The Patent Process

Can I get a patent on my invention?

1. First,  you should consider the list below of the various types of things for which patent protection may be awarded.
2. Second, you should contact my office to set up an initial consultation so that we may discuss in more detail what it is that you wish to patent.
3. Third, conducting a patent search to see if patent protection is available, and if so, which type of patent.

What types of patents are there?

The U.S. Government awards three types of patents:

1. Utility patents – protects the “functionality” of an invention in terms of how it works or what task it performs;

2. Design patents – protects the outward ornamental appearance of an object; and

3. Plant patents – protects the species of a particular plant.

What is patentable?

A utility patent is available for a new, useful, and nonobvious:

• Process
• Machine
• Article of manufacture
• Composition of matter

Inventions cannot be patented where they attempt to claim:

• Laws of nature or physics (e.g., gravity)
• Abstract ideas (e.g., time machines or perpetual motion machines)
• Music, Literary, Art, or Dramatic works (these fall under another form of Intellectual Property protection known as Copyrights)