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. If you invent a new, original, and ornamental design for an article or manufacture you may receive a design patent.
Plant patents work a bit differently.
Novelty Your patent must, of course, be novel. So if you invent something, begin to market it, and apply for a patent more than a year after you've made your invention public, you've prevented yourself from getting a patent. Be sure to invent something before you apply for a patent. Return to top International Patent Protection Patent protection granted to an inventor by a government is only valid in the country where the inventor requested it. The rights do not extend beyond that country.