Patent Misconceptions

There are, unfortunately, many misconceptions about patents that sometimes cause problems.

One fundamental issue is the rights granted by the issuance of a patent. The owner of a patent is given "the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States. . ." The inventor is free to manufacture the invention, but must take action to keep others from also building that same invention.

Since a U.S. patent can be designated as an international patent, many people feel that this gives them full international protection. This is not the case. The inventor must designate the countries where they wish to have patent protection. Fees must then be paid to these countries; therefore, full international protection becomes expensive. A U.S. patent does give the inventor the right to exclude imports of their invention, which is often sufficient given the size of the U.S. market.

Most people are aware of the need to document their ideas so they can prove, if necessary, that they were first to invent. The flaw is that many think a good way to do this is to mail a copy of the invention description to themselves and use the postmark to establish the date. This is not a good idea, and is not acceptable to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Another interesting phenomenon occurs when individuals say that they can't describe a product because it is patented. The only time secrecy is required is when the patent application is filed. This secrecy lasts until the patent office has finished its evaluation and issued a patent. The patent becomes a public document and is available through the patent office.

Some people think that a working prototype of an invention is required before a patent application can be filed. This is no longer the case. A working model can certainly help in preparing the patent application, but it is not a part of that application. In fact, the patent office does not want models submitted as part of an application.

Finally, some people think that patents are limited to an actual physical product. This is not true. Patents are granted for software, various processes and for things like business methods. None of these items are physical products, although they may be used to produce physical products.