Once any new idea or invention is conceptualized it becomes necessary to get a patent. Only a patent can certify that the invention is original. Patents encourage and become stimulus for other future innovations. By definition, a patent is a set of exclusive right that is granted to an inventor / assignee for a fixed period of time in exchange for a disclosure of an invention. Different countries have different procedures for granting patents. It is necessary that the patent application must include one or more claims giving details of the new invention that must be industrially feasible, useful, and inventive. Remember a patent is not a right to practice or use the invention but prevent others from from making, using, selling, or offering the invention for sale.

The authority for granting patents in the US is the USPTO (United States Patents and Trade Mark Office). Patents granted for inventions can be biological patents, software patents, business method patents or chemical patents. What6 are patent attorneys for? They just conduct a patent search to confirm that the specific concept has not been already patented by some one else.

The patent disclosure is the first step and has a standard form for it. It is necessary that a patent application be given to the USPTO within one year of a public disclosure or it would results in complete loss of patenting rights. The invention disclosure should have the following details.