Utility patents are divided into mechanical , chemical or electrical groups. The patent laws provide for the granting of design patents to any person who has invented any new and nonobvious ornamental design for an article of manufacture. The design patent protects only the appearance of an article, but not its structural or functional features. The law also provides for the granting of a patent to anyone who has invented or discovered and asexually reproduced any distinct and new variety of plant, including cultivated spores, mutants, hybrids, and newly found seedlings, other than a tuber-propagated plant or a plant found in an uncultivated state. Reissue Patent - These are granted if there is a substantial error or errors in the original patent.
Patents contain a wealth of specific technical detail, research data, and drawings.
If you are an inventor, you should be aware of relevant prior art in your technology. If you are an entrepreneur, you should monitor your competitors' new products, and where they are patented. If you are involved in applied research, you need to review new and pending patents in your discipline. Patents and patent applications are often published earlier than academic papers. Canada has about 2.5 million and the U.S. over 6 million granted patents representing 150 years of technology.