Patent Application (Conventional)

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Patent Application (Conventional)

A patent application is a document submitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) in the hope of obtaining patent protection for an invention. There are three types of patent applications, utility, design, and plant. A utility patent application discloses how an invention works. A design patent application discloses how an invention looks. And, a plant patent application discloses a new variety of plant. The patent application is examined by the PTO, and if the invention is found to be both novel and unobvious, a patent is issued. Strict PTO rules govern the format and content of a patent application.