What is a Utility Patent?
Of the several different types (e.g., utility patent, design patent, and plant patent) of patent documents issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), utility patents are the most popular. More specifically, as the greatest number of patents which are granted by the USPTO are utility patents, this patent type is usually referenced when the term “patent” is employed generally. Further, it should be understood that an invention may qualify for multiple types of patents in addition to other forms of intellectual property.
The USPTO defines a Utility Patent as:
“Utility Patent – Issued for the invention of a new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or a new and useful improvement thereof, it generally permits its owner to exclude others from making, using, or selling the invention for a period of up to twenty years from the date of patent application filing ++, subject to the payment of maintenance fees. Approximately 90% of the patent documents issued by the PTO in recent years have been utility patents, also referred to as “patents for invention.” (see USPTO – Types of Patents)
It should be noted that it is improper to refer to a “patent application” as a “patent” unless a grant has been provided by the USPTO.
Further, unlike a provisional patent application which is in essence a “place-holder” and not examined by the USPTO, a non-provisional utility patent application is examined by the USPTO and may eventually result in a patent grant (assuming it satisfies various statutory requirements as determined by the USPTO during patent prosecution).