A U.S. patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor(s), issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The right conferred by the patent grant is, in the language of the statute and of the grant itself, "the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling" the invention in the United States or "importing" the invention into the United States. To get a U.S. patent, an application must be filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. There are three basic patents types Utility, Design, and Plant patents. There are two derivatives of Utility patents, Provisional applications and PCT applications, click on Utility Patents to get information about these applications.

Turning Ideas Into Patents

Patent Types

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.

Design patents may be granted to anyone who invents a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture.

Plant patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant.

Provisional patents are really patent applications that establish a priority filing date for a future Utility type patent application. These applications are best used in the early or prototype stages of invention.