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BUSINESS LAW GLOSSARY |
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Glossary of Patent Law Terms
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Oath: A sworn statement. In the U.S., declaration may be used instead of an oath to verify that information being submitted to the USPTO is true.
Object of the Invention: A desired characteristic of an invention.
Obvious to Try: The validity of a patent can be challenged by attempting to show that what the inventor did would have been obvious to try based on the prior art, and, therefore, the invention would have been obvious.
Obviousness: If the invention could readily be deduced at the time the invention was made from publicly available information (prior art) by a person of ordinary skill in that art it is obvious. Prior art may be combined to show that an invention would have been obvious. If an invention would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made, then it is not patentable.
Offer to Sell: An activity that can bar obtaining a patent in some jurisdictions if the activity occurs a sufficient period of time before a patent application on the invention is filed.
Office Action: An official written communication from an examiner in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office giving the position of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on a pending patent application. After receiving an adverse office action, the applicant must respond within the set time limits.
Official Gazette: A publication of the USPTO in which new patents and trademarks are announced. It is published weekly in two editions, one for patents and one for trademarks.
Old Application: An application that, having been acted on by an Examiner, has, in turn, been acted on by the applicant.
On Sale: If an inventor places his or her invention on sale more than one year before a U.S. patent application is filed, then a valid patent cannot be obtained. This is sometimes referred to as the on-sale bar to a patent. An invention is on sale where it has actually been sold or an offer of sale has been made.
One-Year Grace Period: The one-year period that starts on the date that an invention is used publicly, offered for sale, patented or published anywhere in the world during which period a U.S. patent application must be filed to avoid a bar.
Open for Public Inspection: The date upon which a patent application is first made available to the public.
Opinion, Patentability: An opinion offered by a patent agent or a patent attorney as to whether a claimed invention is likely to be deemed patentable by a patent office in view of the prior art made available to him/her.
Opinion, Validity: An opinion offered by a patent agent or a patent attorney as to whether the claims of an issued patent would likely be upheld by a court in view of the facts made available to him/her.
Opposition: A procedure available in most countries, but not the U.S., whereby a third party may request that a patent not issue or that an issued patent be invalidated.
Ordinary Skill in the Art: The level of technical knowledge, experience, and expertise possessed by the run-of-the-mill or ordinary engineer, scientist, or designer in the technology that is relevant to the invention. Obviousness is measured with reference to a hypothetical person having ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains.
Original Application: A patent application that is not a reissue application.
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