This document discusses patents and how they can help inventors protect their ideas. It defines different types of intellectual property (IP) including patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets. It explains the requirements for patentability as an invention must be useful, novel, and non-obvious. The document outlines the patent application process and associated costs, and provides free resources for inventors seeking more information on patents.

1. HOW PATENTS CAN
HELP YOU MAKE IT
JOHN MEIER
PATENT AND TRADEMARK RESOURCE CENTER
LIBRARIAN
PENN STATE UNIVERSITY
MEIER@PSU.EDU @JOHNMEIER1

2. LEARNING OUTCOMES
•Understand Intellectual Property (IP)
•Copyright, Patents, Trademarks, and Trade
Secrets
•Is my idea or invention patentable?
•Prior art and patent searching
•Process and costs for getting a patent

3. I AM NOT A LAWYER

4. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
(IP)
•Copyright – protect an original creative work
from duplication
•Patents - Exclude others from making, using or
selling their invention
•Trademark - logo or name for a product is
protected in a particular industry and
geographic region
•Trade secret - idea or invention protected by

5. MULTIPLE TYPES OF
PATENTS
•Utility patents - functional or structural novelty
• Examples: Light bulb or the “comb-over”
•Design patents - ornamental designs
• Example: An athletic shoe sole design
•Plant patents - varieties of plants
• Example: Poinsettia plant named “Eckaddis”

6. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
(IP)
Patents?
Copyrigh
t?
Trademark
s?
Trade
Secrets?

7. DURATION OF
PROTECTION
•Copyright = Life of the author + 70 years
•Utility patents = 20 years from filing date
•Design patents = 14 years from issue date
•Trademarks = Renewed as long as product in

8. QUESTIONS ABOUT IP?
•Copyright, Patents, Trademarks, Trade secrets

9. PATENT-ABILITY
Is my idea or invention patentable?
1. Utility - must be useful, or have a use
2. Novelty - must be new, no “prior art”
3. Non-obvious - the difference between
existing art and the invention must be
sufficiently great as to warrant a patent

10. UTILITY

11. NOVELTY
http://pnwstartuplawyer.com/design-patents-
illustrated/

12. NON-
OBVIOUS
Image copyright Vincent
LoTempio

13. PRIOR ART
Prior art is important for both novelty and non-
obviousness
•Previous patents
•Scholarly articles and trade journals
•Books
•Catalogs

14. PATENT SEARCHING
Keyword Searching
Parking App
Space Application
Garage Data
Sensor Server

15. PATENT SEARCH
STRATEGIES
Classification Searching (ex: G08G 1/0112)
CLASS G08 = signaling instruments
SUBCLASS G08G = traffic control systems
GROUP G08G 1/00 = for road vehicles
SUBGROUP 1/0112 = “Floating car data sources
for measuring and analyzing traffic movement…”

16. SEARCH TOOLS
•U.S. PTO Website (PatFT) – limited searching
http://patft.uspto.gov
•Google Patents – Full text searching US and
some international patents
http://www.google.com/patents
•esp@cenet – International patent search
http://worldwide.espacenet.com/

17. EXAMPLE

18. CLAIMS

19. HELP WITH PATENT
SEARCHING
http://guides.libraries.psu.edu/patents/tut
orials

20. PROCESS FOR GETTING A
PATENT

21. 21
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO GET A
PATENT?
Large Entity Fees
-Starting at around $2000
-Maintenance for 20 years $9000
Small Entity Fees
-Starting at $1000 for a patent
-Maintenance for 20 years $4500
Micro Entity (no more than 4 apps)
-Starting as low as $500 for a patent
Subject to change frequently, only includes fees due to the USPTO

22. HOW MUCH CAN COST TO GET A PATENT?
• Provisional Patent Application $1600-3500
• Conversion of Provisional to U.S. Patent Application
$5000-$10,000 in Attorney fees, $900 USPTO fee,
possible $2500-$5000 PCT fee = $8400-
$15,000
• First Office Action $2500-5000
• Second Office Action $2500-5000
• Drawing, Issue Fees and Publication $2000-4000
• Maintenance Fee – 3.5 years $490
• Maintenance Fee - 7.5 years $1240
• Maintenance Fee – 11 years $2055

23. FREE RESOURCES TO HELP YOU WITH
PATENTS
• Philadelphia Patent Pro Bono Program
http://www.artsandbusinessphila.org/pvla/patentprobono.asp
• Penn State Law IP Clinic
https://pennstatelaw.psu.edu/practice-
skills/clinics/intellectual-property-clinic/ip-clinic-client-
application
• Patent and Trademark Resource Center
http://guides.libraries.psu.edu/patents
• Penn State Small Business Development Center