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The original patent term under the 1790 Patent Act was decided individually for each patent, but "not exceeding fourteen years". The 1836 Patent Act (5 Stat. 117, 119, 5) provided (in addition to the fourteen-year term) an extension "for the term of seven years from and after the expiration of the first term" in certain circumstances, when the inventor hasn't got "a reasonable remuneration for ...
"The term of protection available [for patents] shall not end before the expiration of a period of twenty years counted from the filing date." [ 1 ] Consequently, in most patent laws nowadays, the term of patent is 20 years from the filing date of the application.
The "patentability" of inventions (defining the types things that qualify for patent protection) is defined under Sections 100–105. Most notably, section 101 [9] sets out "subject matter" that can be patented; section 102 [10] defines "novelty" and "statutory bars" to patent protection; section 103 [11] requires that an invention to be "non ...
Patents were systematically granted in Venice as of 1474, where they issued a decree by which new and inventive devices had to be communicated to the Republic in order to obtain legal protection against potential infringers. The period of protection was 10 years. [12] As Venetians emigrated, they sought similar patent protection in their new homes.
Obtaining patents became much easier during the period after the Patent Act of 1793 and the next federal Patent Act passed in 1836. Between the Patent Act of 1790 and that of 1793, only 57 patents were granted, but by July 2, 1836, a total of 10,000 patents had been granted. [17] This however, came at an expense of the quality of patents granted.
In principle, anyone who exploits a patented invention without the patentee's authorization commits an illegal act. Protection is granted for a limited period, generally 20 years. Once a patent expires, the protection ends, and the invention enters the public domain (also known as being "off patent").