Learn
Everything we know about patents, in plain English.
The complete map of PatentBrief's patent education — from your first question to advanced strategy. Every guide is written to be the clearest answer on the internet.
Start here
New to patents? Begin with these.
What Is a Patent?
The one-sentence version, expanded.
Patent Basics
The whole path, in plain English.
How to File a Patent
Every step from idea to filing.
The Patent Process
The full lifecycle, stage by stage.
The Patent Checklist
Interactive: work through the whole journey, step by step.
The Patent Cheat Sheet
The whole system on one scannable page.
What a Patent Costs
Fees, attorney rates, the real total.
How to Research a Patent
Which tool for which job — USPTO, Google Patents, AI, and more.
Understand the language
Patents are written in a precise dialect. These decode it.
The four requirements
What it takes for an invention to be patentable.
Eligibility (Section 101)
The two-step Alice/Mayo test.
Novelty (Section 102)
Prior art and the grace period.
The America Invents Act
First-to-file, the PTAB, and what the AIA changed.
Non-Obviousness (Section 103)
Graham factors and the KSR test.
Specification (Section 112)
Written description, enablement, definiteness.
What Can Be Patented?
Software, genes, algorithms — can you?
Filing & prosecution
From provisional to grant.
Provisional vs Non-Provisional
Which application to file first.
Anatomy of a Provisional
What a provisional actually contains.
How Long Does a Patent Take?
Timelines, publication, fast-track options.
Office Actions Explained
What to do when the USPTO rejects you.
How Examination Works
The examiner's-eye view of the USPTO.
Continuation Patents
How patent families are built.
International Patents
The PCT and filing abroad.
The PCT Timeline
International filing, stage by stage.
After the grant
Keeping a patent alive — and what happens when it ends.
Strategy & analysis
Reading, valuing, and navigating patents.
Patent Strategy for Startups
The founder's playbook: when to file, what to protect, what investors want.
How to Patent Software
What survives Alice, and how to draft for it.
How Strong Is a Patent?
The 10 signals of patent quality.
Patent Citations Explained
What 'cited by 500 patents' really means.
How to Design Around a Patent
Legally avoiding infringement.
Can You Patent an AI Invention?
The 2024 rules, plainly.
Design Patents
Protecting how something looks.
Plant Patents
Patenting a new variety of plant.
Patent vs Trademark
What you invented vs what you call it.
Who Owns What You Invent at Work?
Employee invention rights.
Patent vs Trade Secret
Disclose, or keep it secret?
Trade Secrets
How to protect one — and when to choose it over a patent.
Patent vs Trademark vs Copyright vs Trade Secret
All four IP types, compared.
Enforcement & disputes
What happens when patents collide.
Patent Infringement
What counts, and what to do.
Received a Patent Threat?
Emergency step-by-step guide.
Patent Litigation
How a patent lawsuit works.
The Doctrine of Equivalents
Infringement beyond the literal words.
Inter Partes Review
Challenging a patent at the PTAB.
Reissue & Reexamination
Fixing or challenging a granted patent.
Landmark Patent Cases
KSR, Markman, eBay, Alice, and more.
History & invention
The stories behind the patents.
Avoid the pitfalls
The mistakes and misconceptions that cost inventors.