Patent Terms and Definitions

Abandon: The explicit or implicit relinquishment of a potential patent right. Simple inaction may render a patent right abandoned

Affidavit: A signed statement (filed with the patent office) putting appropriate facts or opinions on record.

Author: Writer of an article, chapter or other complete work. Some articles, proceedings, or books have multiple authors. In such cases, the first author specified in the reference may be called the primary author or the senior author. The names of the authors following that of the primary author are referred to as the secondary or co-authors. Corporations, government agencies and associations may also be listed as authors of a work.

Basic Patent: The first published patent

Beilstein: A major structure and factual database in organic chemistry.

C?: Clinical Unknown Phase from IDdb. In clinical development, but the phase is unknown.

C1: Phase I (IDdb). Initial toxicity testing in healthy volunteers (except for drugs that are potential treatments for life-threatening diseases such as cancer and HIV, which go straight into subjects suffering from the target disease).

C2: Phase II (IDdb). Small-scale testing in the target population, to assess therapeutic effects and to establish dose levels for phase III trials.

C3: Phase III (IDdb). Large-scale trials in patients, usually at several centers, double blind and randomized. May also be compared to other agents.

Citation: the examiner or author may make Citations. They comprise a list of references that are believed to be relevant prior art and which may have contributed to the "narrowing" of the original application. The examiner can also cite references from technical journals, textbooks, handbooks and sources.

Citation Counts: Citation counts are a formal acknowledgement of intellectual debt to earlier patents and previously published scientific research papers. They are an important indicator of how new patents are linked to earlier patents and scientific papers.

Claim(s): The definition of the monopoly rights that the applicant is trying to obtain for the invention. The claims become the actual monopoly that is given when/if the patent is granted.

Copyright: The legal right granted to an author, editor or publisher of an article, chapter or complete work. Copyright applies to intellectual property in a variety of artistic fields and attempts to be format-neutral.

Defensive publication: A publication and disclosure to the public of a pending patent application.

Design Patent: A type of patent covering the shape characteristics of an object

Disclosure: The first public disclosure of details of an invention. This may be: deliberately revealed outside the patent system to make the invention unpatentable, or what is described in a patent application

First to file: The applicant who is the first to file an application for an invention will be awarded the patent over all others. This law is becoming increasingly the standard for countries adhering to Trade-Related aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPs) guidelines.

First to invent: In some countries, the applicant who is the first to invent will be awarded the patent over all others.

Infringe: To make, use or sell the patented item or process within the country covered by the patent, without permission or license from the patentee.

Intellectual property: Intellectual property refers to creations — including inventions, artistic works, names and designs — that are legally protected. Intellectual property includes patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets

Inventor: Inventor names are recorded for all patents. These appear in the standard last name-initial(s) format.

Novel: A patent must be new or original. That is, the invention must never have been made in public in any way, anywhere, before the date on which the application for a patent is filed.

Novelty: The concept that the claims must be totally new. The invention must never have been made public in any way, anywhere, before the date on which the application for a patent is filed.

Patent: A patent is a document that defines the right by law for inventors and assignees to make use of and exploit their inventions for a limited period of time.

Pending: The period in which the patent office has not yet decided whether to reject or to grant a patent application, and it has not yet been withdrawn.

Status: The legal standing of a patent or patent application, i.e. whether it is pending, lapsed or still protected etc.

Term of patent: The maximum number of years that the monopoly rights conferred by the grant of a patent may last

NPL Non Patent Literature -- documents and publications that are not patents or published patent applications but are cited as references for being relevant in a patent prosecution. Patent and Trademark Depository Library A library designated by the USPTO to receive copies of patents, CD-ROMs containing registered and pending marks, and patent and trademark materials that are made available to the public for free. Restriction If two or more independent and distinct inventions are claimed in a single application, the examiner may require the applicant to elect (designate) a single invention to which the claims will be restricted. Express Mail Mailing Label Patent correspondence delivered to the USPTO via the "Express Mail Post Office to Addressee" service of the USPS which is considered filed in the Office on the date of deposit with the USPS. Status The legal standing of a patent or patent application, i.e. whether it is pending, lapsed or still protected etc. Provisional Patent Application A provisional application for patent is a U. S. national application for patent filed in the USPTO under 35 U.S.C. § 111(b). It allows filing without a formal patent claim, oath or declaration, or any information disclosure (prior art) statement. Copyright The legal right granted to an author, editor or publisher of an article, chapter or complete work. Fastener Quality Act Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5401 et seq., as amended by Public Law 104-113, Public Law 105-234, and Public Law 106-34); implementing regulations: 15 C.F.R. Part 280. Identification of Goods and Services Manual This manual lists numerous examples of identifications of goods and services that are acceptable to the USPTO for inclusion in trademark applications and registrations. Drawing Patent drawings must show every feature of the invention as specified in the claims. Omission of drawings may cause an application to be considered incomplete.

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	Did You Know?
	Your invention may already be patented. Public users may perform preliminary searches of patent information in a variety of formats including on-line, microfilm, and print at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Public Search Facility located in Alexandria, VA. State of the art computer workstations provide automated searching of patents issued from 1790 to the current week of issue. Full document text may be searched on U.S. patents issued since 1971 and OCR text from 1920 to 1970. U.S. patent images from 1790 to the present may be retrieved for viewing or printing. Some foreign patent documents are available.