Glossary of patent law terms
Wikimedia glossary list article
This is a list of legal terms relating to patents and patent law. A patent is not a right to practice or use the invention claimed therein, but a territorial right to exclude others from commercially exploiting the invention, granted to an inventor or their successor in rights in exchange to a public disclosure of the invention.
A
Abandonment
Abandonment refers to the cessation of a patent application’s progress due to the applicant’s failure to make a bona fide attempt to advance the patent application to a final conclusion.
Abandonment in patent prosecution can occur either voluntarily or involuntarily:
Voluntary abandonment (also called “express abandonment” or “formal abandonment”) occurs when the applicant explicitly communicates their intent to withdraw the application from consideration.
Involuntary abandonment happens when the applicant fails to meet specific requirements, such as failing to respond to an office action or failing to paying required fees within the prescribed time frame. If no reply is received within the allotted period, the application may be considered abandoned or deemed withdrawn, depending on the jurisdiction, and is therefore no longer pending.
Allowance
Allowance refers to the stage in patent prosecution where the relevant patent office has determined that a patent application satisfies all legal requirements—such as novelty, non-obviousness or inventive step, feasibility, and utility or industrial applicability—and is ready for grant pending the completion of final formalities and paying requisite fees, if any.
Annuity fee
A fee to be paid to maintain a patent or a patent application in force. Also called "maintenance fee" or "renewal fee".
Application
An application for a patent, or patent application, is a formal request submitted to a competent authority (usually a patent office) by an applicant (usually an inventor, a group of inventors, or an organization) to grant a patent for an invention.
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