Patent — page 3 of 5

457 terms

Patent terms

  1. 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…
  2. Indemnity from Suit A situation in which one party has agreed to sue another party, e.g., for patent infringement.
  3. independent claim a claim that does not refer back to or depend on another claim.
  4. Inducement to Infringe An act that encourages another party to infringe a patent.
  5. 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…
  6. infrastructure An basic underlying framework or features of a system.
  7. Infringe To make, use or sell a patented invention in the jurisdiction and during the term of a patent.
  8. 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…
  9. infringement -- see patent infringement
  10. 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…
  11. Infringement Under Doctrine of Equivalents See Infringement By Equivalents.
  12. Inherency Present in the essential character of something. MPEP 2173.05(v).
  13. 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…
  14. 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…
  15. 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.
  16. interference a proceeding, conducted before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (Board), to determine priority of invention between a pending application and…
  17. 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…
  18. Invalid Ineffective or void under the law. A patent can be invalided if it was issued in error.
  19. invalidation showing that an invention is not deserving of patent protection by providing evidence that it is not new, not useful, or is obvious.
  20. 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…
  21. 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…
  22. Invention, Abandoned See Abandonment of Invention.
  23. Inventive Entity The inventor(s). MPEP 2173.01, MPEP 804.03.
  24. 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…
  25. Inventor, Joint A person who collaborates with another inventor in the conception of an invention. MPEP 605.07, MPEP 2137.01.
  26. Inventorship The condition of being an inventor under the law. MPEP 2137.01.
  27. ipr hygiene Intellectual Property Rights Hygiene is the process of ensuring that all sponsors of research that results in intellectual property protection and…
  28. 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…
  29. 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.
  30. Issue Fee The fee paid by an applicant a patent office prior to the granting of a patent. MPEP 1306.
  31. Jepson Claim A claim that contains in its preamble subject matter that is in the prior art. MPEP 2137.01.
  32. Joint Application an application in which the invention is presented as that of two or more persons -- see MPEP 201.02 and MPEP 605.07 for more; also joint inventor
  33. Joint Invention An invention conceived by more than one person. See Inventor, Joint.
  34. joint inventor an inventor who is named with at least one other inventor in a patent application, wherein each inventor contributes to the conception of the invention…
  35. Knowledge-based Expert System A computer program that uses knowledge and inference procedures for solving a problem that is sufficiently difficult to require a significant amount of…
  36. Knowledgebase An organized repository of knowledge about a particular subject. For example, a set of U.S. patentability rules is a knowledgebase.
  37. Kokai An unexamined Japanese patent application.
  38. Kokoku An examined and allowed Japanese patent application.
  39. Lapse Date The date when a patent is no longer enforceable in a jurisdiction due to a failure to pay renewal (maintenance) fees.
  40. Level of Ordinary Skill The level of skill in the art(s) to which an invention pertains that is used in judging whether a disclosure or claim is enabling. MPEP 2141.03.
  41. License a contract in which the owner of the patent grants another person or company permission to make, use, or sell the patented invention.
  42. licensee The entity which is granted rights to intellectual property by the owner of that property.
  43. licensor The owner of intellectual property which grants rights to another (the licensee) through a license.
  44. life of a patent 20 years from the date of filing.
  45. Limitation Language in a claim that constrains the breath of a claim.
  46. Literal Infringement See Infringed Literally.
  47. long-felt need This means a problem facing a particular technical area that has gone unsolved for a prolonged period.
  48. lost profits This is a measure of damages and is generally keyed to the profits that could have been the patentee's, but were lost to the infringer.
  49. Machine A device, a product, a physical thing. Under U.S. law, one of the statutory classes of inventions.MPEP 2105, MPEP 2106, MPEP 2114.
  50. maintenance The patent fees due at 4, 8 and 12 years needed to keep a U. S. utility or plant patent in force for its full life.
  51. Maintenance Fee See Fee, Maintenance.
  52. maintenance fees fees for maintaining in force a patent based on an application filed on or after December 12, 1980 --see MPEP 2500 for more
  53. Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) A document that contains a description of the practices and procedures of the USPTO.
  54. Manufacture One of the classes of patentable subject matter under U.S. law. MPEP 2105.
  55. Markush Claim See Claim, Markush.
  56. Markush Group In a claim, a finite group from which an element is selected. See Claim, Markush.
