Patent

:This article relates to the intellectual property right. A land grant is also called a patent.

Governing laws

Although patents are fundamentally territorial in their nature, there are currently a number of significant international treaties governing some important aspects of patent law.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The most universal of these is the WTO TRIPs Agreement, to which almost all countries are a party. The United States, the countries of the European Union, and Japan, are parties to all of the significant treaties. This has led to significant harmonization of patent law worldwide, particularly in the last decade of the 20th century and continuing into the 21st.

Related Topics:
WTO - TRIPs Agreement - United States - European Union - Japan - Harmonization - 20th century - 21st

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Despite recent harmonization, the United States patent laws are unique in several significant respects. The biggest difference is that, if two people apply for a patent on the same invention, the US system awards the patent to the "first to invent", whereas in the rest of the world the "first to file" is awarded the patent. A contest between different inventors over priority is called "interferences". Another unique aspect of U.S. patent law is that an inventor has a one-year grace period after publication or sale to file a patent application, whereas in most other countries patent rights are lost if an application is not on file when a public disclosure, publication or sale takes place.

Related Topics:
First to invent - First to file - Interference

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As mentioned above, patents are territorial in nature. Thus, patent protection in multiple countries requires separate filings of patent applications in each country, or region, where protection is sought. The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), however, allows applicants to initially file a single international application, which later can be entered into separate countries or regions. Similarly, within Europe, a single patent application procedure is available through the European Patent Office, but successful applications result in multiple patents (up to 36) rather than a single European-wide patent. Such a European-wide unitary patent, or "community patent", has been the subject of discussion at the EU level since the 1970s, with no result so far.

Related Topics:
Patent Cooperation Treaty - Europe - European Patent Office - European-wide patent - 1970s

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many of the international treaties are designed to afford some recognition of filing dates to patent applications previously filed in another country. In this respect, the most important treaty is the Paris Convention, dating back to 1883. Typically, inventors are allowed one year (the priority year) from the date of their filing (in a first country) to file the application in other countries.

Related Topics:
Paris Convention - 1883

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The authority for patent statutes in different countries varies. In the United States, the Patent and Trademark Office gets its authority from statutes in Title 35 of the United States Code, which in turn is based on Article One, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution.

Related Topics:
Patent and Trademark Office - United States Code - Article One - U.S. Constitution

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~