The Three Types of Patents
Hi, I'm Rich Beem. I'm a patent attorney in Chicago and I would like to talk with you about the three types of patents. The first type is called the utility patent, and that is the most common type of patent. Although, it's by no means the easiest to get, or the easiest to prepare. A utility patent has to do with technology. It has to do with how something works. It has to do with mechanical things or chemicals or pharmaceuticals or software. It might be simple. It might be a screw or a nut or a bolt. But there is something technical about the product. It could be shown in drawings. I can be described in tables or in chemical compositions, or there can be a flowchart for software. And there will be one characteristic of a utility patent is that it includes a detailed, written description. And when I say detailed I mean detailed. We put a lot of detail into a utility patent application.
A second type of a patent is called a design patent. And design patents are unique to the United States. In other countries they are called designs or design registrations, but they are not considered patents. In the US there are design patents, and what is covered in a design patent is the ornamental design. So, for example, with this pen this is a very distinctive pen. It has a unique shape on the end of it. It has stripes. It has shape. And showing this in drawings would be sufficient to disclose this for a design patent application, but to really explain how the pen works, how it rotates, what the spring is on the inside, how the refill works, what the size of the refill is, what the different sizes and shapes. Those are the kinds of things that go into a utility patent.
A third type of a patent is a plant patent. These are the most rare of all kinds of patents. They're not that hard to get, but they're in a very specialized field, typically, for example, for hybrid roses. If you breed hybrid roses, you might be interested in a plant patent. But most people tend to be interested either in utility patent or design patent or both. There are some cases where you get both the utility patent, for example, on how the pen works, or you get a design patent on what the pen looks like.
Why do I tell you about these types of patents? Because I want you to make the right choice. If you're interested in the functionality and the technology in the product features and how they work and what makes that product better, then you're interested in a utility patent. If you're interested in the ornamental design of the product and what makes it look nice, then you're interested in a design patent. At Beem Patent Law Firm we do both kinds of patents. That's what we do day in and day out. We obtain patent for inventors. We enforce patents. And we defend people who are charged with patent infringement. Call us at 312-201-0011. I'm Rich Beem. Thank you for watching.
