Double patenting is when a person or company files multiple applications for a patent on a single invention to extend its life. Most patent-granting countries deny such applications. The USPTO rejects applications based on statutory law and judicial precedents. Inventors can remedy the problem by modifying the application or filing a disclaimer.
Double patenting occurs when a person or company files more than one application with a government office for a patent on a single invention. The purpose is to extend the life of a patent. The typical term of a patent is 20 years. A patent protects an invention by prohibiting others from using, selling, or otherwise infringing it. Patent-granting nations do not favor double patenting.
Organizations or inventors attempt double patenting by filing multiple applications for one patent. In the United States, for example, one method inventors try to use is a continuation application to extend the term of a patent. This, however, is not the purpose of a continuing question. The purpose is to protect new improvements to an invention.
The policy behind the granting of patents is to encourage invention. A patent allows an inventor to benefit from his invention exclusively for a specified period. When a patent expires, the public benefits from being able to freely use the invention, and so society as a whole benefits. An inventor thwarts the system by unfairly extending the patent term through double patenting.
Most patent granting countries use the double patent as a basis for denying an application. For example, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will deny an application if it determines it is from the same applicant and for the same invention. This is a denial based on statutory law which does not allow multiple patents for a single invention by the same inventor. Patent attorneys refer to this as double patenting the same invention. In other words, an inventor is entitled to only one patent for an invention.
The USPTO may also reject a patent application based on judicial precedents prohibiting double patenting. The judicial system has established that a second patent is void if it is an evident variation of a patent, owned by the same inventor, or subject to assignment to the same person. Patent attorneys refer to this as a double patent of the obvious type. This is a fair remedy to prevent the extension of the term of a patent.
It is possible for inventors to remedy the double patenting problem. For example, an inventor can modify the patent application or can even file a final disclaimer stating that the term of the second patent will not exceed the term of the initial patent. There are other methods of getting over a rejection depending on the facts of each situation.
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