Patent rights comprise of methods, designs, machines, ground -breaking inventions etc. U.S. law grants to patentees the right to exclude others from making, using, or selling their invention for a limited period. Human improvisation on an existing phenomenon or enhancing its utility qualifies for patent protection and only creations of the mind that are fresh, new and distinct are patented. As such, anything made out of human intellect is patentable, provided it conforms to the above requirements.

In general, patent protection begins with the date of the grant and usually ends 20 years from the date the applications were filed. Utility and plant patents are granted for a term of 20 years. A person obtaining a patent must make the timely payment of the appropriate maintenance fees. Design patents last 14 years from the date it is granted and does not require maintenance fees.

The Patent Cooperation Treaty or PCT is an international agreement for filing patent applications. This mechanism is in effect in up to 117 countries. The PCT system does not provide for the grant of an international patent. However, the system simplifies the process of filing patent applications.

Because PCT is an international treaty applicable in 117 countries, it delays the expenses associated with applying for patent protection in other countries. Under the PCT, an inventor can file a single international patent application in one language with one patent office in order to simultaneously seek protection for an invention in up to 117 countries. It also allows the inventor more time to assess the commercial viability of his/her invention.

A provisional application only establishes the filing date and expires automatically after one year. A person seeking patent protection may make a provisional application when he/she is not ready to enter the application into the regular examination process. A provisional application establishes a filing date at a lower cost for a first patent application filing in the United States and allows the term “Patent Pending” to be applied to an invention. The non-provisional application, on the other hand, establishes the filing date of patent application and begins the examination process.

A patent application should be filed as soon as possible after the completion date of the invention. The inventor must also be ready to provide a description of his/her invention. According to the prevailing law, a patent application must be filed within one year of the date the invention is first publicly disclosed. If the idea is still in the embryonic stage, and the person is not ready to file a patent application, the USPTO offers the Disclosure Document program. However, it is to be noted that a disclosure is not an application for a patent, and it will not provide any patent protection for an invention.

Whoever invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant, including cultivated spores, mutants, hybrids, and newly found seedlings, other than a tuber propagated plant or a plant found in an uncultivated state, may obtain a patent therefore, subject to the conditions and requirements known as plant patent.

Subject to the conditions and requirements whoever invents any new, original and ornamental design for an article of manufacture may obtain a patent. Patents for designs shall be granted for the term of fourteen years from the date of grant.

As per law it is the author/creator who may apply for a patent. There are exceptional circumstances when a person other than the author may apply for the patent. Those situations are for example, when the author is dead and his/her legal heirs can apply or when the author is insane and his/her guardian can apply. Likewise there are various other exceptional instances also.

If a person who is not the author/creator should apply for a patent, the patent, if it were obtained, would be considered invalid. The person who falsely applied for the patent will also have to face criminal charges and penalties too.

"Trademark" is a word, design or combination used by an individual or a business to identify its goods or services. In some cases a trademark can also be a sensory mark – a sound, a color or a smell.

Types of marks may vary depending upon the goods or services it represents. Thus, ‘trademark’ is used in connection with goods, ‘service mark’ is used in connection with services, ‘collective marks’ are used by members of a cooperative or association or other collective group, including indicating membership therein, and ‘certification mark’ is used by an entity other than its owner to show that the goods or services used in connection with the mark meet a certain set of prescribed standards, e.g., the Good Housekeeping seal.

If the mark is already registered it may use ® (or "Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office" or Reg. U.S. Pat & Tm. Off."), which should be placed somewhere near the trademark or the legend asterisked to the mark itself.

Marking provides certain procedural advantages to the owner when attempting to enforce the mark. One cannot obtain lost profits and damages if he/she does not use the notice. However, marking need only be used in a fair representative number of cases and not in each and every time. Marking may also be important in the case of a weak unregistered mark or in the matter of a very popular one which is in danger of becoming generic.

Though the trademarks are valid on the internet, registration and use of a domain name (an address that indicates the location of the owner’s web site) is not similar to the registration and use of a mark. The United States Patent and Trademark Office has a detailed policy for handling the registration of domain names as trademarks, which makes clear that owning a domain name or the mere registration of a domain name, without more, does not create a trademark right. Courts have uniformly held that “registration of a trademark as a domain name, without more is not commercial use of the trademark and therefore not within the prohibitions of the Act.” The “more” that makes the registration of a domain name actionable is intent to trade off the good will of others, the intent to confuse or deceive the public as to the origin of goods or services, or with the intent to extort money for the repurchase of the domain name.

The application for federal trademark registration must be filed in the name of the owner of the mark - usually an individual, corporation or partnership. The owner can submit the application for trademark registration or be represented by an attorney. An application filed by anybody else will be declared void.

Generally, the person who uses or controls the use of the trademark and controls the goods and services the trademark represents, is the owner of the mark.

In the matter of non-residency, applicants not living in the United States must designate in writing the name and address of a person residing in the United States. The United States Patent and Trademark Office will send his/her domestic representative all notices and communications regarding the mark, unless the person is represented by an attorney in the United States.

A minor’s eligibility to file for trademark registration depends upon the corresponding state law. If the person validly enters into binding legal obligations in their state, that person may sign a trademark application. Otherwise, a parent or legal guardian must sign the application, clearly setting forth their status as a parent or as legal guardian of the applicant.

A domain name qualifies as a mark when it is used in connection with a website that offers goods or services to the public. This includes all sites conducting e-commerce and sites which provide Web-related services.