History

• Benjamin Franklin was an inventor and a framer of the Constitution.franklin image by Valentin Mosichev from Fotolia.com
  
  The framers of the U.S. Constitution recognized the need for some type of patent system. In Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8, the Constitution provides inventors and writers, for specified periods of time, exclusive rights to their discoveries and creations. Before that, most states had their own patent laws. The first U.S. Patent Act came in 1790. As industry and technology progressed, changes continued to be made. Well into the new millennium, patent-reform legislation is still being introduced.
  
  

Purpose

• Observation can lead to new ideas.observation image by Arkady Chubykin from Fotolia.com
  
  Watching how something is done, and having an idea of how it could be done better, is the starting point for innovation. Developing that idea, and having it patented, is the contribution that inventors of new processes and methods make. Statutes that protect the exclusive rights to these intellectual patents encourage further innovation, which in turn leads to more new technologies.
  
  

Significance

• Computer software is a process.usb 2 image by juanjo tugores from Fotolia.com
  
  Patent law is concerned with subject matter, as opposed to form of expression, which is the focus of copyright law. In the area of intellectual patents, an inventor might create new and useful computer software. This software is actually a process to be used in conjunction with computer hardware, and once it is patented, no one else can claim rights to it. The owner of this patented software can then, for a fee, license to others the right to use it.
  
  

Enforcement

• The federal court system addresses infringement issues.US Supreme Court image by dwight9592 from Fotolia.com
  
  The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, grants patents and registers trademarks. It has no jurisdiction over patent infringement or enforcement. However, if more than one application is submitted for the same invention, it can start proceedings, known as interferences, to decide who was the first inventor.
  
  The owner of a patent must go through the federal court system to sue for relief in a case of infringement. He may request prevention of further infringement by the defendant, as well as an award for damages.
  
  

Limits

• Laws of nature cannot be patented.storm image by Stefano Martini from Fotolia.com
  
  A process is defined as an act or method, and it pertains to industrial or technical processes. To be patentable, it must be useful. For example, a method for harvesting grain and making it into fuel can have an intellectual patent, but the laws of nature, useful in knowledge but not in practice, cannot.
  
  

Advice

• The process for obtaining a patent can be daunting.problem image by Lev Dolgatshjov from Fotolia.com
  
  In seeking an intellectual patent, it is advisable to find a good patent attorney, as the process can be daunting. The USPTO has a directory of patent attorneys. It cannot recommend one, so careful research into who would provide the best legal advice is recommended.
  
  The USPTO's website contains much useful information on how to go about obtaining a patent. For example, there is up-to-date cost information there. The basic filing fee for a patent is currently listed in the hundreds of dollars. Many other fees can be charged before, during, and after the process of obtaining a patent. It takes an average of 22 months to get a patent, which usually is good for 20 years.