NA Not available.
(z) Less than 50. 1 Includes patents to foreign governments. 2 Includes patents for
inventions, designs, botanical plants, and reissues. 3 Includes Defensive Publications, apractice which began in November 1968 and ended in July 1986; and Statutory InventionRegistrations, the current practice, which began May 1985.These documents are patent applications,which are published to provide the defensive properties of a patent, but do not have theenforceable rights of a patent.Source: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/reports.htm

Types of PatentsThe U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) issues several different types of patent documents offering different kinds of protection and covering different types of subject matter.

A recently issued PTO patent document is one of six types,generally described below. See U.S. Code Title 35 - Patents, fora full description of patents and patent laws.

* Utility Patent- Issued for the invention of a new anduseful process, machine, manufacture, or composition ofmatter, or a new and useful improvement thereof, itgenerally permits its owner to exclude others frommaking, using, or selling the invention for a period ofup to twenty years from the date of patent applicationfiling ++, subject to the payment of maintenance fees.Approximately 90% of the patent documents issued by thePTO in recent years have been utility patents, alsoreferred to as "patents for invention."

* Design Patent- Issued for a new, original, andornamental design for an article of manufacture, itpermits its owner to exclude others from making, using,or selling the design for a period of fourteen yearsfrom the date of patent grant. Design patents are notsubject to the payment of maintenance fees.

* Plant Patent- Issued for a new and distinct, inventedor discovered asexually reproduced plant includingcultivated sports, mutants, hybrids, and newly foundseedlings, other than a tuber propagated plant or aplant found in an uncultivated state, it permits itsowner to exclude others from making, using, or sellingthe plant for a period of up to twenty years from thedate of patent application filing ++. Plant patentsare not subject to the payment of maintenance fees.

* Reissue Patent- Issued to correct an error in analready issued utility, design, or plant patent, itdoes not affect the period of protection offered by theoriginal patent.

* Defensive Publication (DEF)- Issued instead of aregular utility, design, or plant patent, it offerslimited protection, defensive in nature, to preventothers from patenting an invention, design, or plant.The Defensive Publication was replaced by the StatutoryInvention Registration in 1985-86.

* Statutory Invention Registration (SIR)- This documentreplaced the Defensive Publication in 1985-86 andoffers similar protection.

++ Although, the length of utility and plant patent protection(patent term) was previously seventeen years from the date ofpatent grant, utility and plant patents filed after June 8, 1995now have a patent term of up to twenty years from the date offiling of the earliest related patent application. Utility andplant patents which were applied for prior to June 8, 1995, andwhich were or will be in force after June 8, 1995, now have apatent term of seventeen years from the date of patent grant ortwenty years from the date of filing of the earliest relatedpatent application, whichever is longer. Utility patents aresubject to the payment of periodic maintenance fees to keep thepatent in force. Patent terms can be extended under some specificcircumstances. See the U.S. Code Title 35 - Patents for a fulldescription of patent laws.

*U.S. Patent and Trademark OfficeOffice of Electronic Information ProductsTechnology Assessment and Forecast ProgramPK3-Suite 441Washington, DC 20231

tel (703) 306-2600FAX (703) 306-2737

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