Patents

A design patent protects an ormamental design of a useful item (the way something looks). Cars, shoes, rings and computer icons are all examples. The application process is simple relative to other applications.

A utility patent is by far the most common type of patent applied for and issued. A utility patent application can be drafted to protect any human-made chemical, machine, device, system, computer program, or method or doing or making almost anything.

In the U.S., a provisional patent is a simplified patent application that reserves the right of its inventor to file a utility application for one year. In a sense, it protects an invention temporarily for one year.

A plant patent covers the creation by a human of a new variety of plant if it can reproduce asexually.

Under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), inventors can often obtain patent protection in foreign countries if a PCT application is filed with an international receiving office within one year of the first domestic patent filing.