Patent

Recently I have been researching patents and have learned many things. Thing cannot be patentented if they have been in public use for more than a year. Patentability is a large field: patentable things must be novel, non-obvious, and useful. The US Patent and Trademark Office publishes a Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. There are a number of legal concepts that sound technical. There are also many fun neoligisms and legal lingo that remind me of social studies class, such as patent thickets, submarine patents, nail houses, eminent domain, laches, and patent pools. My favorite is the uncreative “patent troll,” who is a baron that hoards patents to sue infringers.