FAQs Patent Questions

Question:The patent law specifies that its subject matter must be useful, meaning it is able to perform its intended purpose.

Answer:
The patent law specifies that the subject matter must be “useful.” The term “useful” in this connection refers to the condition that the subject matter has a useful purpose and also includes operativeness, that is, a machine which will not operate to perform the intended purpose would not be called useful, and therefore would not be granted a patent.

Question:Will the USPTO advise me as to whether a certain patent promotion organization is reliable and trustworthy?

Answer:
No. The Office has no control over such organizations. The Office will publish complaints regarding invention promoters and replies from the invention promoters. The Office will not undertake any investigation of the invention promoters.

Question:A joint owner of a patent may sell the invention for his or her own profit provided they do not infringe another’s patent rights or the joint owners have a contract

Answer:
Any joint owner of a patent, no matter how small the part interest, may make, use, offer for sale and sell and import the invention for his or her own profit provided they do not infringe another’s patent rights, without regard to the other owners, and may sell the interest or any part of it, or grant licenses to others, without regard to the other joint owner, unless the joint owners have made a contract governing their relation to each other.

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