Patent Lawyer Bakersfield, CA

Examples of Different Patent Types

If you have created a new invention then you might need to protect your rights with the patents available in the United States today. However not all patents cover the same thing. Patents give inventors the right to create a user creation for a specific period of time, typically 20 years, and is granted by the United states patent and trademark office which is a federal agency that is charged with administering patent applications. A patent usually allows the inventor to maintain their monopoly on their invention and the development of their invention for about 20 years. This means that nobody else can invent this invention or add on to this invention.

There are three types of patents, at the most basic level however they do typically break out into more specific terms after you pick your basic patent. There are utility patents, design patents and plant patents. The most common patent seen in the United States is the utility patent which covers inventions that are functioning in a unique manner to produce a result that is useful to many people.

Utility patents are grouped into five categories, such as a process, a machine, a manufacturer, a composition of matter, or an improvement of an existing idea. And patents may fall into various groups within this grouping, but typically there are some primary groups that are going to be what they are patented under.

patents may fall into various groups within this grouping, but typically there are some primary groups that are going to be what they are patented under.

A design patent is if you have created a new and original design that changes to a manufactured device. These are much less common than utility patents, and they are typically granted for product designs. Some examples of design patented items are an IKEA chair, Keith Haring wallpaper, or even a Manolo Blahnik shoe. Under this patent you can course this design patent for about 14 years; after this the patent must be renewed. Furthermore, under a design patent law, the design has to be ornamental or aesthetic; it cannot function as a device of its own.

Plant patents are the least frequently issued, because they are issued for any novel and nonobvious asexually reproducible plan. Plant patents are mostly seen with research scientists or agriculture expert’s and not much else. This is a 20 year  patent from the date of application, which keeps people from trying to recreate the plant or seeds that were created under the patent. 

After a patent has been granted, the owner of the patent may enforce that by bringing a patent infringement action otherwise known as a lawsuit against anyone that makes, uses and sells the invention without the patent owner’s permission. Even though a patent typically offers the patent owner a monopoly on the device for 14 to 20 years depending upon the type of patent you’re dealing with, the patent owner can get permission from specific people to reproduce, re-create or better the item during the time that the patent is active. They would just need to be able to reinforce that they have permission from the patent owner.

When Should an Inventor Begin Working on a Patent Application?

Before committing to a patent strategy, it is important to speak with a patent lawyer Bakersfield, CA inventors and businesses trust about the timing of your patent process. Most of the time, the experienced legal team at Sierra IP Law, PC advises innovative creators to begin their patent protection process in the weeks or months before an invention is truly finalized and ready to be reproduced.

Why should inventors and innovative businesses be so proactive about submitting their patent applications? Every day that passes presents an opportunity for other inventors to advance their own ideas. When “prior art” enters the marketplace or is submitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, these inventions can nullify the novelty of your work. Essentially, the sooner that you can protect your intellectual property, the more likely it is that your application will be accepted—instead of rejected due to instances of prior art.

Provisional vs. Nonprovisional Patent Applications

One of the primary ways in which the reputable legal team at Sierra IP Law, PC helps our clients to proactively protect their inventions involves the submission of provisional patent applications. There are, essentially, two kinds of patent applications that inventors submit to the USPTO: provisional patent applications and nonprovisional patent applications. In order to receive formal patent protection, all inventors must submit a nonprovisional patent application. Submitting a provisional patent application for a utility or plant patent—these applications are not available for design patents—is an optional process. However, it is a uniquely valuable one.

When a nonprovisional patent application is submitted for consideration, the USPTO stamps the application with a date of receipt. This date is critical to the patent evaluation process, as it is the date against which the USPTO evaluates the novelty of the invention being assessed. Say that your nonprovisional patent application was received on January 1, 2022. Any claims of prior art would be assessed against that date. If another inventor claims that your work is actually THEIR work, they would have to prove that their work predated January 1, 2022. Therefore, it is advantageous to secure the earliest nonprovisional patent filing date that you can.

However, preparing nonprovisional patent applications takes a great deal of time and effort. Although our firm’s Bakersfield, CA patent lawyer team prides itself on our efficient, effective approach to intellectual property protection, it just isn’t possible to churn out a viable nonprovisional patent application in a matter of days. Therefore, the experienced California legal team at Sierra IP Law, PC often recommends submitting a provisional patent application up to 365 days before a nonprovisional patent application is submitted. A provisional patent application takes much less time to complete than a nonprovisional patent application does. When this application is submitted to the USPTO, its filing date becomes the effective filing date of the subsequent nonprovisional patent application (provided that each is filed within 365 days of the other).

The timing of patent applications is a complex subject. Know that our firm’s Bakersfield, CA patent lawyer team has extensive experience managing this subject effectively and to the greatest possible effect.