Entrepreneurship: Intellectual Property

A patent is protection granted by a national government for an invention. This protection excludes others from making, using or selling an invention for a period of up to 20 years. Many drug companies and university researchers seek patent protection to recover research and development costs for patents related to specific genes and proteins, laboratory techniques and drugs. In order for patents to be issued by a granting agency such as a Patent Office they need to be new, useful and not obvious to others working in the same field.

There are three types of patents:

1. Utlity patents - issued for any process, machine, article of manufacture, or compositions of matters, or any new useful improvement. In general, this type of patent protects the way an item is used or works. For example, Heated Eyeware.
2. Design patents - issued for a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture. In general, this type of patent protects the appearance of an item. For example, Eyeglasses.
3. Plant patents - issued for asexually reproduced, distinct, and new variety of plants. For example, Lavender plant named ‘Belpur’.

Trademark is a word, phrase, or symbol used to identify the products and services of a particular company and differentiate them from the products and services of other companies.  

U.S. Patent Resources

• US Patent & Trademark Office Fulltext Patents Database - The Full-Text Database now offers all US patents issued since 1790, in the form of searchable patent numbers and current US classifications hyperlinked to full-page images of each page of each patent. Searchable in five-year blocks back to 1976, and in one additional block covering the years1790-1975.
• TESS Trademark Electronic Search System - Lists over 3 million pending, registered and dead federal trademarks from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
• DNA patent database - The DNA Patent Database (DPD) contains a collection of DNA-based patents and patent applications issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). It contains patents from 1971 to the present and patent applications from 2001 to the present.
• Google Patents - U.S. patents in pdf format from 1790 to the present. EPO patents from 1978 to the present. Text only with link out to EPO and PDF download.

International Patent Resources

• European Paten Office - Search over 50 million patents from 71 countries, dating back as far as the 1800s. Includes the European Patent Office, the World Intellectual Property Organization as well as individual countries.
• WIPO World Intelllectual Property Organization PCT Patents Database - Part of the WIPO Intellectual Property Digital Library. Search and retrieve fulltext for WIPO PCT patent applications published as PCT pamphlets since January 1997, and where applicable, republished since April 1998. Bibliographic data, abstracts, drawings and images of PCT pamphlets are provided for all published and republished international applications in the collection. To search the entire collection rather than only the current week, be sure and select ALL weeks To retrieve a patent by number, search the PUBLICATION NUMBER (e.g. WO 2004/019554). search only the number with punctuation and spaces removed (e.g.2004019954).
• The Lens - Australia, European, United States, and WIPO patent documents from 1970 to the present.

To be most effective in your search for patents you must determine how your invention works, NOT how you will use your invention.

• Start by making a list of words that describe your idea (including synonyms)
• Record class/subclass of any related terms
• Ask yourself:
  • What does the invention do?
  • What is the end result/anything unique/special/ unexpected? 
  • What is it made of/method or material of fabrication? 
  • What is it used for? (think verbs, as well as nouns)
• Keep track of useful and non-useful patents (by patent number) to avoid duplication of efforts

Copyright is a form of protection by U.S. Law to authors of intellectual and creative works. It protects "original works of authorship" as soon as it created in fixed form and broadly includes original works such as music, literary works, sound recording, graphic design and more.

• Applying for Copyright:  
• U.S. Copyright Office 
• Copyright Public Catalog
• The Copyright Public Records System