Patent holders are protected by exclusive rights. Once a patentUnited States Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO) the owner is awarded full patent protection for the duration of their patent term. Patent terms are usually about 20 years from the day of registration. Patents prevent anyone else from producing, using or selling the patented product in the United States or any territories abiding by United States patent laws. 

No patent holder shall live with the burden of protecting their patent because the USPTO is responsible for such protection. Issues regarding infringement of patents can be settled in civil court and awards for damages or profits gained by a patent infringer will be directed to the patent owner. The USPTO will support with evidence any patent holder in a legal battle over the right to produce, sell or use a patented product still in it allotted patent term.

Even if a patent holder does not go on to produce their patent, they are still the owner of that patent. Patent protection prevents others from taking a patent and improving it without the permission of the patent holder. If someone has an idea for an improvement to be made to a patent they may get that idea patented but cannot actually produce it. 

At the same time, the owner of the original patent cannot make the improvement to their product if the improvement idea was already patented by someone else. In both circumstances permission must be granted from the patent owners. Many people feel the patent system offers too much protection in that it halts the improvement of existing inventions. 

Patent holders can also grant a licensing term to a third party. For example, if a patent will last 20 years, the patent owner may grant a 5 year licensing term to a third party so they can both benefit from it. Licenses can also be divided by geographic location or by activity with one party producing the product and another responsible for selling the product.

Patent protection is enforceable in civil court. If someone infringes on a registered patent, at least one of three things is likely to occur. The first is an injunction. An injunction can be placed on a defendant so that they are ordered by the court to cease production or stop selling an item that violates patent rights. 

Money may be awarded to the plaintiff to make up for damages caused by the patent violation or to award the defendant’s illegally obtained profits to the plaintiff. The plaintiff’s attorney fees may be paid by the defendant but this is rarer than the other two outcomes of a civil trial regarding a patent violation.

Non-exclusive patent license agreements are accepted by a patent holder if they are denied an exclusive patent license agreement or they do not want the pressures of exclusive patent licensing, which include minimum annual royalty agreements. Non-exclusive patent licensing holders do not have the exclusive rights to a patent as suggested by the term, non-exclusive. 

In fact, a licensor can grant many different non-exclusive licenses to different parties and then grant an exclusive license to another party. Once an exclusive license is obtained, no more non-exclusive licenses will be granted for the same patent. Non-exclusive patent license agreements are basically not worth much one a patent has been granted an exclusive patent license agreement.

Non-exclusive patent license agreement holders do not have protection from the licensor in the event of a lawsuit. Non-exclusive patents do not come with any affirmative rights such as ownership that would stand up in a trial. The licensor who granted the non-exclusive license will not and does not have to provide any protection in patent infringement cases, patent abandonment or length of license arguments. 

A non-exclusive patent license agreement could possibly offer protection similar to exclusive agreements but only if the agreement states that such protection will be offered which is highly unlikely.

Licensors offer multiple non-exclusive licenses to assure that the patent will be used to its full potential. If one person is the holder of a license and they do not follow through with the production and distribution of the patent, that patent has gone to waste. 

The more non-exclusive patent licensing agreements granted, the more likely a patent is able to live up to its full potential and the intellectual property can be successfully commercialized.

The Director of the Patent Office is appointed by the President with following input from the Senate. The Director should be a United States citizen with a professional background in patents and trademark law. The Director is responsible for providing leadership and order within the Patent Office. The Director is also responsible for the issuance of patents and trademark registration. These duties must be performed in an impartial manner. An oath is required to be stated before anyone can take over as Director.

Only the President can remove the Director and he must notify both houses of congress when he plans to do so. Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The Secretary of Commerce appoints the Deputy and Deputy Director of the USPTO. The Deputy Director shall act as the Director in the absence of the Director.

Commissioner 

 The Commissioner is appointed by the Secretary of Commerce.Should have management skills. Should have a patent and trademark professional background.Will serve a term of 5 years.Must make sure all office duties including patent and trademark registration run smoothly.Can be reappointed for another 5 years following a term.Can be removed for unsatisfactory performance by the Secretary of Commerce.