  57. materials transfer agreement An agreement that provides the understanding that the materials are made available only for scientific work.
  58. Means for Claim A patent claim that recites an element as a means for accomplishing a particular function. MPEP 2181.
  59. Means Plus Function Language See Means for Claim.
  60. Means-Plus-Function Claim See Means for Claim.
  61. metes and bounds The legal description of the exact property which is covered by a patent (the Claims).
  62. method the course of action or technique followed in conducting a specific analysis or comparison leading to an analytical result.
  63. Misuse Using a patent right inappropriately, for example, for forcing a license to purchase a prodict that is not covered by the claims of the patent.
  64. Mode, Best See Best Mode.
  65. model See Exhibit.
  66. Multiple Dependent Claim a dependent claim which further limits and refers back in the alternative to more than one preceding independent or dependent claim.
  67. Negative Claim Limitation See Negative Limitation.
  68. Negative Limitation A claim limitation that is excusive, e.g., "other than X" "incapable of X", etcetera. MPEP 2173.05(i).
  69. New Issue When a stock or bond is offered for sale for the first time, it's considered a new issue.
  70. New Matter Matter (information) that is not present in the original specification, claims or drawings that an applicant attempts to add to a patent application.
  71. New Use One of the classes of patentable subject matter under U.S. law.
  72. non exclusive license A grant under a patent with reservation by the licensor to make a similar grant to others.
  73. non obvious In order for a patent to be granted, the claimed invention must be "non obvious" to one of "ordinary skill in the art".
  74. Non-Convention Application A patent application filed in a second, or subsequent country which does not claim the priority of another, earlier application in another country.
  75. Non-Obviousness The opposite of obviousness. See Obviousness.
  76. Nonprovisional Patent Application an application for patent filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) that includes all patent applications (i.e.
  77. notice (also marking) Placing the word "patent" with the patent number on articles made by the patentee or a licensee.
  78. notice of allowance NOA - a written notification from the USPTO that a specific mark has survived the opposition period following publication in the Official Gazette, and has…
  79. Notice of Allowance and Issue Fee Due A notice by the USPTO that the application has been placed in a condition for allowance and that the issue fee must be paid within three months of the…
  80. Notice of Appeal A document filed in the trial court that informs the trial court that the party intends to appeal the lower court’s decision.
  81. novelty New; not anticipated by (taught by) the prior art. MPEP 2131.
  82. O.G. See Official Gazette.
  83. Oath A solemn pledge in attestation of the truth of a statement or in verification of a statement made.
  84. Object of the Invention A desired characteristic of an invention. MPEP 608.01(d).
  85. obvious to try The validity of a patent can be challenged by attempting to show that what the inventor did would have been obvious to try based on the prior art, and…
  86. Obviousness A characteristic that makes an invention predicable to a person having ordinary skill in the art who has knowledge of all of the prior art.
  87. Offer to Sell An activity that can bar obtaining a patent in some jurisdictions if the activity occurs a sufficient period of time before a patent application on the…
  88. office action a letter from a trademark examining attorney setting forth the legal status of a trademark application.
  89. Official Action See Action.
  90. Official Gazette A publication of the USPTO in which new patents and trademarks are announced. Published weekly in two editions, one for patents and one for trademarks.
  91. Old Application An application that, having been acted on by an Examiner, has, in turn, been acted on by the applicant. MPEP 203.03.
  92. On Sale See Offer to Sell.
  93. One-Year Grace Period The one-year period that starts on the date that an invention is used publicly, offered for sale, patented or published anywhere in the world during which…
  94. Open for Public Inspection The date upon which a patent application is first made available to the public.
  95. Opinion, Patentability An opinion offered by a patent agent or a patent attorney as to whether a claimed invention is likely to be deemed patentable by a patent office in view…
  96. Opinion, Validity An opinion offered by a patent agent or a patent attorney as to whether the claims of an issued patent would likely be upheld by a court in view of the…
  97. Opposition A procedure available in most countries (but not the U.S.) whereby a third party may request that a patent not issue or that an issued patent be…
  98. ordinary skill in the art The level of technical knowledge, experience, and expertise possessed by the run-of-the-mill or ordinary engineer, scientist, or designer in the…
  99. Original Application "Original" is used in the patent statute and rules to refer to an application which is not a reissue application.
  100. Parent Application The term "parent" is applied to an earlier application of the inventor disclosing a given invention --see MPEP 201.04 for more

Sources