What are the four basic requirements for accurate patent determination? These same four things are also necessary for filing a patent that will be useful and protect your invention from theft. They are:
The invention must be new
Being new means that it cannot be known to others or used by others before the inventor claims to have invented it. It also means that the invention cannot be patented or publicly disclosed before the invention of the inventor. A patent must be filed within 1 year after public disclosure or use.
The invention should not be obvious
The proposed invention may not be obvious to a person with an average skill in the field of knowledge of the invention. An example would be a red toy car. The blue toy car will become an obvious extension of the red toy car. However, a toy car that turns into a robot is not an obvious extension of the red toy car.
The invention must be described simply and completely so that a qualified technician can duplicate it.
A person with knowledge skills must be able to fully understand the invention so that it can be patentable. If the fear that the stolen invention motivates the inventor to abandon the basic elements of the invention, then it is not patentable. This person will serve better, keeping the invention a commercial secret.
Patent applications must be clear and specific.
Patent applications are the most complex, but the most important part of a patent. This is the intellectual property that you request from the patent office for protection. These claims must be specific and understandable, otherwise the Patent Office will not accept them. Even if the patent office accepts them, they must be justified in court.
