By Delaney IP : Attorneys, Patents & Intellectual Property Lawyers

10/18/2010 Delaney IP handles all types of patents issued under United States law: utility patents, design patents and plant patents. Utility patents are granted for new and useful processes, devices, machines, formulas, chemical compounds, or improvements thereon. Design patents are granted for new, original, and ornamental designs or articles. Plant patents are granted for the invention or discovery and asexual reproduction of a distinct and new variety of plant.
For each type, an issued patent is a business asset that provides its owner with the right to exclude others from making, using, or selling the claimed invention. The business asset may eliminate or provide for protection from competition; allow for an income stream from licensing fees; or simply insulate the patent owner from infringement claims by others.
In order to obtain patent rights, the inventor must file a patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) which fully discloses the invention in the specification of the patent application. In other words, the patent application must enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to reproduce the invention. Non-extendible deadlines exist for filing patent applications, so a patent attorney should be contacted as soon as possible, preferably prior to disclosing the invention to any third party.
Along with enabling reproduction by others, the filed patent application should broadly, yet concisely, define what the claimed invention is. By properly defining the claimed invention, maximum value can be derived from a resulting patent. After the patent application is filed, a patent examiner will examine it and issue an Office Action. In the initial Office Action from the USPTO, it is not unusual for the patent examiner to reject one or all claims in a patent application. Claims may be objected to or rejected under Section 112 of the Patent Laws (35 USC 112) based on informalities. Further, claims may be rejected substantively under Sections 102 or 103 of the Patent Laws (35 USC 102-103) . In any event, the patent attorney has a golden opportunity to recraft the definition of the claimed invention during preparation of a response to the Office Action. Again, the goal is to broadly, yet concisely, define what the claimed invention is, and to distinguish the claimed invention from any prior art references.
When prosecution of the patent application ends in patent issuance, the patent owner has the right of enforcement. Generally, a patent is infringed by the unauthorized making, using, importing, offering for sale, or selling of a product or method that is covered by the patent. For patent infringement, the patent owner may sue for relief in the appropriate federal court. Further, the patent owner may request an injunction to prevent the continuation of the infringement and an award of damages. If you are involved in a patent infringement matter, you should immediately seek the advice of an attorney.