United States. Department of Commerce

“ Q. If two or more persons work together to make an invention, to whom will the patent be granted?
A. If each had a share in the ideas forming the invention, they are joint inventors and a patent will be issued to them jointly on the basis of a proper patent application. If, on the other hand, one of these persons has provided all of the ideas of the invention, and the other has only followed instructions in making it, the person who contributed the ideas is the sole inventor and the patent application and patent shall be in his/her name alone. ”

“ Q. If one person furnishes all of the ideas to make an invention and another employs him or furnishes the money for building and testing the invention, should the patent application be filed by them jointly? ”

“ If the inventor describes the invention in a printed publication or uses the invention publicly, or places it on sale, he/she must apply for a patent before one year has gone by, otherwise any right to a patent will be lost. ”

“ Since a patent is not always granted when an application is filed, many inventors attempt to make their own search of the prior patents and publications before applying for a patent. This may be done in the Patent Search Room of the Patent and Trademark Office, and in 22libraries, located throughout the U.S., which have been designated as Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries (PTDLs) . An inventor may make a preliminary search through the United States patents to discover if the particular invention or one similar to it has been shown in the prior patent. ”

“ A design patent has a term of 14 years from grant, and no fees are necessary to maintain a design patent in force. If on examination it is determined that an applicant is entitled to a design patent under the law, a notice of allowance will be sent to the applicant or applicant’s attorney, or agent, calling for the payment of an issue fee.
The drawing of the design patent conforms to the same rules as other drawings, but no reference characters are required.
The specification of a design application is short and ordinarily follows a set form. Only one claim is permitted, following a set form. ”

“ The Office has no jurisdiction over questions relating to infringement of patents. In examining applications for patent, no determination is made as to whether the invention sought to be patented infringes any prior patent. An improvement invention may be patentable, but it might infringe a prior unexpired patent for the invention improved upon, if there is one. ”

“ Almost every country has its own patent law, and a person desiring a patent in a particular country must make an application for patent in that country, in accordance with the requirements of that country.
The laws of many countries differ in various respects from the patent law of the United States. In most foreign countries, publication of the invention before the date of the application will bar the right to a patent. In most foreign countries maintenance fees are required. ”

“ The timely filing of an international application affords applicants an international filing date in each country which is designated in the international application and provides (1) a search of the invention and (2) a later time period within which the national applications for patent must be filed.
A number of patent attorneys specialize in obtaining patents in foreign countries. In general, an inventor should be satisfied that he/she could make some profit from foreign patents or that there is some particular reason for obtaining them, before he/she attempts to apply for foreign patents. ”

“ If timely payment of the issue fee is not made, the application will be regarded as abandoned. See current fee schedule.
A provision is made in the statute whereby the Commissioner may accept the fee late, when the delay is shown to be unavoidable. When the issue fee is paid, the patent issues as soon as possible after the date of payment, dependent upon the volume of printing on hand. The patent grant then is delivered or mailed on the day of its grant, or as soon thereafter as possible, to the inventor’s attorney or agent if there is one of record, otherwise directly to the inventor. ”

“ Reduction to practice refers to the actual construction of the invention in physical form: in the case of a machine it includes the actual building of the machine, in the case of an article or composition it includes the actual making of the article or composition, in the case of a process it includes the actual carrying out of the steps of the process. ”

“ It is advisable, however, to check on the reputation of invention promotion firms before making any commitments. It is suggested that you obtain this information by inquiring of the Better Business Bureau of the city in which the organization is located, or of the bureau of commerce and industry or bureau of consumer affairs of the state in which the organization has its place of business. You may also undertake to make sure that you are dealing with reliable people by asking your own patent attorney or agent or by inquiry of others who may know them. ”

“ The filing of a regular application for patent completely disclosing the invention is 64treated as equivalent to reduction to practice. The inventor who proves to be the first to conceive the invention and the first to reduce it to practice will be held to be the prior inventor, but more complicated situations cannot be stated this simply. ”

“ If the application contains multiple dependent claims, additional fees are required.
If the owner of the invention is a small entity, (an independent inventor, a small business concern or a non-profit organization) , the filing fees are reduced by half if the small entity files a verified statement claiming small entity status.
To avoid errors in the payment of fees it is suggested that the table in the enclosed patent application transmittal letter be utilized to calculate the fee payment. ”

“ The applicant’s action must appear throughout to be a bona fide attempt to advance the case to final action. The mere allegation that the examiner has erred will not be received as a proper reason for such reconsideration.
In amending an application in response to a rejection, the applicant must clearly point out why he/she thinks the amended claims are patentable in view of the state of the art disclosed by the prior references cited or the objections made. He/she must also show how the claims as amended avoid such references or objections. ”

“ A patentee may not violate the Federal antitrust laws, such as by resale price agreements or entering into combination in restraints of trade, or the pure food and drug laws, by virtue of having a patent. ”

“ The oath or declaration required of the applicant in addition to the statements required for other applications must include the statement that the applicant has asexually reproduced the new plant variety.
Plant patent drawings are not mechanical drawings and should be artistically and competently executed. The drawing must disclose all the distinctive characteristics of the plant capable of visual representation. When color is a distinguishing characteristic of the new variety, the drawing must be in color. ”

“ One view must not be placed upon another or within the outline of another. All views on the same sheet should stand in the same direction and, if possible, stand so that they can be read with the sheet held in an upright position. If views wider than the width of the sheet are necessary for the clearest illustration of the invention, the sheet may be turned on its side so that the top of the sheet, with the appropriate top margin to be used as the heading space, is on the right-hand side. ”

“ Some persons occasionally confuse patents, copyrights, and trademarks. Although there may be some resemblance in the rights of these three kinds of intellectual property, they are different and serve different purposes.
8 Copyrights A copyright protects the writings of an author against copying. Literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works are included within the protection of the copyright law, which in some instances also confers performing and recording rights. The copyright protects the form of expression rather than to the subject matter of the writing. ”

“ Trademarks/Servicemarks A trademark or servicemark relates to any word, name, symbol or device which is used in trade with goods or services to indicate the source or origin of the goods or services and to distinguish them from the goods or services of others. Trademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a confusingly similar mark but not to prevent others from making the same goods or from selling them under a non-confusing mark. ”

“ Applications for patents are not open to the public, and no information concerning them is released except on written authority of the applicant, his/her assignee, or his/her attorney, or when necessary to the conduct of the business of the PTO. Patents and related records, including records of any decisions, the records of assignments other 20than those relating to assignments of patent applications, books, and other records and papers in the Office are open to the public. ”

“ Inventors may prepare their own applications and file them in the Patent and Trademark Office and conduct the proceedings themselves, but unless they are familiar with these matters or study them in detail, they may get into considerable difficulty. ”