Step One

Step one of our current patent project:

Step one:

1. What is a patent? What is the major benefit of holding a patent?

A patent (pronounced /ˈpætənt/ or /ˈpeɪtənt/) is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state (national government) to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for a public disclosure of an invention.

A patent provides the right to exclude others[10] from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the patented invention for the term of the patent, which is usually 20 years from the filing date

{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent}

A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the Patent and Trademark Office. The term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, in special cases, from the date an earlier related application was filed, subject to the payment of maintenance fees. US patent grants are effective only within the US, US territories, and US possessions.

The right conferred by the patent grant is, in the language of the statute and of the grant itself, “the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling” the invention in the United States or “importing” the invention into the United States. What is granted is not the right to make, use, offer for sale, sell or import, but the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention.

{http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/whatis.htm}

It is a property right for an invention granted by a government to the inventor. A United States patent gives inventors the right “to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling their invention throughout the United States or importing their invention into the United States” for a limited time. In exchange for public disclosure of the invention when the patent is granted and for fees paid to the United States.

{http://inventors.about.com/od/inventing101patents/f/What_patent.htm}

2. What is the intentional purpose of patents?

to promote the progress of science and useful arts," and to secure "for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right

{http://www.danablankenhorn.com/2006/07/the_purpose_of_.html}

According to the Constitution, the overriding purpose of patents is to promote or stimulate the progress of science and the useful arts.

{http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/cotton-gin-patent/about-patents.html}

3. How long does a patent last? Can a patent be renewed (extended)?

Most U.S. patents have a life span of twenty years, commencing with the date of application. Patents cannot be renewed. Design patents offer protection for fourteen years.

{http://www.businesstown.com/legal/patents.asp}

In most countries the life span of a patent is twenty years subject to the payment of annual renewal fees on or around the anniversary of the filing of the patent. The renewal fees are generally only payable after the grant of the patent but a notable exception to that rule is the European Patent governed by the European Patent Office where renewal fees are paid annually from filing.

Failure to pay the renewal fee will lead to the loss of the patent and so it is important to ensure that the fees are paid on time for all those patents that are vital to your continuing business.

{http://www.novagraaf.co.uk/en/patents-home/renewals}

4. Why do patents expire?

. History

. In 1994, the U.S. Patent Law was redefined, extending the inventors' rights' duration to 20 years after the first filing. This is, in fact, an overall increase from the original 1790 original law "An Act to promote the progress of Useful Arts," which gave the inventor 14 years of ownership.

. Pros: Longer Terms

. Proponents of longer terms argue that technology in the United States would benefit from longer patent terms. Inventors would feel more incentive to work hard, knowing they would continue to receive revenues from their product for a longer period of time.

. Cons: Longer Terms

. On the down side, longer patent terms place a greater restriction on competition. If patent terms are longer, patent owners could take advantage of the public by charging inordinately high prices for their product without fear of competition.

. Patent Limits and Business

. The 20-year limit promotes the free market by allowing other companies to manufacture a product. Without term limits, patents would fuel mega-companies that could wield their advantage over other, smaller companies.

. Patent Limits and Consumers

Often, after the 20-year term ends, the competition from other manufacturers drives down prices and increases quality, thus making the product more available to consumers.

{http://www.ehow.com/facts_5171651_do-patents-expire-years.html}

5. What are three or four controversies surrounding patents/ownership rights?

THE ENOLA BEAN PATENT CONTROVERSY: BIOPIRACY, NOVELTY AND FISH-AND-CHIPS

Particularly, the group is concerned with the situation that many poor farmers face today: having to pay licensing fees to grow crops native to their regions and grown for generations that have been patented by large biotechnology and seed companies ActionAid has filed an application to patent chips (as in "fish-and-chips." Basically, French fries). If granted, ActionAid's patent would cover a ready-salted chip, called the ActionAid Chip, with a scope broad enough to potentially cover any salted French-fried potato. Because their goal is solely to draw attention to these patenting injustices, the charity has no intention of collecting licensing fees from those who infringe the salted chip patent.

{http://www.law.duke.edu/journals/dltr/articles/2002dltr0008.html}

Apple is calling out it’s rivals and vowing to defend patents it holds on multiple finger touch screen technology. That kind of talk, with Palm, Microsoft, HTC and Garmin in the cross hairs will generate a lot of scrutiny of the patents in question. Some are claiming that the patent issued to Apple was granted in error. The application did not disclose prior art from Bell Labs and others.

{http://www.delawarebusinessblog.com/?p=810}

The recent issue of Dr. Seed's human cloning project has been a heated debate, but not the only one surrounding biotechnology and biotechnology patents. The following is a review of material that tackles the controversial issues surrounding biotechnology patents RAFI has several fascinating and serious patent controversies documented on their website, the most recent (as of this writing) of which is subtitled how to "invent" a chickpea without really trying, a controversy involving the Australian seed industry's attempt to gain a monopoly on Asian chickpeas. Another interesting story is Bolivian Quinoa Claimed in US Patent, a report of how agronomists Duane Johnson and Sarah Ward of Colorado State University received US patent# 5,304,718. The patent gives Johnson and Ward exclusive monopoly control of male sterile plants of the traditional Bolivian "Apelawa" Quinoa variety and its use in creating other hybrid Quinoa varieties. Quinoa if you do not already know is a hardy, nutrient rich and tasty (I've tried it) South American grain that has been grown and developed by indigenous peoples for centuries.

{http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa980114.htm}