The Poor Man's Patent Is Obsolete Being the first to invent will no longer save you is someone else filed first. So even if you did write out the idea for your invention and mailed it to yourself, that date would not matter.
The United States Patent Act states that “whoever without authority makes, uses, offers to sell, or sells any patented invention, within the United States or imports into the United States any patented invention during the term of the patent therefor, infringes the patent.” Therefore, simply using a patented product ...
If someone uses your invention without your permission, you are entitled to stop their use of the invention by seeking a legal injunction in Federal court. In addition, you are entitled to collect damages for any unlicensed use of your invention.
Is a different use for an existing product patentable? Technically, it is possible to patent a new use of an existing product.
An ``idea'' cannot be patented. An ``invention'' can be patented. The concept behind the patent system is that for any given invention, the earliest patent wins. However, in terms of the question you are asking, the CLAIMS are the really important part of the patent.
A patent is an exclusive right that prevents anyone else from making, using, selling, distributing, importing, or selling your invention without permission for a set period of time. This timeline can extend up to 20 years, depending on the type of patent.
A patent owner has the right to decide who may – or may not – use the patented invention for the period in which the invention is protected. In other words, patent protection means that the invention cannot be commercially made, used, distributed, imported, or sold by others without the patent owner's consent.
While it is impossible to patent an existing product, it certainly is feasible to patent an improvement over an existing product. Below we discuss how non-obvious improvements to an existing product can be patented.