The History of Patent Law

 

When an individual makes an invention of something, there is an innate danger or risk that his or her invention will be mimicked or imitated by others, claiming it as their own. If it is reproduced or copied, the provisions and financial rewards for inventing the said piece of innovation may be spoiled and enjoyed by those people who succeeded in replicating the invention. Before the popularization and worldwide standardization of patents, the danger was severely high and brilliant designers and inventors are most of the time demoralized to pursue their purpose. To give a reassurance to the designers and the inventors that their intellectual properties, ideas and most especially their inventions are secured from the people who will try to steal them, the government constituted patent laws that gives protection to the rights of the inventors. This article will explain to you the full definition of a patent, what the process is and how it is working, and the description of the rights of an inventor and what he could gain in case these rights are unlawfully violated.

 

Definition of Patent.

 

A patent is a legal paper or form that gives protection to an invention from being manufactured, reproduced or be utilized by anyone other than the inventor himself or herself or being allowed by the inventor. This protection is limited in the aspect of timespan. At the moment the patent will expire, the invention or the idea will lose its protection under the patent law. If you happen to visit this site in hopes of searching for details on how to become a patent lawyer, the site at http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-become-a-patent-lawyer can help you with that.

 

There are three types of patents defined. They are utility patents, design patents, and plant patents. Utility patents provides protection to inventions and its inventors that pertains to machineries, scientific processes, and chemical, biological or biochemical compositions and aspects of matter and materials. Design patents gives protection to inventions that cover the aspect of ornamental and artistic design of a certain product that is manufactured. Plant patents gives rights and provisions to any individual who has both bred or discovered a new type of plant by means of asexual or man made reproduction.

 

The commonest kind of patent that is applied and provided compared to the others is the utility patent. If it is granted to an individual's invention, it will be offered a protection that will last for about twenty years from the start of the date of application. Plant patents and design patents are less popular. Design patents provides protection under the law for fourteen years. Plant patents are covered for the time span of 20 years. If ever you want to know more about patent applications, you can visit the link for details about it.