我过去的半年中在申请专利, 对专利做了一些小小的研究, 详细内容参见"Patent It Yourself"一书,

多次回国和国内的企业家, VC交流, 现在的中国其实什么都有: 人才, 资金, 和工厂.缺的是创新的理念和产品,所以很想做一些新的东西, 如有朋友对Innovation, Patent感兴趣, 大家可以互相交流学习. 篇幅有限, 下面是专利和其他知识产权简介.

The Three Types of Patents

• Utility Patents: are awarded for new processes, machines, manufactures, or compositions of matter, or new uses of any of the above.

• Design Patents: are awarded to nonfunctional, ornamental, or aesthetic design elements of an invention or product.

• Plant Patents: a granted for asexually or sexually reproducible plants (such as flowers).

The Patent Requirements:

• Novelty

• Unobviousness

• In a statutory class

• Useful

 

The Time Patent Rights Last

• Utility and plant patents: 20 years

• Design patents: 14 years

 

The Life of an Invention

• Invention Conceived but Not Yet Documented

• Invention Documented but Patent Application Not Yet Filed

• Patent Pending - Patent Application Filed but Not Yet Issued

• In-Force Patent - Patent Issued but Hasn't Yet Expired

• Patent Expired

 

Patent Filing Deadlines

You must file your patent application within one year after your first commercialize, publish, or reveal without restriction details of the invention.

You are permitted to file a "provisional patent application" (PPA), then file a regular patent application within one year after the PPA's filing date.

 

Patent Fees

• Utility Patents:

- Application Filing Fee:

PPA filing fee: $210/105

Filing Fee includes filing fee, search fee, examination fee. $1030/515

- Application Issues and Post-Issue Fees:

Utility Patent Application Issue Fee: $1440/720

Utility Patent Publication Fee: $300

- Utility Patent Maintenance Fees:

Maintenance Fee I - 3.0 ~ 3.5 years after issuance $930/465

Maintenance Fee II - 7.0 ~ 7.5 years after issuance $2360/1180

Maintenance Fee III - 11.0 ~ 11.5 years after issuance $3910/1955

• Design Patents:

- Application Filing Fee:

$440/220

- Application Issue and Post-Issue Fee:

$820/410

 

The Scope of the Patent

Throughout the entire U.S., its territories, and possessions.

 

Intellectual Property - The Big Picture

Patent Law: deals with the protection of the mental concepts or creations known as inventions.

Trademark Law: deals with the degree to which the owner of a symbol used in marketing goods or services will be afforded a monopoly over the use of the symbol.

Copyright Law: grants authors, composers, programmers, artists, and the like the right to prevent others from copying or using their original expression without permission and to recover damages from those who do so.

Trade Secret Law: deals with the acquisition of offensive rights on private knowledge that gives the owner a competitive business advantage.

Unfair Competition Law

 

Invention Exploitation Flowchart

RESAM:

- Record Conception and Building + Testing and File Provisional Patent Application (Optional)

- Evaluate Commercial Potential

- Search Patentability

- Apply for Utility and /or Design Patent Application

- Market Invention