Essentials introduces the three sorts of patents, which can be described as follows:
Utility Patent- Issued for the invention of a new and
useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of
matter, or a new and useful improvement thereof, it
generally permits its owner to exclude others from
making, using, or selling the invention for a period of
up to twenty years from the date of patent application
filing, subject to the payment of maintenance fees.
Approximately 90% of the patent documents issued by the
Patent Office in recent years have been utility patents, also
referred to as "patents for invention."
-Utility patents are what I typically thought of when considering intellectual property, a conception I think most people share. Also, the sort of silly idea of inventors in basements cooking up and attempting to paten modified toasters actually appears to be a reality directly addressed by the authors.
* Design Patent- Issued for a new, original, and
ornamental design for an article of manufacture, it
permits its owner to exclude others from making, using,
or selling the design for a period of fourteen years
from the date of patent grant.
-User interface patents, I think, fall under this category. There is an upcoming section devoted to software stuff that I look forward to getting to, as such issues are principle among my interests.
* Plant Patent- Issued for a new and distinct, invented
or discovered asexually reproduced plant including
cultivated sports, mutants, hybrids, and newly found
seedlings, other than a "tuber propagated plant" (apparently meaning a a
plant found in an uncultivated state), it permits its
owner to exclude others from making, using, or selling
the plant for a period of up to twenty years from the
date of patent application filing.
-The concept of owning life forms represented in this disturbs me quite a bit. Proprietary life certain outdoes my distaste for proprietary information, and the ethical issues within have me currently overwhelmed. I'm going to read more on this and respond lengthily when I feel able.
