Created by FindLaw's team of legal writers and editors | Last reviewed June 20, 2016
This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw’s team of legal writers and attorneys and in accordance with our editorial standards.
The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area.
A. Is the utility invention:
- a process or method?
- a machine?
- an article of manufacture?
- a composition of matter? or
- an improvement of an invention that fits within one of the first four categories?
B. Is the utility invention:
- useful? (even some trivial usefulness satisfies the utility requirement)
- novel? (that is, different from all previous inventions in some important way)
- nonobvious? (is it a surprising and significant development to somebody who understands the technical field of the invention?)
A. Is the design invention:
- novel? (that is, different from all previous inventions in some important way)
- nonobvious? (is it a surprising and significant development to somebody who understands the technical field of the invention?)
- nonfunctional? (as distinguished from a utility patent)
A. Is the plant invention:
- novel? (that is, different from all previous inventions in some important way)
- nonobvious? (is it a surprising and significant development to somebody who understands the technical field of the invention?)
Contact a qualified business attorney to help you identify how to best protect your business' intellectual property.
File an LLC on your own starting at $0 + state filing fees. Save time and stress.
Prefer to work with a lawyer?Find one right now.