Patents differ significantly from copyrights and trademarks . If you fail to pay the maintenance fee, your patent expires and you lose exclusive rights to your invention. Utility patents apply to new and useful processes, machines, manufactures, compositions of matter, or any new and useful improvement of one of these. Generally speaking, if your invention does something, you should apply for a utility patent.
Design patents apply to new, original, and ornamental design for an article or manufacure.
To highlight the difference between design and utility patents, consider the original Macintosh computer. The plastic shel l that covers all working parts is covered by a design patent, while many of the working parts it hides are covered by utility patents. Plant patents are granted to any person who has invented or discovered and asexually reproduced any distinct and new variety of plant, including cultivated sports, mutants, hybrids, and newly found seedlings, other than tuber-propogated plant or a plant found in an uncultivated state. Return to top Three Criteria To receive a patent your invention must meet at least the following three criteria. Usefulness Anyone who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, compositions of matter, or any new and useful improvement of one of these can receive a utility patent.