patent

A patent grants its holder the exclusive right to exclude others from making, using, importing, or selling the patented invention for a limited time. Authority for the U.S. patent system derives from Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the Constitution, which empowers Congress to secure for limited times to inventors the exclusive right to their discoveries. The Patent Act, 35 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq., implements this authority. Granting exclusive rights is intended to encourage innovation in exchange for disclosure. Once a patent expires, the invention enters the public domain. Patents are administered by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Requirements for Patentability

To be patentable, an invention must satisfy five principal requirements: patentable subject matter, utility, novelty, nonobviousness, and enablement.

Patentable Subject Matter. Under 35 U.S.C. § 101, patents may cover any process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or improvements thereof. The Supreme Court in Diamond v. Chakrabarty, 447 U.S. 303 (1980), confirmed the breadth of this standard, while excluding laws of nature, physical phenomena, and abstract ideas. State Street Bank & Trust Co. v. Signature Financial Group, 149 F.3d 1368 (Fed. Cir. 1998), allowed business methods as processes, though later cases have limited such patents.
Utility. The invention must be useful. PTO guidelines require that utility be credible, specific, and substantial (35 U.S.C. § 101).
Novelty. An invention must not be known or used by others, or described in a printed publication before the applicant’s invention date (35 U.S.C. § 102(a)), and must not have been in public use or on sale more than one year before the application date (35 U.S.C. § 102(b)).
Nonobviousness. The invention must not be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention (35 U.S.C. § 103). This standard was explained in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1 (1966), and clarified in KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007).
Enablement. The specification must describe the invention in sufficient detail to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use it without undue experimentation (35 U.S.C. § 112; In re Wands, 858 F.2d 731 (Fed. Cir. 1988)). The statute also requires a written description and disclosure of the best mode known to the inventor.

Types of Patents

Utility patents protect new and useful processes, machines, manufactures, or compositions of matter for twenty years from filing, subject to maintenance fees.
Design patents protect new, original, and ornamental designs for articles of manufacture. They last fifteen years from issuance for applications filed on or after May 13, 2015.
Plant patents protect new and distinct asexually reproduced plants, lasting twenty years from filing.
Reissue patents correct errors in already issued patents.
Defensive publications and statutory invention registrations were older defensive measures, both now discontinued (repealed by the America Invents Act of 2011).

Patent Application Process

Applications are filed with the USPTO and must include a specification, claims, an oath or declaration, and fees (35 U.S.C. §§ 111–113). A patent examiner reviews the application against prior art and may accept, reject, or object. Appeals from rejections may proceed to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and ultimately to the Federal Circuit (35 U.S.C. §§ 134, 141). International protection can be sought under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (35 U.S.C. §§ 351–376).

Rights of Patent Owners

Patent owners may prevent others from making, using, or selling the patented invention (35 U.S.C. § 154). Utility patents generally last twenty years from filing, with possible extensions for pharmaceuticals and related products (35 U.S.C. § 156).

The exhaustion doctrine limits enforcement after an authorized sale. This principle was affirmed in United States v. Univis Lens Co., 316 U.S. 241 (1942), Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc., 553 U.S. 617 (2008), and Impression Products, Inc. v. Lexmark Int’l, Inc., 581 U.S. 152 (2017).

Litigation

Patent law is exclusively federal (28 U.S.C. § 1338). Infringement suits may be defended on invalidity grounds or by showing no infringement (35 U.S.C. § 282). Venue is limited to the defendant’s state of incorporation or a district where it has a regular place of business and committed acts of infringement; see, TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Food Group Brands LLC, 137 S. Ct. 1514 (2017).

Remedies

Courts may grant damages, injunctions, and in exceptional cases, attorney fees (35 U.S.C. §§ 283–285). In Octane Fitness, LLC v. ICON Health & Fitness, Inc., 572 U.S. 545 (2014), the Supreme Court defined an “exceptional case” as one that stands out due to the strength of a party’s position or the manner of litigation.

[Last reviewed in September of 2025 by the Wex Definitions Team]

Keywords

Wex