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Utility patent

Definition

The most common type of US patent, covering inventions that have a useful function — how something works, how it is made, or how it is used. Utility patents account for roughly 90% of all US patents issued. They last 20 years from the filing datefiling dateThe day the patent application was submitted to the USPTO. Sets the priority date for prior-art comparisons.Read more → of the non-provisional applicationprovisional applicationA simplified, lower-cost patent application that establishes a filing date. Must be converted within 12 months.Read more →, subject to payment of maintenance feesmaintenance feesPeriodic fees the USPTO charges to keep a granted utility patent in force (3.5, 7.5, 11.5 years post-grant). Miss one and the patent expires early.Read more →. Software, medical devices, chemical processes, and mechanical inventions are all protectable as utility patents.

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Maintenance fees

Periodic fees that must be paid to the USPTO to keep a granted utility patent in force. For US utility patents, fees are due at 3.5 years, 7.5 years, and 11.5 years after grant. If a fee is missed, the patent expires. Many patents go abandoned not because the invention was worthless, but because the owner decided the cost of maintenance wasn't justified by the remaining commercial value.

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Non-obviousness

One of the three core requirements for a utility patent. An invention is non-obvious if someone with ordinary skill in the relevant field could not have easily combined existing knowledge to arrive at the invention. Non-obviousness (35 USC § 103) is the most frequently litigated and most difficult requirement to satisfy — the line between "obvious" and "not obvious" is contested in almost every patent case.

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Non-provisional application

The "full" patent application examined by the USPTO — as opposed to a provisional application, which is a placeholder. A non-provisional application must include a complete specification, drawings (if necessary), at least one claim, and payment of the filing fee. The non-provisional is what gets examined and, if allowed, issues as a patent.

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Patent

A government-granted right that gives an inventor the exclusive right to prevent others from making, using, selling, or importing a patented invention within the country that granted the patent, for a limited time. A patent does not give the owner the right to practice the invention — only the right to exclude others. The US issues three types: utility, design, and plant patents.

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Patent term

The length of time a patent stays in force. A U.S. utility patent's term runs 20 years from its earliest non-provisional filing date, provided maintenance fees are paid; a design patent lasts 15 years from grant. Patent Term Adjustment can add back days lost to USPTO delays, and a terminal disclaimer can shorten the term. When the term ends, the invention enters the public domain.

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Provisional application

A simplified, lower-cost patent application that establishes a priority date and allows an inventor to claim "patent pending" status for 12 months. A provisional is never examined and never becomes a patent on its own. The inventor must file a non-provisional application within 12 months or lose the priority date entirely. Provisionals are commonly used to lock in a date while refining the invention or seeking funding.

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