Patentability Checklist
Created by FindLaw's team of legal writers and editors | Last updated June 20, 2016
I. Checklist for Utility Patents
A. Is the utility invention:
- a process or method?
- a machine?
- an article of manufacture?
- a composition of matter? or
- an improvement of an invention that fits within one of the first four categories?
B. Is the utility invention:
- useful? (even some trivial usefulness satisfies the utility requirement)
- novel? (that is, different from all previous inventions in some important way)
- nonobvious? (is it a surprising and significant development to somebody who understands the technical field of the invention?)
II. Checklist for Design Patents
A. Is the design invention:
- novel? (that is, different from all previous inventions in some important way)
- nonobvious? (is it a surprising and significant development to somebody who understands the technical field of the invention?)
- nonfunctional? (as distinguished from a utility patent)
III. Checklist for Plant Patents
A. Is the plant invention:
- novel? (that is, different from all previous inventions in some important way)
- nonobvious? (is it a surprising and significant development to somebody who understands the technical field of the invention?)
Next Steps
Contact a qualified business attorney to help you identify how to best protect your business' intellectual property.