Patent Types

• The PTO issues three kind of patents: plant patents, design patents and utility patents, the most common application received and patent granted. When you file an application with the PTO, it makes sure that your invention meets one of these three subject matter criteria. According to the PTO, utility patents are granted to inventors of a new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, composition of matter or improvements to existing utility patents. Design patents are issued for inventors of a new, original and ornamental design that is used for an article of manufacture (such as the Coca-Cola bottle). The PTO gives plant patents to someone who invents or discovers an asexually reproduced variety of plant, as long as it is not a tuber or a plant that is uncultivated (discovered in the wild).
  
  

How Long Do Patents Last?

• Plant and utility patents last for 20 years, while design patents last for 14 years, after which the patent falls into public domain. As long as an inventor holds a patent, he has what is known as the "right of exclusion." This right prevents other inventors from attempting to patent or making and selling an invention just like that of the original patent holder. If the holder of a patent invents something that takes off with the consumer public, the right of exclusion gives him an advantage in the marketplace.
  
  

Filing with the PTO

• The PTO prescribes a legal format for a patent application, but it does not use a specified form, like that filled out and submitted for a trademark or copyright. Upon receipt of the application, the PTO requires new inventors to pay a filing fee, as well as a search and examination fee. These fees vary depending on the type of patent sought, but the filing fee for a utility patent alone is $330, which may be reduced by half if an independent inventor qualifies as a "small entity." The patenting process takes around three years and can cost between $5,000 and $10,000.
  
  

Before the PTO

• Because patenting can be an expensive business, new inventors are strongly encouraged to conduct an infringement search before submitting a patent with the PTO. It makes little sense for an inventor to pay filing, search and examination fees to the PTO---as well as the cost of a patent agent or attorney---only to find out that his invention cannot be patented after all. Additionally, an infringement search shows that the new inventor has performed the duty of care to his fellow inventors, which can help protect him should an infringement suit later be filed against him. A patent search conducted by a professional search firm can cost between $300 and $1,500.
  
  

The Patent Agent and Patent Attorney

• Most independent inventors opt to have a patent attorney or patent agent draft their initial application because of the specificity of the language required by the PTO. A patent application must describe how to make and use the patent in great detail. And even then, around 95 percent of initial patent applications are still rejected by the PTO because the claims they make are too similar to those used in prior art (other patented inventions). A skilled patent agent or patent attorney can "retool" the wording of the claims in a patent application so that it is ultimately approved. The PTO maintains a database of all agents and attorneys authorized to execute a patent application (see Resources).