Patenting utility

J. Pagenberg and B. Geissler, Eicense Agreements Patents, Utility Models, Know-How, Computer Software, Cad Heymaims, 1989. 

A number of patents utilize dibasic calcium hypochlorite and concentrated NaOCl solution to produce Ca(OCl)2 Coarse dibasic crystals... 

Utility Patents. Utility patents are granted to individuals only who have invented or discovered any new and useful method, process, machine, manufacture, or matter composition. These patents must be useful to society (have utility). A utility patent has a total time limit for exclusive use by the inventor of 17 years. 

Only the actual inventor may apply for a patent (utility, design, or plant patent). Once a patent has been obtained, the patent can be sold or mortgaged. Also, the owner of a patent may assign part or all interest in the patent to another individual or a company or other business entity. The owner of a patent may also grant licenses to others (either individuals or business entities) to make, use or sell the invention. 

BASIC REQUIREMENTS OF PATENTABILITY UTILITY 1. A compound having the formula... 

Patentable utility problems are almost uniquely peculiar to chemical and pharmaceutical cases. In the mechanical and electrical fields, the useful purpose of the invention is often obvious or readily apparent, and in these areas there is ordinarily little real distinction between the discover of a property and the development of a structural embodiment to accomplish an ultimate use. 

In a more recent decision (34) bearing on the problem of patent-able utility in chemical applications, the court was faced with the problem of determining whether a chemical intermediate, for which no final commercially useful product is specified, has patentable utility—that is, whether usefulness as an intermediate is a patentable utility within the purview of the statute. The allegations and disclosure were found to meet the Bremner rule—but the court modified that rule by holding that an assertion of utility is a meaningless formality and not required by law. Application of the Rule of Bremner was further limited in another case (48), in which the court reviewed that rule and concluded there was in fact no statutory basis for such a rule, particularly where processes are involved. 

Applicants and their attorneys prosecuting chemical and pharmaceutical applications will find the way less arduous and the likelihood of ultimate success greatly increased if they are able to build adequate records so as to obviate Section 101 and 112 issues. A definitive statement of the use (the patentable utility) of the invention, where not obvious, should be included in the specification. Uses for which only meager support can be mustered should not be included. The intended use having been carefully defined, there should be an adequate detailed disclosure of how to use the product, method, or process of the invention. 

The most common and well-known type of patent is the utility patent. Utility patents cover functional features of an invention with utility as a key requirement. Inventions that qualify for utility patents include articles of manufacture, compounds or compositions of matter, manufacturing processes, and methods of using articles, compounds, or compositions. 

This patent utilizes the same principles that the Hess patent, U.S. 3,308,063, that we discussed previously, viz., the ability of an organic compound at high pressure and temperature to dissolve water. The objective of the Hess patent is the dissolution of water from sea water for subsequent recovery of salt-free water and the salt water is discarded. The objective of the this patent is the dissolution of water from sodium hydroxide solution for the purpose of concentrating the sodium hydroxide and the extracted water is discarded. 

Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) (2006). A Guide to Patents Utility. Available http //strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc mrksv/cipo/patents/pat gd protect-e.html sec2. Accessed 20 July 2006. 

Of the three major requirements for patents, utility or usefulness is generally the easiest one to satisfy in drug discovery research. In some fields, inventions can be easier to come by than... 

Improvements or circumventions of existing patents, utilizing the same sequence in alternatively derivatized precursors, are Usted in Reaction scheme 71. 

Patent, utility A document issued by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that grants exclusive use of a process, product, or composition of material in the United States to the holder of the patent for a period of 20 years after the first filing date. 

---