Patent — page 2 of 5

Patent terms

101. critical date This refers to the date of the initial placing on sale, publication, or public or commercial use of an invention. At the end of the one-year period, a U.S.
102. Cross License A license between two patent owners wherein each licenses its patent(s) to the other.
103. cross reference A reference (issued patent) in another class or subclass, or a reference made in a later-filed patent application to a related, earlier-filed application.
104. crowded art This refers to an area of technology in which there have been a large number of prior inventions.
105. date of application The date upon which duly executed application papers are received in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
106. date of patent The effective date of the patent. It is the date of printing of notice of the patent grant in the Official Gazette of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
107. declaration a document in which an applicant for patent declares, under penalty of fine or imprisonment, or both (18 USC 1001), that (1) he or she is the original or…
108. Dedication An express or implied surrender to the public of an actual or potential patent right. MPEP 1490, MPEP 2138.03.
109. dedication to the public A document signed by a patent owner filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office giving up all patent rights.
110. Defensive Publication Publication of the abstract of the technical disclosure of a pending patent application if the applicant waived his or her rights to an enforceable patent.
111. Definiteness A characteristic of a patent claim in which claim language makes the scope of the claim clear to a person skilled in the art to which the invention…
112. dependent claim a claim that refers back to (depends on) and further limits a preceding dependent or independent claim.
113. Depositing Correspondence Filing written papers with a patent office. MPEP 502.
114. Deposition An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths.
115. design patent may be granted to anyone who invents a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture -- see also patent
116. Diligence The activity required of an inventor and his attorney that must have started just prior to the entry into the field of another "inventor" and continue…
117. Direct Infringement Making, using or selling a patented invention in the jurisdiction within which the patent is enforcable, or importing a patented invention or a product…
118. disclaimer A patentee, whether of the whole or any sectional interest therein, may, on payment of the fee required by law, make disclaimer (give up all or part of…
119. disclosure A disclosure document explains how a financial product or offering works. It also details the terms to which you must agree in order to buy it or use it…
120. Disclosure Document Program A program of the USPTO wherein, for a small fee, the USPTO will maintain a written document disclosing an invention and signed by the inventor in…
121. Discovery This is when the Court orders each party (each side) to give each other information about the facts before the trial, to avoid surprise.
122. Disposal A term used in some countries, including the U.S., to mean that an application has been abandoned, denied (rejected) or allowed (granted).
123. Division Division means the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor.
124. divisional application a later application for an independent or distinct invention disclosing and claiming (only a portion of and) only subject matter disclosed in the earlier…
125. doctrine of claim differentiation This is a judicially created rule of construction that states that when two claims in the same patent have an apparently similar or identical meaning, an…
126. doctrine of equivalence invoked when a patent's claim is not literally infringed, but (here comes the is the legal jargon) "the infringing device uses substantially the same…
127. doctrine of equivalents a judicially created theory for finding patent infringement when the accused process or product falls outside the literal scope of the patent claims.
128. Dominated Covered by one or more claims in a patent.
129. Dominating Patent A patent having a claim broad enough to encompass the subject matter of a claim in a subsequent patent.
130. double patenting An inventive entity cannot obtain claims in two patents directed either to the same invention or to an obvious variation of the same invention.
131. Double Patenting Rejection A rejection of a patent claim on the grounds that it is an improper attempt to obtain more than one patent on the same invention or on an obvious variant…
132. DoublePatenting An improper attempt to obtain more than one patent on the same invention or on an obvious variant of the same invention. MPEP 804, MPEP 804.01, MPEP 804.
133. Drawing Patent drawings must show every feature of the invention as specified in the claims.
134. due diligence terms An investigation undertaken in the course of an intellectual property transaction to verify and determine the ownership and scope of intellectual property…
135. Duty of Disclosure everyone involved in the patent process at any time - both during the procurement period and during potential litigation or re-examination - must disclose…
136. Effective Date The date on which an insurance policy becomes effective.
137. Election The choice by the applicant of the invention to be prosecuted and, hence, the claims to be examined. MPEP 818, MPEP 809.02(a), MPEP 809.02(b), MPEP 818.
138. Element of Claim A (usually indented) portion of the body of a patent claim that describes a feature of an invention and that interrelates the feature with the other…
139. Embodiment a manner in which an invention can be made, used, practiced or expressed
140. Enablement Support within a disclosure of a claimed invention. Enablement occurs when a person skilled in th art to which the invention pertains is taught how to…
141. Enjoin Direct or impose by court order.
142. EPC See European Patent Convention.
143. Equivalent Equal under patent law. MPEP 904.01(b), MPEP 2144.06, MPEP 2183.
144. equivalents - means-plus-function claims Rather than expressly reciting a component or feature in a patent claim, one may recite a feature as a means for accomplishing something such as "seal…
145. equivalents - reverse doctrine of This concept is used infrequently. It refers to situations where one might literally infringe a patent claim, but due to the interpretation of the claim…
146. European Patent Convention An agreement among Eurpoean nations that establishes a regional, European patent system.
147. Ex Parte An action (a conversation orally or in writing, a ruling, or a hearing) done without all parties being notified in advance or without their presence.
148. Examination Review of a patent application to determine if a claimed invention is patentable. MPEP Introduction.
149. examiner An official of a patent office charged with determining the patentability of inventions claimed in patent applications.
