General Information about the USA Patent Documentation

The first patent law in the USA was adopted in 1790. Patent No 1 was granted to Samuel Hopkins for “The method of potash production” and the current numerationof patents was introduced in 1836.

Protected as inventions are new, useful and non-obvious means, machines, articles of manufacture or composition of matter, or their use for a new purpose. New sorts of plants can also be the subject of patenting.

One of the main features of inventions is their relative world novelty. The novelty of the invention in the USA is destroyedby the publications in the USA or abroad and also by the public use or published information about the invention in the USA.

Inventions in the USA are protected by patents. The date of granting a patent is the date of issue of the official patent bulletin, where the publication of the invention description is given.

After obtaining a patent a holder can correct the errors in the specification, drawings or claimsby obtaining a Reissue patent. Reissue patents have their own numeration. The term of a patent is 20 years since its issue.

A patent applicationis filed by the inventor or his assignee. It must relate to one invention. In the USA there is an examination system of the invention patenting process. After the expertscome to a positive decision about the application, the applicantfor a patent has to pay a final fee, only after that he is granted a patent and the data about his invention are published in the Official Gazette of the US Patent and Trademark Office.

According to the US legislation any interested person can apply for the reexamination of the granted patents.

The reexamination is limited by the investigation of new opposed patents and printed publications, which were not taken into account during the preliminary examination of the application by the Patent Office.

Following the reexamination a Reexamination Certificateis granted according to the reexamination result:

for the cancellationof any claim, if the subject matter of the invention is considered unpatentable;

for the corroboration of any patent claim; or

for the amendmentof patent claims.

Information on the results of the reexamination is published in the patent bulletin “Official Gazette”.

Maintenance fees are paid to keep a patent in force. If the maintenance fees are not paid, the patent becomes invalid. Information on such changes is also published in the Official Gazette.

Ex.14

1) utility model

UNIT TWO

Ex. 9

Text 2

1- B

2- F

3- E

4- A

5- I

6- D

7- H

8- G

9- C

Ex.11.

1 – manufactures articles

2 - composition of matter

3 - field of subject matter

4 - granting of patents

5 - Scientific and Technical Information Center of the USPTO

6 - U.S. Patent Classification System

7 - filing an application

8 - examination of an application

9 - patent examiner

10 - issued patents

11 – attorney

12 - related patent application

Ex.13

Text 3

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 841