Patent

Summary of Patent

A grant issued by a governmental authority to an inventor permitting, for a fixed number of years, an exclusive right to the invention. The grant includes the prerogative of preventing others from making, using, or selling the invention covered. Through various international arrangements, a patent granted in one country may protect the inventor’s rights in certain other countries as well.

(Main Author: William J. Miller)

Introduction to Patent

Patent, a legal document granted by the government giving an inventor the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing an invention for a specified number of years. In the United States, patents last for 20 years, starting from the date the application for the patent is first filed. The goal of the patent system is to encourage inventors to advance the state of technology by awarding them special rights to benefit from their inventions.

Patent law is one branch of the larger legal field known as intellectual property, which also includes trademark and copyright law. Patent protection has great economic importance to a number of industries that rely on technological innovation to remain competitive, such as the chemical, pharmaceutical, and computer industries.

The U.S. government grants patents for machines; compositions of matter, such as new chemical compounds to be used in industry; manufactured items; and industrial processes, provided they meet a number of strict legal tests. Patents are also available for significant improvements on previously invented items. Special patents can be obtained for the invention or discovery and asexual reproduction of certain distinct and new types of vegetation. Patents may also be granted for certain types of industrial designs, such as a distinct tread pattern on the soles of hiking boots or tennis shoes. Computer programs have been granted patent protection, as have various living organisms, such as specialized mice that were bred to help in cancer research. In recent years the government has also allowed inventors to obtain patents on new ways of doing business, such as the method for conducting an auction on the Internet. Books, movies, and works of art cannot be patented, but protection is available for such items under the law of copyright. ” (1)

Patent in International Trade

Meaning of Patent, according to the Dictionary of International Trade (Global Negotiator): A grant by law to an inventor of a device of the right to exclude other persons from making, using, or selling the device. The patent holder has the right to license to another person or company the right to make use, or sell the device. A patent is available only for devices that embody a new idea or principle and that involve a discovery. Patent protection varies from country to country, and may no be available in some jurisdictions. A country that is a member of the Paris Convention of Protection of Industrial Property may recognize patents held in other jurisdictions. Patents rights are transmitted and sold in international markets through an International Manufacturing License Agreement. See Paris Convention; WIPO.

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See Also

• Legal System
• Judiciary
• Justice

Resources

Notes and References

• Information about Patent in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Patent

Spanish Translation of patent

This is the legal translation of English to Spanish in relation to patent and / or a definition of this topic: Patente (in Spanish, without translation of the dictionary entry).

Patent in E.U. Patent System

A document defining the rights conferred by the grant, but often used generally to mean any published specification.

Patent and International Trade Economy

In relation to international trade economy, Christopher Mark (1993) provided the following definition of Patent: The grant of an exclusive right to manufacture and market an invention for a specified time, based on a novel idea that provides a solution to a specific technological problem. See intellectual property rights (Sec. I).

Hierarchical Display of Patent

Production, Technology And Research > Research and intellectual property > Intellectual property > Industrial property
Education And Communications > Documentation > Document
International Organisations > European organisations > European organisation > European Patent Office
Production, Technology And Research > Research and intellectual property > Research > Invention

Patent

Concept of Patent

See the dictionary definition of Patent.

Characteristics of Patent

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Translation of Patent

• Spanish: Patente
• French: Brevet
• German: Patent
• Italian: Brevetto
• Portuguese: Patente
• Polish: Patent

Thesaurus of Patent

Production, Technology And Research > Research and intellectual property > Intellectual property > Industrial property > Patent
Education And Communications > Documentation > Document > Patent
International Organisations > European organisations > European organisation > European Patent Office > Patent
Production, Technology And Research > Research and intellectual property > Research > Invention > Patent

See also

• Document
• Dictionary
• Report
• Thesis
• Publication
• Official document
• Yearbook
• Graphic illustration
• Electronic document
• Newspaper
• Microform
• Conference proceedings
• Correspondence
• Case study
• Historical account
• Quote
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• Guide
• Grey literature
• Monograph
• Documentary tool
• Comparative study
• Manuscript
• Papal act
• Biography
• Plan
• Audiovisual document
• Atlas
• Serial publication
• Manifesto
• Commentary on a law
• Incunabula
• Form
• Speech
• Encyclopaedia
• European Patent Office
• Invention

• Patent law
• Commercial law
• International economic law
• European patent
• Unified Patent Court

• Issue of a patent
• Patent for invention