Utility Patents
Utility patents are issued for inventions and discoveries.
- most common patent
- Improvements on items can also be patented
- Utility patents are granted for a 20-year term
- begins running on the date that the patent is granted
4 Main Categories
- Machines
- machine is an instrument or tool that completes a task by using moving parts
- parts interact with each other to accomplish a function
- includes devices that work from electrical processes
- E.g., lawnmowers, elevators, and automatic can openers, computers
- Manufactured products
- are products without moving parts
- E.g. milk carton
- may have moving parts, the moving parts do not act together to accomplish a task
- E.g., folding table
- are products without moving parts
- Processes
- called a method
- is a way of completing a task through a series of steps or actions
- E.g.,
- recipe might be patentable as a process
- some types of computer software
- Compositions of matter
- is a chemical compound consisting of two or more substances combined to make something new
- E.g., new drugs,
- Naturally occurring chemical compounds are not patentable