Guide to Patenting Your Invention
A patent is a right granted by the government to an inventor allowing him to exclude anyone else from making, using, or selling the invention in the country that issued the patent. This right granted by the government so that inventors are encouraged to spend time, money and effort to invent new products, technologies, etc.
The terms for a new patent in the US is 20 years from the date of application of patent was filed and is subject to the payment of maintenance fees.
Anyone is then allowed to make, use, or sell an invention without needing permission or paying royalty to the inventor, once the patent expires. The invention then enters the public domain. The reason why government allows patent to expire is so that no one person can control an entire industry, if that person was the first to conceive of a type of product.
The patent law specifies the general field of subject matter that can be patented, and the conditions under which a patent for an invention may be obtained. If a person invents, discovers new and useful processes, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent subject to the conditions and requirements of the law. Know how to invent a product and bring it to market here!
A patent cannot be obtained if the invention has been described in a printed publication anywhere in the world or if it has been in public use or sale in the country before the date of application by the inventor. It actually does not matter is the printed publication or public use was made by the investor himself or by someone else. If the inventor describes the invention in a printed publication or uses the invention publicly or places it on sale, he must apply for a patent before one year has gone by. Otherwise, any right to a patent for an invention will be lost. To gain more knowledge on how to patent your invention, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invention#Purposes_of_invention.
Only an inventor may apply for a patent for his invention with certain exceptions. Legal representatives may apply for a patent if the inventor is dead. A guardian may apply for a patent for an inventor who has become insane. If an inventor refuses to apply for a patent for his invention, a person having proprietary interest in the invention may apply on behalf of the non-signing inventor.
If two or more persons make patenting inventions jointly, then they can apply for a patent as joint inventors. A person who only makes a financial contribution for the invention is not a joint inventor and cannot be joined in the application as an inventor.