When deciding whether an invention is patentable or not, there are five requirements that must be satisfied. These requirements were laid down by Congress, so they can always change depending on the most recent Supreme Court ruling. The first four patentability requirements have to do with the invention itself, while the last requirement is based on how you write your patent submission. The fifth requirement is the reason why most people hire a patent attorney when submitting a patent.
Patentable subject matter is the first requirement that an invention must pass. The Supreme Court has stated that natural phenomena, laws of nature and abstract ideas are all off limits for patents. This is contrary to the original law in the constitution which stated that anything made by man could be patented. The USPTO has tried to push the Supreme Court by offering things such as business methods as being patentable, but so far the Supreme Court hasn't budged.
The second requirement requires that an invention is useful in some way. The invention only needs to be partially useful to pass this requirement; it will only fail if it is totally incapable of achieving a useful result. This is a very easy requirement to pass, but it can be failed if you aren't able to identify why your invention is useful or you don't include enough information to show why your invention is useful. Also, your claim for why your invention is useful won't be credible if the logic is flawed or the facts are inconsistent with the logic.
The third requirement, the novelty requirement, prompts the inventor to show that their invention is new in some way. An invention will fail this requirement if it is identical to a reference that has been previously made to your invention. In other words, if your patent would infringe on an existing patent, then it doesn't pass this requirement. If the reference is a newspaper or some other form you have to ask: if the newspaper was issued a patent, would your new patent infringe?
If someone knowledgeable about the field of your invention was able to combine a few past references and come to your invention, then it may not pass the fourth requirement. In order to pass the fourth requirement, your invention must be not obvious. This is a tricky requirement because it is an opinion on some level. You are allowed to add past inventions together; however, if such addition would be obvious to anyone in that field, then you can't receieve a patent. basically, if an invention only contains obvious differences from the prior art, then it will fail this requirement.
The last test is different because it has to do with how you write the patent instead of the invention itself. In order to pass this requirement, the invention must be explained so someone could understand, make and use the invention. There are three parts to the explanation. The enablement requirement requires that the invention is described so others can use and make it. Second, the best mode requirement says there must be a preferred way to carry out the invention described in the patent. The third requirement - the written description requirement - has shady guidelines, so describing your invention in great detail is the best to fulfill this requirement. - 30204
Patentable subject matter is the first requirement that an invention must pass. The Supreme Court has stated that natural phenomena, laws of nature and abstract ideas are all off limits for patents. This is contrary to the original law in the constitution which stated that anything made by man could be patented. The USPTO has tried to push the Supreme Court by offering things such as business methods as being patentable, but so far the Supreme Court hasn't budged.
The second requirement requires that an invention is useful in some way. The invention only needs to be partially useful to pass this requirement; it will only fail if it is totally incapable of achieving a useful result. This is a very easy requirement to pass, but it can be failed if you aren't able to identify why your invention is useful or you don't include enough information to show why your invention is useful. Also, your claim for why your invention is useful won't be credible if the logic is flawed or the facts are inconsistent with the logic.
The third requirement, the novelty requirement, prompts the inventor to show that their invention is new in some way. An invention will fail this requirement if it is identical to a reference that has been previously made to your invention. In other words, if your patent would infringe on an existing patent, then it doesn't pass this requirement. If the reference is a newspaper or some other form you have to ask: if the newspaper was issued a patent, would your new patent infringe?
If someone knowledgeable about the field of your invention was able to combine a few past references and come to your invention, then it may not pass the fourth requirement. In order to pass the fourth requirement, your invention must be not obvious. This is a tricky requirement because it is an opinion on some level. You are allowed to add past inventions together; however, if such addition would be obvious to anyone in that field, then you can't receieve a patent. basically, if an invention only contains obvious differences from the prior art, then it will fail this requirement.
The last test is different because it has to do with how you write the patent instead of the invention itself. In order to pass this requirement, the invention must be explained so someone could understand, make and use the invention. There are three parts to the explanation. The enablement requirement requires that the invention is described so others can use and make it. Second, the best mode requirement says there must be a preferred way to carry out the invention described in the patent. The third requirement - the written description requirement - has shady guidelines, so describing your invention in great detail is the best to fulfill this requirement. - 30204
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