The Director shall appoint officers and employees which includes attorneys to carry out the functions of the office. The Director will delegate the responsibilities of all employees they hire. Will not be eligible to have any inventions or trademarks registered during their time working for the USPTO or for one year removed from their position.

         The USPTO shall submit a proposal to congress to train more employees to make up for those that are retiring.

         The Director shall maintain a program for identifying those best suited for protecting certain inventions or patents that could have an effect on national security.

Patent protection is vital to the economic growth and technological advancement of the United States. People who think of new ideas and are capable of creating new inventions deserve to receive credit for their work and that credit includes monetary values. When a new invention is created, the inventor deserves to have the exclusive rights of ownership belonging to that item. 

Exclusive rights give a patent owner the right to be the only person profiting off of a patent for a set period of time. When a licensor grants a licensee the right to be the only party creating an invention, it is up to the inventor to take advantage of the situation because their exclusive ownership will not last forever. Anyone or group that infringes on a patented item is committing patent infringement.

Obtaining a patent from the USPTO is the best way to protect intellectual property from anyone looking to infringe on an original idea or invention. If someone invents a new product but does not patent it, that item is not patent protected. If someone steals that item and manages to get the item patent protected with the USPTO, they will receive credit for inventing the item and have the full protection and rights afforded for the USPTO. 

The owner of a patent is entitled to the production, marketing and sales of that patent. One does not want to lose out on the rewards of inventing a useful item because they failed to receive a patent. Those who suffer from patent infringement are able to receive monetary reward if they successfully patented their product prior to the infringement.

Exclusive licenses give lincensees full legal protection from patent infringement. They are the sole owners of a patent and have the right to sell and profit off the patent. The lincensor may require the exclusive lincensee to meet specific annual royalty minimum quotas. Failure to meet the commercial demands of a patent could result in losing the license or being demoted to a non-exclusive license.

These licenses are not protected by the USPTO in infringement cases unless otherwise noted. Licensors that offer non-exclusive licenses to patent owners do not trust the lincensee to meet the commercial expectations of the licensor so the licensor grants non-exclusive licenses to multiple people. Most owners of non-exclusive licenses would prefer to be exclusive license owners.

The United States Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO) act under the authority of the Secretary of Commerce. The main responsibility of the USPTO is to grant and issue patents trademarks. Providing a seal to represent the USPTO on all trademarked and patented items.

         Govern the conduct of proceedings in the office.

         Facilitate and expedite the process of patent applications which includes filing, storing, processing and searching.

         Judge attorneys and other agents to make sure they are of good character when determining if they are suitable to advise the public on matters pertaining to the USPTO.

         Evaluate cost effectiveness of procedures within the office and pertaining to the public. 

         They may alter, create, create, hold or manage any property within the USPTO if believed necessary.

         May use, with consent, the functions and instruments used by other federal government agencies.

         Retain all revenues and receipts. 

         Advise the President on certain intellectual property issues.

         Provide guidance or support to foreign nations regarding intellectual property issues.

         Shall advise the Secretary of Commerce on research and programs as well as conduct their own.

         Shall authorize along with the Secretary of State, the transfers of no more than $100,000 to international intergovernmental organizations for studies and programs meant to advance international cooperation concerning patents, trademarks and other matters.

Software patents were not always offered in the United States. There has always been two sides that argue if they should be issued or not issued at all. With technological advancements in current society, it is hard to imagine patent protection not being offered to software. Back in the 1960s, patents were not offered to software. 

This is because the software was simply performing mathematical algorithms which are not patentable. Those against patenting software only saw mathematical equations being performed by a computer and appearing on a screen. There was no other functional or duty being served by the software therefore it could not be patented. Mathematical equations are considered abstract and abstract ideas are not patentable.

In the 1980s, the patent office began to change its position regarding software patents. In 1981, the Diamond v. Diehr case was the first in which the courts ruled a software should be protected by a patent. The software in this case offered instructions for “curing” or molding rubber with heat. 

Rather than just offering equations, the software gave specific instructions for molding rubber and removing the rubber from heat. The court ruled this was a patentable software. This case did not settle all confusion regarding software that contained mathematical equations and other elements that may make it patentable.

In the 1990s, the Federal Court ruled all software that converted numbers into other, real world values could be patent protected. The State Street Bank & Trust v. Signature Financial Group