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About Patent Rights
by Roman Tsivkin
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Overview
In many cases, it is difficult for an inventor to market his invention on a broader scale due to lack of resources. Patents, or intellectual property rights, make it possible for the owner of the invention to negotiate with potential investors. This helps the inventor to market the invention as well as protect it from being exploited and copied. The letter of patent grants rights to the patentee so that he can make exclusive use of the invention for a specified period of time. However, the invention is open for usage by other people after the specified period expires.
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Rights
It is at the discretion of the patent owner to grant the rights to a particular individual or an organization to make use of the invention for the duration for which the invention has been protected. The right to use the invention can be granted on mutually agreed upon terms between the owner and the third party. Patent rights of an invention can also be sold by the owner to another individual, who then becomes the new owner of the granted patent.
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Types
There are three general kinds of patents that are used for protecting various inventions. The first category is the utility patent, given for the invention of a new machine or process. Design patents are granted for the discovery or invention of a design of an item. Plant patents are given to geneticists responsible for inventing new plants, such as certain genetically engineered disease-resistant crops.
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Obtaining Patents
In order to obtain a patent, the inventor is required to file a patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The application usually consists of the title, or name, of the invention and the field that it belongs to. The application should also have a description and background of the invention stated in simple and comprehensible language. Most of the time, such descriptions are backed by drawings and diagrams for providing better description of the invention. Also, there are certain claims mentioned in the application that help define the time period for which the patent is requested (see Resources below).
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Patent Expiration
After a patent expires, it enters public domain, and any individual is free to use, sell or import the invention, and there is no need to get permission from the patent holder before using the invention. If permitted by law, the terms and conditions for certain specific inventions in some industries can be extended.
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Maintenance Fees
In order to continue the protection of an invention granted through a patent, nominal charges need to be paid as maintenance fees, also called renewal fees. Different countries have various laws regarding the payment of these fees. In countries where maintenance fees are required to be paid on an annual basis, they are sometimes referred to as "patent annuities."
