Utility modelA utility model is a patent-like intellectual property right to protect inventions. This type of right is available in many countries but, notably, not in the United States, United Kingdom or Canada. Although a utility model is similar to a patent, it is generally cheaper to obtain and maintain, has a shorter term (generally 6 to 15 years), shorter grant lag, and less stringent patentability requirements. In some countries, it is only available for inventions in certain fields of technology and/or only for products.
Droit des brevets aux États-UnisUnder United States law, a patent is a right granted to the inventor of a (1) process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, (2) that is new, useful, and non-obvious. A patent is the right to exclude others, for a limited time (usually, 20 years) from profiting of a patented technology without the consent of the patent-holder. Specifically, it is the right to exclude others from: making, using, selling, offering for sale, importing, inducing others to infringe, applying for an FDA approval, and/or offering a product specially adapted for practice of the patent.
Novelty (patent)Novelty is one of the patentability requirement for a patent claim, whose purpose is to prevent issuing patents on known things, i.e. to prevent public knowledge from being taken away from the public domain. An invention is anticipated (i.e. not new) and therefore not patentable if it was known to the public before the priority date of the patent application. Although the concept of "novelty" in patent law appears simple and self-explanatory, this view is very far from reality.
Patent examinerA patent examiner (or, historically, a patent clerk) is an employee, usually a civil servant with a scientific or engineering background, working at a patent office. Major employers of patent examiners are the European Patent Office (EPO), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO), and other patent offices around the world. Patent examiners review patent applications to determine whether the invention(s) claimed in each of them should be granted a patent or whether the application should instead be refused.
Person having ordinary skill in the artA person having ordinary skill in the art (abbreviated PHOSITA), a person of (ordinary) skill in the art (POSITA or PSITA), a person skilled in the art, a skilled addressee or simply a skilled person is a legal fiction found in many patent laws throughout the world. This hypothetical person is considered to have the normal skills and knowledge in a particular technical field (an "art"), without being a genius. The person mainly serves as a reference for determining, or at least evaluating, whether an invention is non-obvious or not (in U.
PatentabilityWithin the context of a national or multilateral body of law, an invention is patentable if it meets the relevant legal conditions to be granted a patent. By extension, patentability also refers to the substantive conditions that must be met for a patent to be held valid. The patent laws usually require that, for an invention to be patentable, it must be: Patentable subject matter, i.e., a kind of subject-matter eligible for patent protection Novel (i.e.
Prior artPrior art (also known as state of the art or background art) is a concept in patent law used to determine the patentability of an invention, in particular whether an invention meets the novelty and the inventive step or non-obviousness criteria for patentability. In most systems of patent law, prior art is generally defined as anything that is made available, or disclosed, to the public that might be relevant to a patent's claim before the effective filing date of a patent application for an invention.
Patent claimIn a patent or patent application, the claims define in technical terms the extent, i.e. the scope, of the protection conferred by a patent, or the protection sought in a patent application. In other words, the purpose of the claims is to define which subject-matter is protected by the patent (or sought to be protected by the patent application). This is termed as the "notice function" of a patent claim—to warn others of what they must not do if they are to avoid infringement liability.
Brevet d'inventionvignette|Modèle de brevet de l'État d'Israël. Un brevet est un titre de propriété industrielle qui confère à son titulaire une exclusivité d'exploitation de l'invention brevetée à compter, en principe, de la date de dépôt et pour une durée maximale de 20 ans. Un droit de brevet n'est pas un droit d'exploitation, c'est-à-dire autorisant l'exploitation de l'invention brevetée.
Invention (technique)Une invention est une méthode, une technique, un moyen nouveau par lequel il est possible de résoudre un problème pratique donné. Une invention est une création nouvelle. Elle est, en général, reconnue par la délivrance d'un brevet d'invention. On ne dépose pas un brevet, mais une demande de brevet. Le concept d'invention est très proche de celui d'innovation, mais distinct : une innovation est construite sur une invention, mais toute invention ne donne pas lieu à une innovation.
