What are the different types of patents?

In South Carolina, there are three main types of patents: utility, design, and plant patents. A utility patent is a patent for an invention or invention that is sufficiently new and useful. This could include a machine, article of manufacture, composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement of any of these. Utility patents are the most common type of patent granted in the United States. A design patent is a patent that covers the ornamental design of a product, like the shape of a product or how the lines and curves of a product look. Design patents protect the look and feel of the product, not the products’ functional features. Finally, a plant patent is a patent granted to an inventor for a new and distinct variety of plant that can be reproduced asexually, such as by budding, grafting, or division. Plant patents are often granted to inventors who discover varieties of plants through research and experimentation, or who are the first to discover or asexually reproduce a particular variety. All these patents are managed and overseen by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). It is important to understand that filing a patent application and getting a patent can be a long and complicated process, so consulting a patent lawyer is usually recommended.

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What are the different types of patents?

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