150. Examiner's Action A written communication from a patent Examiner that contains requirements and/or documents the reasons behind the Examiner's patentability decisions and…
151. Examining Group See Art Unit.
152. Example An example of one embodiment (implementation) of an invention. If the example is an actual ("working") example, i.e.
153. exceptional case In order to seek an attorneys' fees award as part of the relief granted to the prevailing party in patent litigation, it is necessary to show that the…
154. exclusive license This is an agreement granting to one party exclusive rights under an issued patent, with the licensor giving up by the terms of the license the right to…
155. Execute To complete; to sign; to carry out according to its terms.
156. Exhibit A document or other item introduced as evidence during a trial or hearing.
157. Experimental Use A public use of the invention that having the primary purpose is of testing of the invention. Experimental use is allowed in the U.S.
158. Expiry Date The date when a patent has run its full term and the invention is no longer protected by it.
159. Extension of Time An extension of the "period for reponse" stipulated in an Office action. MPEP 710.02(e).
160. failure of others A secondary test of patentability relevant to the issue of whether an invention is obvious is whether others have failed to come up with the solution…
161. Federal Circuit See Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC or Fed. Cir.).
162. Federal Regulations The regulations of the departments and agencies of the U.S. Federal Government as published in the Code of Federal Regulations.
163. Fee, Filing The fee charged by a patent office for filing a patent application. MPEP 607, MPEP 509.
164. Fee, Issue The fee charged by a patent office for issuing (granting) a patent. MPEP 1306, MPEP 509.
165. Fee, Maintenance The periodic fee charge by the U.S. patent office for maintaining a patent in force. MPEP 2501, MPEP 2504, MPEP 509.
166. Fee, Petition The fee charged by a patent office for reveiwing a petition filed by an applicant. MPEP 1002.
167. Field of Endeavor The area of technology that an inventor invents within. Also called technical field or field of the invention. MPEP 608.01(c).
168. Field of the Invention See Field of Endeavor.
169. Field of Use The technical field or market within which an invention is licensed. The licensee mahy not sell the invention within other markets.
170. field of use license A license to rights in intellectual property which is limited to a defined use.
171. Figure Legend An explanations of what marks mean on a drawing. Patent drawings do not have legends.
172. File History The complete file of a patent application containing all related papers prepared by the patent office and the applicant during the prosecution of the…
173. file wrapper The folder into which papers for a particular application are collected and maintained.
174. File Wrapper Estoppel A restriction in the interpretation of a claim that exists because of an admission in the record by the applicant.
175. Filing Date This is the date a filer submits a financial disclosure report to the supervisor or senior legal counsel for review, usually the date the filer eSigns the…
176. Filing Fee The fee required for filing various documents. In civil actions, the filing fee is $120.00.
177. Final Action An Office action that contains a final rejection of one or more claims or another final action. See Final Rejection. MPEP 706.07, MPEP 706.07(a), MPEP 706.
178. Final Rejection A rejection of a claim that is made final on a second or subsequent examination or consideration.
179. First Action The first examination on the merits of the claims.
180. First to File A system in which the first person to file a patent application on a patentable invention will be awarded a patent.
181. First to Invent A system in which the first person to invent an invention will be awarded a patent. This system is used in the U.S. and in the Philippines. MPEP 2138.01.
182. Foreign Filing Date The date a non-U.S. patent application was filed that establishes priority of invention. MPEP 201.13.
183. Forfeited Application An allowed patent application on which the issue fee or a maintenance fee has not been paid within the proscribed period.
184. fraud on the Patent and Trademark Office This is now frequently referred to as inequitable conduct. An applicant and the applicant's attorney have an obligation to acquaint the U.S.
185. Frivolous Invention An invention that lacks utility because it is frivolous. MPEP 706.03(a).
186. Front Page Drawing The drawing selected by the Examiner to appear on the front page of a U.S. patent.
187. GATT The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade signed by President Clinton on December 8, 1994. One resulting change is that a U.S.
188. Gebraughsmuster A German utility patent.
189. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) A General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was signed in 1947 to provide an international forum to encourage free trade, reduce tariffs, and provide a…
190. Geschmackmuster A German design patent. MPEP 201.14(b).
191. gist of the invention This may also be referred to as the "heart of the invention." It refers to what are the novel and unique features of the claimed invention.
192. Grant The issuance of a patent; a right given by a patent office to an applicant that allows the grantee (patentee) to prevent anyone else from using the…
193. Harmonization The proposed harmonizing of patent laws in different countries to produce essentially one, worldwide patent law.
194. how to make This is part of the obligation to provide a disclosure in the patent application that would enable one skilled in the art to practice the invention…
195. how to use This is a similar standard to the "how-to-make" standard and relates to the use aspect of an invention, if appropriate.
196. hypothetical person skilled in the art The standard applied under Section 103 of the Patent Statute is whether the invention would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to one…
197. Improvement Patent A patent claiming an invention that is an improvement or modification of an invention claimed in a prior patent.
198. 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…
199. Indefinite Claim A claim that fails to particulary point out the claimed invention. MPEP 706.03(d), MPEP 2171, MPEP 2173.
200. Indefiniteness The opposite of definiteness. See Definiteness.