[A-M] [N-Z]

Patent
Right of ownership granted by the government to a person that gives the owner the right to exclude others from making, selling or using the claimed invention.

Patent Act of 1861
Increased term of a patent grant for 14 to 17 years-now it is 20 years from the time a patent application is submitted.

Patent Application
A document describing an invention in detail, which is to be submitted to a patent office with the aim of obtaining a patent on the invention.

Patent Model
A model of a proposed invention. The patent office discontinued the use of models in 1880, but many modern inventors use them to visualize their inventions even today.

Patent Pending
A phrase that often appears on manufactured items. It means that someone has applied for a patent on an invention that is contained in the manufactured item. It serves as a warning that a patent may issue that would cover the item and that copiers should be careful because they might infringe if the patent issues.

Plant Patent
This type of patent includes new varieties of asexually reproduced plants. What does this mean? Creating a plant using techniques such as grafting, budding, or using cuttings, layering or division without using seeds. Plant offspring will be substantially identical with the parent. A plant patent encourages those who own a plant variety to provide an adequate supply for the public.

Prior Art
The concept of prior art relates to existing patents and other sources of information where someone may have already published information about an invention that is similar to an invention you think might be patentable.

Provisional Patent Application
A type of patent application that allows filing without a formal patent claim, oath or declaration, or any information disclosure (prior art) statement. Filing a provisional patent application allows the term "Patent Pending" to be applied. It is very important to note that after filing a provisional patent application you have exactly one year to file a full patent application. You will not be granted a patent on the basis of your provisional patent application—it just buys you a little more time.

Reducation to Practice
While patent models are no longer required as part of a patent application, some inventors will still produce a model to show how their invention would work. Reduction to practice is also covered when you produce a patent application that describes in detail how your invention works.

Registered Mark
Marks that have been registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Serial Number
A number assigned to a patent application when it is filed.

Service Mark
Is the same as a trademark, except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product.

State Trademark
Registration of the trademark creates a legal presumption of the registrant’s ownership of the mark and the registrant’s exclusive right to use the mark
in Texas commerce in connection with the goods or services described in
the application.

Symbol
Any time you claim rights in a mark, you may use the "TM" (trademark) or "SM" (service mark) designation to alert the public to your claim, regardless of whether you have filed an application with the USPTO. However, you may use the federal registration symbol, ®, only after the USPTO actually registers a mark, and not while an application is pending.

Trademark
Word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the
goods of one party from those of others.

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Promotes the progress of science and the useful arts by securing for
limited times to inventors the exclusive right to their respective discoveries. Through the issuance of patents, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office encourages technological advancement by providing incentives to invent, invest in, and disclose new technology worldwide. Through the registration
of trademarks, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office assists businesses in protecting their investments, promoting goods and services, and safe-
guarding consumers against confusion and deception in the marketplace.

Utility Patent
The most common type of patent. It includes inventions that operate in
a new and useful manner.