Arizona's Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC): Patents

A patent is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

A patent obtained in the U.S. gives the patent holder the right, for a limited time, to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling, or importing into the U.S. the subject matter that is within the scope of protection granted by the patent, in exchange for public disclosure of the invention when the patent is granted.

This property right for inventors is included in the U.S. Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8)

"To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."

View the USPTO slide deck "Expanding the innovation ecosphere: Demystifying the patent system" for a history and overview of intellectual property, and an overview of the patent process. (38 page PDF)

There are three types of patents:

Utility patents (also known as non-Provisional Utility Patents) may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or compositions of matters, or any new useful improvement thereof. Term begins on the date of grant/issuance and ends 20 years from date of filing, in general. (Click here to learn about provisional utility patents.)

Design patents may be granted to anyone who invents a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture. Term is 15 years from date of grant/issuance, for those applications filed on or after May 13, 2015.

Plant patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant. Term begins on the date of grant/issuance and ends 20 years from date of filing, in general. 

Can an invention have a utility patent and design patent? Yes, it can!

The "Adjustment height can opener" was granted a utility patent (4,831,735) on May 23, 1989 and a design patent (D302,929) on August 22, 1989.

Your invention must be:

• Novel
• Nonobvious
• Adequately described or enabled (for one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention)
• Claimed by the inventor in clear and definite terms
• Not publicly disclosed

You cannot patent:

• Laws of nature
• Physical phenomena
• Abstract ideas
• Literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works (seek copyright protection instead)
• Inventions which are not useful (such as perpetual motion machines)
• Inventions which are offensive to public morality

Visit the USPTO website to read more about what can be patented and the conditions for obtaining a patent.