Chapter 76 – Patents

Publisher Summary A patent is a property right granted to an inventor for an invention. The right conveyed by a patent is the power to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a set period of time. Patents are a unique medium for conveying toxicological, and other, information because restrictions are placed on the granting of a patent for prior published work. In the United States, if a description of the invention is published more than one year before a patent application is filed, a patent may not be granted. For example, if a research group publishes their invention in the form of a meeting abstract or a journal article, they may lose the right to patent the invention if a patent application is not filed within one year of the date of publication. However, in many foreign countries, an inventor must file a patent application on the date of public use or disclosure in order to preserve patent rights. This chapter provides resources for obtaining patents, information on patents, and patenting scientific information. A selection of books and journal articles is provided, along with an introduction to international patent organizations. In addition, an assortment of open access and fee-for-service databases which provide full-text patents has been compiled.