Glossary
Patent terms, in plain English.
Short definitions of the words founders meet first.
- Claims
- The numbered statements at the end of a patent that define exactly what is protected.
- Freedom to operate
- An analysis of whether making or selling a product may infringe other people's patents.
- Grace period
- Time after your own public disclosure in which you can still file. The US allows 12 months; many countries allow none.
- Maintenance fees
- Fees that keep a granted US utility patent in force, due about 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years after grant.
- Non-provisional application
- The full US application, with claims, that the patent office examines.
- Office action
- A written report from the patent examiner, usually raising objections or rejections that you can answer.
- PCT
- The Patent Cooperation Treaty route: one international application that later enters national phases. It is not an international patent.
- Prior art
- Anything made public before your priority date that can be used to judge whether an invention is new and non-obvious.
- Priority date
- The earliest filing date a later application can rely on.
- Provisional application
- A US filing that secures an early date for what it describes. It is not examined and expires after 12 months.
Information on this page is general and not legal advice. Outcomes cannot be guaranteed.