Patent essentials
This lesson is a guide published by USPTO.
Read the guideWhat you'll get
The USPTO's starter page answers the basic questions: a patent gives you the right to stop others from making, using, selling or importing your invention in the United States, not the right to make it yourself; there are utility, design and plant patents with different terms; and an invention must be useful, clearly described, new and not obvious. It also covers patents abroad and the agency's help for inventors, and points to the free IP Identifier, which asks a few questions to show which kinds of intellectual property you may have.
Do this week
Write one sentence on what in your product is new and one on why it is not an obvious change to what is already sold, then run the IP Identifier to see which kinds of protection fit.