The current U.S. Patent Law divides patents into three types: invention patents, design patents and plant patents. The protection period is 20 years from the date of application.

Section 111 of the U.S. Patent Law (35U.S.C§111) clearly stipulates that patent applications should be submitted in writing by the inventor or his authorized person; the patent application should be submitted within the statutory time limit Pay all relevant fees within the period. Therefore, the four major elements of a U.S. patent application are: 1. Description (i.e., description of the invention and at least one claim); 2. Drawings (if necessary); 3. Oath or statement (usually signed by the inventor) ; 4. Fees (all legal fees payable). Among them, the first two elements are the basic conditions for obtaining an application date.

USPTO patent application approval process:

The application is submitted by the inventor or his authorized person → received by the USPTO acceptance department, the receipt date is determined and the application number is given → processed by the application department Review the formalities and determine the application date, complete document processing and data collection, and at the same time, the rights transfer department handles matters involving rights transfer → Classification → Allocate the application to the review department for review according to the classification number. The examination process mainly includes: 1) Formal examination and search 2) Substantive examination 3) Applicant’s reply 4) Re-examination 5) Final decision etc. → Those who are not satisfied with the decision can appeal to the Patent Appeal and Conflict Committee.

Before the revision of the U.S. Patent Act in 1999, it was stipulated that patent applications would not be published before they were granted, and the USPTO would be responsible for keeping them confidential. In order to be consistent with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the 1999 revised U.S. Patent Act stipulates that patent applications should be published immediately after 18 months from the filing date or priority date, and the applicant can also request early publication.