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What is a patent?
A patent is an agreement between the government and an inventor whereby, in exchange for the inventor's complete disclosure of the invention, the government gives the inventor the right to exclude others from using the invention in certain ways. Note that the property right provided in a patent is quite different from what we typically think of when we own property. What is granted is not the right to make, use, offer for sale, sell or import, but the right to stop others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention.
Types of Patents
Three types of patents exist: utility, design and plant patents. Utility patents are granted to those who invent or discover new and useful machines or processes, while design patents are issued to inventors of new, original and ornamental design for an article of manufacture. Plant patents are given to those who invent or discover, then asexually reproduce a new plant type.
Patent Protection in the Constitution
A patent grants exclusive rights to inventors for limited periods. The first law providing exclusive rights to the makers of inventions for limited time periods seems to have been in Italy in the 15th century. Even before the signing of the Federal Constitution of the United States, most states had their own patent laws. The U.S. Constitution entrusted Congress to provide protection for inventions. The basis for the federal patent and copyright systems is found in the Constitution of the United States, Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8, which states:
Congress shall have power . . . to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.
Congress has enacted various laws relating to patents. The first U.S. patent law was enacted in 1790. Today, in the United States, patents are granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) and are effective only within the United States and its territories. The term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, in certain cases, from the date an earlier, related application was filed.
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