FAQs Patent Questions

Question:How long is a patent granted for?

Answer:
Patents expire 20 years from the date of filing. Many other factors can affect the duration of a patent.

Question:Patent application publications are available on the Web and at the patent and trademark depository libraries.

Answer:
If an applicant or a practitioner chooses not to print copies of U.S. patents and patent applications publications through the USPTO Patents on the Web system or through the E-Patent Reference system, commercial sources that provide patents very quickly and inexpensively are available, and copies of U.S. patents and patent application publications are also available at the Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries (PTDLs).

Question:A patent is considered personal property and may be sold, mortgaged and may pass on to the heirs of a deceased patentee.

Answer:
A patent is personal property and may be sold to others or mortgaged; it may be bequeathed by a will; and it may pass to the heirs of a deceased patentee. The patent law provides for the transfer or sale of a patent, or of an application for patent, by an instrument in writing.

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