Glossary of Patent Terms
- anticipation: with regard to the "novelty" of an invention, anticipation refers to the complete disclosure of an invention in a prior art reference.
- claims: the numbered paragraphs appearing in a patent application or patent, usually at the end, which recite the specific inventions protected by the application or patent. Claims are compared to the prior art by a patent examiner to determine patentability; claims are compared by a court to a potential infringing apparatus or method to determine infringement.
- design patent: in contrast to a "utility patent," a design patent protects the ornamental appearance of an invention, for example, of furniture, light fixtures, sporting goods, and jewelry, among many others.
- The European Patent Office (EPO): The EPO is an office of the European Patent Organization that offers inventors a procedure to pursue patent protection in up to 40 European countries through the filing of a single patent application.
- inventor: Under U.S. law, an inventor is limited to someone who has conceived subject matter, as recited in the claims, of a patent. Inventorship may not be based upon whim or position.
- obviousness: Under U.S. Law, in addition to being novel, an invention must not be "obvious" in view of what is known in the prior art to be patentable. The arcane subject of obviousness is beyond the scope of this brief glossary.
- patent: is a right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing an invention, for a limited time (typically 20 years from filing), which is granted by a specific country.
- Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT): The PCT is an international treaty administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) which provides procedures for inventors to pursue and postpone patent protection in effectively every commercially significant country (except Taiwan) through the filing of a single patent application.
- prior art: what was known to a person of skill in the art before the effective date of the invention.
- a person of ordinary skill the art: a fictitious person familiar with the technology of an invention and having access to the prior art references.
- utility patent: in contrast to a "design patent," a utility patent protects what an invention is, how an invention operates, or how an invention is used. Typically, a reference to a "patent" is a reference to a "utility patent."
- U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO): The USPTO is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce which is responsible for reviewing patent applications and granting patents and in reviewing and registering trademarks.
