What is a reissue patent?

A reissue patent is a patent granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to an inventor who has found that an existing patent granted to them was issued in error. This means that, due to an error in the USPTO’s application process, the inventor was granted a patent that was not as broad as it should have been. The reissue patent gives the inventor an opportunity to modify the original patent and broaden its scope. A reissue patent can last up to 14 years, the same amount of time a standard patent is good for. The patent holder must apply for a reissue patent within two years of the original patent’s issuance, and the scope of the original patent cannot be broadened beyond what a “person of ordinary skill” would have recognized after a diligent search of the prior art. Under Washington law, it is illegal for someone to infringe on a reissue patent, just as it is for a standard patent. Reissue patents are an important protection for inventors in Washington. Without reissue patents, inventors can find themselves vulnerable to unauthorized use of their inventions. They can also be financially damaged if they do not receive the full scope of protection that they should have had under the original patent. Reissue patents are one of the many tools inventors in Washington can use to ensure that their inventions are properly protected.

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What is a reissue patent?

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