💡 What is a patent?

Let's get down to brass tacks

A patent is like a special promise from a government to an inventor. It says, "Hey, you came up with a cool new thing, so we'll give you the exclusive rights to make, use, and sell it for a while." In exchange, the inventor shares all the details about their invention with the public. It's like getting a temporary monopoly on a clever idea, in return for telling everyone how it works.

Patents have been around for centuries. The idea started in Italy in the 1400s, but the first real patent law was in England in 1624. The U.S. jumped on board with its own patent law in 1790, and now, patents are a big deal worldwide.

🤔 How does a patent work?

Well, an inventor writes up a patent application describing their invention in detail and how it's different from anything else out there. This application is reviewed by a patent office. If they agree it's unique and useful, they grant the patent. This process can take a few years, and it's not always easy. Here are the general steps you’ll go through:

1. Idea Stage: You come up with a unique and useful invention.

2. Provisional Patent Application: Think of this like calling dibs. You file a simple document that describes your invention. It's not for getting a patent yet, but it saves your spot in line with a date stamp. You have one year to move to the next step.

3. Non-Provisional Patent Application: This is the big one. Within a year of your provisional application, you file a detailed application. This includes all the nitty-gritty about your invention and official requests (called claims) for what you want to patent. This application is what gets reviewed in detail.

4. Examination Process: The patent office checks your application to make sure your invention is new, not obvious, and fully explained. There might be some back-and-forth here, where they ask questions or you make changes.

5. Patent Granted: If all goes well and your invention checks all the boxes, congrats! You get a patent. This gives you the right to stop others from making or selling your invention without your permission for a limited time.

This process isn’t cheap, there are a number of fees involved:

1. Provisional Patent Application:

   1. Filing Fee: Few hundred dollars

   2. Attorney Fees: $1-5K

2. Non Provisional Patent Application:

   1. Filing Fees: Few hundred dollars

   2. Attorney Fees: Varies widely but $10-50K is generally where you’ll end up

   3. Additional Costs: There are extra fees for patent searches as well, kinda like buying a house

   4. Maintenance Fees: You gotta pay to maintain the patent over time as well, it’s a relatively small fee that you’ll need to pay every few years

🔑 Key terms to remember

1. Inventor: I’m not explaining this one.

2. Utility Patent: The most common type of patent, granted for new and useful processes, machines, manufactures, or compositions of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof.

3. Design Patent: A patent granted for a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture. There are other types of patents/trademarks as well but these are the two main ones.

4. Patent Claims: The part of the patent application which defines the scope of protection granted by the patent. It's essentially a detailed description of what the inventor considers their invention.

5. Patent Office (or Patent and Trademark Office, PTO): The government agency responsible for reviewing patent applications and granting patents.

6. Intellectual Property (IP): Legal rights that result from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary, and artistic fields. Patents are a form of IP.

7. Prior Art: All information that has been made public in any form before a given date that might be relevant to a patent's claims of originality.

8. Patentability: The criteria that an invention must meet to be eligible for a patent, typically including novelty, non-obviousness, and utility.

9. Disclosure: The act of making an invention known to the public, often via the patent application process.

10. Office Action: A document written by a patent examiner during the examination process of a patent application, detailing any reasons why the application may not meet the requirements for a patent.

11. Patent Prosecution: Not a legal prosecution, but the process of arguing for the grant of a patent in the patent office.

12. Patent Infringement: The act of using, making, selling, or offering to sell a patented invention without permission from the patent holder.

13. Licensing: Granting permission to someone else to use your patented invention, often in exchange for a fee or royalty.

14. Patent Term: The period during which the patent rights are enforceable, usually 20 years from the filing date of the non-provisional application for utility patents.

About the artist

Chesley Bonestell, An American painter, designer, and illustrator, known as the "father of modern space art."