and other processing fees
established by the Commissioner. A request for a statutory invention
registration (SIR) may be filed at the time of filing a nonprovisional
application for patent, or may be filed later during pendency of the
nonprovisional application. |
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Statutory
Period: If an applicant of a
patent application fails to reply within the time period provided, the
application will become abandoned unless an Office action indicates
otherwise. The maximum statutory period for reply to an Office action is
6 months (35
USC 133). Shortened periods are currently
used in practically all cases usually 3 months. |
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Statutory Subject
Matter: The
law (35 USC 101) provides
that only an invention comprised of statutorily defined subject can be
patented. A utility patent can be issued to any person who
invents a new, useful, and non-obvious (1) process, (2) machine, (3)
manufactured article, (4) composition of matter, or (5) any new and
useful improvement to any of these types of inventions. |
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Submarine
Patent: The term submarine
patent is used to describe a patent that is issued after a long delay in
the USPTO.at the time it issues or surfaces is a submarine it takes the
industry by surprise. This
was possible prior to the 18 month publication rule. If an unpublished patent application matures into a patent
after a long delay under the old rules it would have extended the term
of the patent. But today a
patent term is dictated by the filing date in the term extension rules
have been implemented to help avoid the issuance of a submarine
patent. |
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Substitute
Patent Application: An application which is in essence a duplicate
of a prior (earlier filed) application by the same applicant abandoned
before the filing of the substitute (later filed) application; a
substitute application does not obtain the benefit of the filing date of
the prior application. |
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