Patent Law grants an inventor the right to exclude others from producing or using the inventor’s discovery or invention for a limited period of time. U.S. patent laws were enacted by Congress under its Constitutional grant of authority to protect the discoveries of inventors. The main body of patent law concerning patents is found in Title 35 of the United States Code. In the patent law for the invention to be patented it must be novel, useful, and not of an obvious nature. Such “utility” patents are issued for four general types of inventions/discoveries: machines, human made products, compositions of matter, and processing methods. Changing technology has led to an ever expanding understanding of what constitutes a human made product. Specific additions to the Patent Act provide, in addition, for design and plant patents.

An inventor can start his or her own Patent Search by accessing the US patent information database at http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html. The U.S.P.T.O. US patent information database may be the most popular means of search that can be used by a layperson.The US patent information database only contains “keyword” searchable patent data from 1975 forward. A US patent information database, publications and journals is also an important step to assure the patentability of the invention. Inventors can make a search of patents already granted in text books, journals and other publications to be sure that someone else has not already invented their idea. They may hire someone to do it for them or may do the search on the US patent information at the Public Search Room of the US Patents and Trademark Office in Arlington, Virginia, on the PTO web page on the Internet, or at one of the US Patents and Trademark Depository Libraries across the country.

U.S. patents give an inventor exclusive rights on the invention. The exclusive rights will prevent others to make, use, import, sell or offer to sell the invention without the inventor’s permission. In exchange for this grant, the inventors must disclose their invention to the public in the form of a patent application. U.S. patents do not grant inventors the right to make, use, sell, or import their inventions — only to exclude others from doing so.

US patent grants the inventor four basic rights on the invention:

1.) make
2.) use
3.) sell
4.) offer to sell

The patent could be for up to 20 years depending on the type of US patent applied for.
US patent has four distinct general types:

(1) Utility patents, usually referred to as “patents” without any further qualification
(2) Design patents whichcover the ornamental appearance of various products
(3) Plant patents which cover asexually reproduced varieties of plants, e.g. hybrid roses, fruit trees bearing new types of fruit, etc.
(4) Semiconductor chip masks which are not called patents but are handled by the Patent and Trademark Office.

United States patents pertains to the grant of a property right to the inventor to make, use, sell or offer to sell an invention. United States Patents are issued by the United States patents and Trademark Office. Generally, the term of United States patents is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, in special cases, from the date an earlier related application was filed, subject to the payment of maintenance fees. United States patents grants are effective only within the United States, U.S. territories, and U.S. possessions. Under certain circumstances, United States patents term extensions or adjustments may be available.

The first Patent number was issued in 1836. It was simply (1). When you want to find when an item was made, and you can find the Patent numbers use the largest number you can find. Most items list many Patent numbers. The only one you need to know is the last and largest one listed. There are exceptions to this rule however.