Plain-English guides to patent concepts and procedures, from inter partes review and continuation patents to patent term adjustment and freedom-to-operate searches.
6 storiesUpdated
A patent family groups the published documents for the same invention. How WIPO defines simple and extended families, and why family size can vary.
5 documents6 min read
Patent offices that apply WIPO standards code the front page. What the bracketed numbers mean, what A1 or B2 signals, and which part sets the scope.
9 documents7 min read
A first patent filing in one Paris Convention country lets the applicant file elsewhere within 12 months and keep its date. How the priority year works.
11 documents8 min read
An invention must be new, inventive and industrially applicable. Where the three tests are written and how U.S., European and Japanese law word each one.
11 documents8 min read
A patent’s term generally ends 20 years after its application was filed, not after grant. What starts the clock, what extends it and what ends it early.
15 documents8 min read
The Supreme Court’s 2023 rule that a specification must enable everything a claim covers now governs examination and litigation. Here is how it is applied and where claims fail.
5 documents8 min read
