How to apply for a patent Decide if you have a patent. Decide if a patent is the right type of IP to protect your idea. Search existing patents. Search existing patents to make sure your idea is new and not already registered. Understand costs and timings. File your application. See the outcome.
Format of a Patent Application The Specification. The Title. The Description. The Claims. The Drawings. The Abstract. Sample Specifications. Minimum Requirements for a Filing Date.
The five primary requirements for patentability are: (1) patentable subject matter; (2) utility; (3) novelty; (4) non-obviousness; and (5) enablement. Like trademarks, patents are territorial, meaning they are enforceable in a specific geographic area.
Although product shapes and containers are eligible for protection under trademark law, they may also be protected by a design patent as well.
Patent law defines the limits of what can be patented. For example, the laws of nature, physical phenomena, and abstract ideas cannot be patented, nor can only an idea or suggestion.
While ideas alone cannot be patented, you can obtain a patent on an invention that was developed from an idea. Note this: if you pursue a patent, an invention must be actually produced, or at minimum, a detailed description of the invention has to be included with the patent application.
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.
In general, patent law only allows for the protection of new, useful, and non-obvious inventions. Thus, if your new use for an existing product is not novel or obvious, it may not be eligible for patent protection.
New Uses for Existing Inventions For example, in 2000, the Federal Circuit allowed a patent for the idea of using Bag Balm -- an ointment normally used to soothe irritated cow udders -- to treat human baldness. The court found it patentable, because it's a new use of a known composition.
Yes, you can definitely use a patented product to get your idea patented, but along with getting a license from the patent owner, you might also have to credit them as an inventor for your patent. That's how Steve Jobs's name still appears in patents applied and published after 2011.