Search Syntax Searching The Lens can be done simply by using the search bar or the Structured Search page. After your initial...
Patent Legal Status Calculations The Lens provides Legal Status information for Patents. This information is important to determine whether: examination of a patent application...
Patents: How to View Continuity Data in PAIR Continuity data is information about continuation applications that may have been filed based on a parent application. The USPTO PAIR web site...
Patent Continuation Applications The term “continuation application” refers to an application that is based on an original patent application (often referred to as...
Public Availability of Disclosed Material in Patents It is generally assumed that inventions claimed in a patent application are available to the public if a patent application...
Authorship vs Inventorship The terms ‘author’ and ‘inventor’ are not synonymous. Generally, an author should be the individual(s) who wrote or contributed to...
Patent Pending as a Marketing Tool In the USA and some other countries, the assignees of a patent may have rights to require a license and...
Do Patents Incentivise Innovation? The patent system can serve as an incentive for innovation, but it doesn’t exist simply to reward innovators. Indeed, it...
Patents Freedom to Operate “Freedom to operate”, abbreviated “FTO”, is usually used to mean determining whether a particular action, such as testing or commercialising...
Patents In-Force Duration Uruguay Round Agreement Since the Uruguay Round Agreements in 1994, many countries have enacted laws providing that the enforceable term...
Patent Filing Dates vs Priority Dates The terms filing date and priority date are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same. The filing date is the date when a patent...
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is arguably the most important and comprehensive international agreement on intellectual property rights. Member...
Patent Laws Around the World Many countries accept national phase patent applications based on “world patent applications” (WO publications) made under the Patent Cooperation Treaty...
Plant Patents There are five basic methods by which an entity may claim that it has a legal right to intellectual property,...
Patent Specifications The specification, which is also called the disclosure, is a written description of an invention. The patent specification is drafted...
Patent Kind Codes United States Exemplary publ. no. Code meaning US 2003/0157684A1 first publication of application US 2004/0038291A2 second or subsequent publication of...
After-Claiming The term “after-claiming” (also called “late claiming”) refers to a patent prosecution strategy in which a patent applicant introduces new...
Transitional Phrases in Claims Transitional phrases in patent applications are important, as they specify whether the claim is limited to only the elements listed,...
What are Patent Claims? The claims are the most important part of a patent. The goal of the claims is to particularly point out...
Different Types of Patents A patent is only in force during its term and in its jurisdiction. When the patent term runs out, or...