The Scope of Patent Protection The scope of protection of an issued United States patent is defined by claims. In other words, claims of an issued patent define the metes and bounds of protection sought, and must delineate subject matter that distinguishes over prior art to be valid. Claims of
A U.S. patent gives to a patent owner a right to exclude others from making, using, selling or importing an invention covered by the patent for a limited time defined by the “term” of the U.S. patent. The U.S. government grants this limited monopoly in a “bargain” for full disclosure
The US Patent and Trademark Office allows some patent applicants to file and prosecute patent applications with reduced government fees by declaring “Small Entity” status. Government fees may be further reduced for Small Entities further qualifying for “Micro Entity” status. While declaring Small Entity or Micro Entity status may reduce
Arguably the most important part of a patent or patent application is the “claims.” The claims define the metes and bounds of protection expressed in an issued patent or sought by a patent application. The scope and validity of claims are determined in large part by information defined as “prior
Multiple inventors typically contribute to the inventive subject matter of a patent or patent application. All individuals contributing to the conception of subject matter set forth in the claims of a U.S. patent application must be named as inventors. In the absence of an assignment of rights to a patent
A U.S. Patent may be enforced against parties that make, use, offer to sell, or sell a patented invention in the United States, or imports such a patented invention into the United States. Individuals seeking patent rights enforceable for actions outside of the United States may do so by obtaining
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