US Patent Application

US Patent application simply means a request filed before a patent office in which an applicant applies for a patent for an invention. The policy in US Patent application requires that an inventor should sufficiently reveal how an invention works to justify the grant of the patent. A US Patent application is examined in most jurisdictions.
In most countries, the first to file a patent application for the invention is presumed to be the owner of the rights to the invention. The date of filing and the content of the first application for an invention largely determine forever the potential validity and value of that patent, and the ability to file for similar patents in other countries.
An application must be filed in any country in which patent protection is desired. An international application can reserve the right to file national applications later in designated or elected countries. As a practical matter, it is important to file an initial application before anyone else invents, describes, uses, applies for a patent, or patents the invention anywhere.
There are statutory limitations on the latest date by which an initial US patent application must be filed. Among these is the requirement of strict novelty, which requires filing of a US patent application prior to any public use or disclosure of the invention. In the United States, an inventor has a grace period of one year from the date of public use, disclosure, or sale of the invention to file the first US patent application, although the unprotected use or disclosure may have already destroyed the opportunity for obtaining a patent elsewhere. Some Asian countries have adopted a similar 6-month grace period.
The major types of US Patent application in U.S. practice are the provisional, design, plant and utility applications. After the initial application is filed, there may be additional applications made for various procedural reasons, including the continuation, continuation-in-part and divisional. Here are the basic differences between the major types:
* Provisional: an inexpensive US patent application requiring full disclosure, but does not require claims to an invention. Expires in 12 months if not supplemented with other filings.
* Design: cover new ornamental designs for an "article of manufacture."
* Plant: protects discoveries of distinct asexually produced plants or newly discovered seedlings;
* Utility Application: This type of US patent application is the most common and is used for claiming subject matter in the categories of machines, processes and articles of manufacture. Also known as “national” application or “non-provisional” application.
It is quite common for a company to file multiple US patent applications (including different types) for the same product, intending to cover various inventive aspects, such as the appearance, operation, production, and use of a product.