Getting a patent is something that has been in place for a very long time, with patent law existing in various forms all throughout the world. In fact, patent law has existed in this country alone for as many as 228 years, dating back centuries. Of course, as any patent attorney will be quite well aware of, patent law has advanced and changed in the years that have followed – and is likely to continue growing in the years that are to come as well.
If you’re interested in getting a patent, it’s important that you go through the patent application process as by the book as is possible. If you’re new to applying for patents, working with a patent attorney from a reputable patent law firm can be hugely helpful. This patent attorney can work with you to explain the patent process and exactly what the benefits of potential patent protection will end up being. For many people, having a patent attorney to help guide them through this process will be critical, as having a proper patent application is certainly the first step to being granted a patent.
First of all, however, you’ll need to determine whether or not your invention is even eligible for any type of patent. While not all eligible patent applications will be granted, they will all at least be considered. Fortunately, the vast majority of all original invention will typically be considered eligible to receive some type of patent. If you have any questions about this, however, speaking to your trusted patent attorney will be quite critical indeed.
Understanding what patent protection means is also critical, and is something that most people do not understand fully. This is due to the patent pending status that you must first enter into before actually being granted a patent. As it can take up to a full year for your patent to be decided upon, a provisional layer of protection is granted during the period between submitting the patent application and getting the patent, should you end up being granted one. It’s important to note, however, that this provisional protection can only last for a year after which it becomes null and void. Fortunately, patents are usually granted or denied well within this time frame.
However, your provisional protection while your patent was considered to be pending actually counts towards the actual term of your patent. This means that, once you’ve been granted a patent, the time after submitting your application for it is still considered to be retroactively covered by that patent and is included into your patent’s overall term. Understanding this will certainly help to prevent anyone from thinking they still had more time on their patent and neglecting to apply for a new one in time, before their current patent is considered to be expired.
Understanding the term of your particular patent is particularly important also due to the fact that patents can vary from patent type to patent type. Currently, a typical patent term is likely to last for as many as 20 years, a full two decades. However, this will certainly not be the case for every single patent and type of patent that is granted. As a matter of fact, some patents can be much shorter in term while others can actually end up being much longer. No matter what the term of your patent actually ends up being, discussing patent terms with your patent attorney, who is likely to be much more knowledgeable on this subject, can be hugely helpful in your understanding of patent law on the whole.
At the end of the day, patent law can be seriously complicated. This is likely to be even more the case if you have never really had to deal with it before. Fortunately, contacting a patent attorney can make the process of applying for – and hopefully receiving, for that matter – a patent as easy as it can possibly be – and free from any and all unnecessary stress. For many people, working with a patent attorney is more than worth whatever cost the patent attorney in question might end up charging for the knowledge that this expert on patent law is able to impart.