Patent and deal language can be intimidating. This glossary explains the key terms in plain English. Type in the search box to filter, or jump to a letter.

A
America Invents Act (AIA)
The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, signed on September 16, 2011, was a major reform of US patent law. It introduced first-inventor-to-file and created new post-grant proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
Assignment
The transfer of ownership of a patent or patent application from one party to another. After an assignment, the new owner holds the rights, and assignments are normally recorded with the patent office.
B
Bayh-Dole Act
A 1980 US law that allows universities, nonprofits and small businesses to retain title to inventions made with federal research funding, encouraging their licensing and commercialization.
C
Claim
The numbered sentences at the end of a patent that define the legal boundaries of the invention. Infringement is judged against the claims, not the drawings or description alone.
Commercialization
The process of turning an invention into a product or service that is made, sold and used in the market, whether by the inventor, an investor-backed company or a partner.
Confidential disclosure
Sharing invention details with another party under an obligation of confidentiality, usually an NDA. A confidential disclosure is generally not a public disclosure for patent purposes.
Continuation application
A later application that claims the benefit of an earlier pending application's filing date and uses the same disclosure, often to pursue additional or different claims.
D
Derivation proceeding
A USPTO proceeding created by the America Invents Act to determine whether an applicant derived the claimed invention from another inventor and filed without authorization.
Design patent
A patent that protects the ornamental appearance of a manufactured article rather than how it works. In the US, design patents filed on or after May 13, 2015 last 15 years from grant.
Due diligence
The investigation a partner, investor or buyer carries out before a deal, reviewing the invention, its ownership, patent status, risks and business case.
E
Exclusive license
A license under which only the licensee may use the licensed rights, usually within a defined field or territory, sometimes excluding even the patent owner.
F
Field of use
A limitation in a license that restricts the licensee to a particular application, product type or market, allowing the owner to license other fields to other partners.
First-inventor-to-file
The priority system adopted by the United States for applications with an effective filing date on or after March 16, 2013, under which priority generally goes to the inventor who files first.
Freedom to operate (FTO)
An assessment of whether making, using or selling a product would infringe someone else's valid patent rights in a given country. FTO opinions are prepared by patent attorneys.
G
Grace period
A limited period during which an inventor's own public disclosure does not destroy patentability. The US allows one year for certain disclosures by the inventor, while many countries allow little or none.
I
Infringement
Making, using, selling, offering to sell or importing a patented invention without permission during the patent's term in a country where it is in force.
Intellectual property (IP)
Legal rights in creations of the mind, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, industrial designs and trade secrets.
Inter partes review (IPR)
A PTAB trial in which a third party can challenge the validity of issued US patent claims on grounds of novelty or obviousness, based on prior patents and printed publications.
J
Joint venture
An arrangement in which two or more parties combine resources, often in a new jointly owned entity, to develop and commercialize an invention while sharing control, costs and profits.
L
Letter of intent
A preliminary document outlining the intended terms of a deal before a definitive agreement. Like a term sheet, it is usually mostly non-binding.
Licensing
Granting another party permission to use patent rights under agreed terms, typically in exchange for fees or royalties, while the owner keeps ownership.
M
Maintenance fees
Fees that must be paid periodically to keep a patent in force. In the US, utility patent maintenance fees are due at 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years after grant.
Major Partner
In the Pre-Patent Pre-Partnering approach, an established company that is suitable, intrigued and committed to bringing an invention to market together with the inventor's company on fair terms.
Milestone payment
A payment due when a defined goal is reached, such as completing a prototype, receiving regulatory approval or reaching first sales. Common in licenses and partnership deals.
N
Non-disclosure agreement (NDA)
A contract in which one or both parties agree to keep shared information confidential and use it only for an agreed purpose. NDAs are essential before discussing unpublished invention details.
Nonobviousness
The requirement that an invention would not have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the field at the relevant time, considering the prior art.
Nonprovisional application
A regular US patent application that is examined and can mature into a patent. It must include claims and meet all formal requirements.
Novelty
The requirement that an invention is new, meaning it was not already disclosed in the prior art before the relevant filing date.
P
Patent
A government-granted right, for a limited time, to exclude others from making, using, selling or importing an invention, in exchange for publicly disclosing it.
Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
A 1970 treaty administered by WIPO that lets applicants file one international application and delay national filings, generally until 30 or 31 months from the priority date.
Patent pending
A notice that a patent application has been filed but not yet granted. It gives no enforceable rights by itself but signals that protection may follow.
Post-grant review (PGR)
A PTAB proceeding in which a third party can challenge a US patent on any ground of invalidity, but only within nine months after the patent is granted.
Pre-Patent Pre-Partnering
The approach promoted on this site: set a realistic business strategy for your industry before going to market, and seek a suitable, intrigued and committed major partner when the project is ready, instead of building mainly for a takeover.
Prior art
All public evidence that an invention, or something similar, was already known before a given date, including patents, publications, products and public uses.
Priority date
The earliest filing date to which a patent application is entitled. It is used to decide what counts as prior art against the application.
Prototype
An early working model of an invention used to prove feasibility, test design choices and show partners and investors that the idea works.
Provisional application
A lower-cost US filing that secures an early filing date without examination. A nonprovisional application must be filed within 12 months to claim its benefit.
PTAB
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board, a USPTO tribunal that hears appeals from examiners and conducts post-grant trials such as inter partes review and post-grant review.
R
Royalty
A payment made by a licensee to a patent owner for the right to use the invention, often calculated as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount per unit.
S
Silent Trading-Post
A concept proposed by the site's founder for a discreet, trusted venue where inventors and potential partners could find each other before full public disclosure, part of the Pre-patent Registry and silent Trading-Post proposal.
Specification
The written description of a patent or application, explaining the invention in enough detail that a skilled person could make and use it.
Super Economy
A concept proposed by the site's founder describing how patent and innovation policy could stimulate broad economic growth by helping more inventions reach the market.
Sweat equity
The value an inventor contributes through time, skill and effort rather than money, such as developing a prototype. It can be recognized in ownership or deal terms.
T
Technology transfer
The process of moving inventions from research organizations, such as universities, to companies that can develop and sell them, often through licensing.
Term sheet
A short, usually non-binding document summarizing the key terms of a proposed deal, such as structure, payments, exclusivity and responsibilities, before a definitive agreement is drafted.
Trade secret
Confidential business information that has value because it is not generally known and is protected by reasonable secrecy measures. It can last indefinitely but is lost if disclosed.
Trademark
A word, logo or other sign that identifies the source of goods or services. Trademarks protect brands, not inventions.
U
Unified Patent Court (UPC)
A court shared by participating EU member states that began operating on June 1, 2023, hearing infringement and validity cases for European and Unitary Patents.
Utility patent
The most common type of patent, protecting new and useful processes, machines, articles of manufacture or compositions of matter, or improvements to them.
V
Venetian Patent Statute
The law passed by the Venetian Senate on 19 March 1474, widely regarded as the first general patent law. It protected new and ingenious working devices from copying for ten years.
W
WIPO
The World Intellectual Property Organization, a United Nations agency based in Geneva that administers international IP treaties, including the PCT.