"What is a patent" is actually a difficult question to answer.

The United States Patent & Trademark Office has published a (long) summary that you may find useful, as well as additional resources about the process and general background information. If you are really looking for punishment, you can read about international patent applications through the patent cooperation treaty at the World Intellectual Property Organization's website.

If you don't have that kind of time, don't want that much information, or you find governmental literature leaves you feeling empty inside . . .

Here goes:

A patent doesn't let you make something, it just gives you the right to stop others.

A patent grants "the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling" or "importing" an invention in the United States.

The U.S. offers three basic types of patents for new inventions and discoveries:

  1. Utility Patent – protects functional widgets and materials and/or ways of using them. You can start with one of two types of applications for these.

    • Utility App Type 1 – Provisional Patent Application

      An informal patent application that saves your place in line at the U.S. Patent office for 1 year, not extendable and not considered by the patent office. If you start with a provisional patent application, you will need to move on to a non-provisional application before the provisional expires to continue the patent application process.
    • Utility App Type 2 – Non-provisional Patent Application

      A formal patent application with claims and drawings. Reviewed by an examiner at the patent office to see if it has been done before. If it has not been done before, the patent office will allow it to issue as a patent.
  2. Design Patent – protects non-functional designs for widgets. The number for these patents starts with a "D."
  3. Plant Patent – Think living organisms, not manufacturing facilities. You guessed it.

The patent office doesn't care if it is a particularly good idea, just whether it is new!

Originally published September 9, 2014

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.