Patent terms starting with I

34 terms

  1. Improvement Patent A patent claiming an invention that is an improvement or modification of an invention claimed in a prior patent.
  2. Incorporation by Reference To supplement the the disclosure of a patent application by making a specific statement in the application that other material is to be considered to be…
  3. Indefinite Claim A claim that fails to particulary point out the claimed invention. MPEP 706.03(d), MPEP 2171, MPEP 2173.
  4. Indefiniteness The opposite of definiteness. See Definiteness.
  5. indefiniteness of claim Section 112 of the Patent Statute requires that the claims be sufficiently definite so as to provide a standard by which a third party could, with some…
  6. Indemnity from Suit A situation in which one party has agreed to sue another party, e.g., for patent infringement.
  7. independent claim a claim that does not refer back to or depend on another claim.
  8. Inducement to Infringe An act that encourages another party to infringe a patent.
  9. Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) a list of all patents, publications, U.S. applications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office in a non-provisional patent…
  10. infrastructure An basic underlying framework or features of a system.
  11. Infringe To make, use or sell a patented invention in the jurisdiction and during the term of a patent.
  12. Infringed Literally A situation wherein an issued patent is infringed (practiced without a license to do so) by a product or process that has all of features of the invention…
  13. infringement -- see patent infringement
  14. Infringement By Equivalents Infringement in the situation that the infringing product or process does not have exactly the same features as the invention claimed in the patent but…
  15. Infringement Under Doctrine of Equivalents See Infringement By Equivalents.
  16. Inherency Present in the essential character of something. MPEP 2173.05(v).
  17. Injunction An order or remedy issued by the court at the request of the complaining party, which forbids another party to do some act which he/she is threatening or…
  18. inoperativeness The failure of the invention to work due to either mechanical or methodical imperfections or due to incomplete or erroneous description of the invention…
  19. Intellectual Property Creations of the mind - creative works or ideas embodied in a form that can be shared or can enable others to recreate, emulate, or manufacture them.
  20. interference a proceeding, conducted before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (Board), to determine priority of invention between a pending application and…
  21. Intervening Rights A defense to an allegation of infringement. Intervening rights exist when a patent is later reissued with broader claims because of inadvertent errors in…
  22. Invalid Ineffective or void under the law. A patent can be invalided if it was issued in error.
  23. invalidation showing that an invention is not deserving of patent protection by providing evidence that it is not new, not useful, or is obvious.
  24. invention any art or process (way of doing or making things), machine, manufacture, design, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, or…
  25. Invention Disclosure From a legal standpoint, a description of an invention that would enable a person skilled in the art to which the invention pertains to build and use the…
  26. Invention, Abandoned See Abandonment of Invention.
  27. Inventive Entity The inventor(s). MPEP 2173.01, MPEP 804.03.
  28. inventor one who contributes to the conception of an invention. The patent law of the United States of America requires that the applicant in a patent application…
  29. Inventor, Joint A person who collaborates with another inventor in the conception of an invention. MPEP 605.07, MPEP 2137.01.
  30. Inventorship The condition of being an inventor under the law. MPEP 2137.01.
  31. ipr hygiene Intellectual Property Rights Hygiene is the process of ensuring that all sponsors of research that results in intellectual property protection and…
  32. Issue When a corporation offers a stock or bond for sale, or a government offers a bond, the security is known as an issue, and the company or government is the…
  33. issue date the date that a patent application becomes a US patent. The issue date is the date that patent rights can be exercised. U.S.
  34. Issue Fee The fee paid by an applicant a patent office prior to the granting of a patent. MPEP 1306.