Welcome to our next module in this series on Protecting Business Innovations Via Patent, when we're going to be talking about the requirements for getting a utility patent. This is the third module in a four-module course. Looking at patents and protecting innovations for our patents. In our first module, we talked about what is a patent, and why is a patent useful? Why do we even do this in society, and why is it valuable to companies? And so at the end of that module, you may be saying to yourself, yeah, I want one of those valuable things. Patents sound cool. In the second module, we talked about the process of getting of utility patent. What it takes, how much money we're talking about, how long, how difficult? And at the end of Module 2 you may be thinking, darn, this is hard. This is expensive. This is going to take a long time. I'm not sure it's worth it. If you have come back and said, yeah but I really want one, and it's really valuable. I know it's going to take long time, and I know it's going to be difficult, but I'm ready. I want a patent. You're ready for Module 3. What does it take? What's the meat? What do you have to do? Because we talked about the process. How do you get there to get a patent? But we've said, we'll delay to Module 3, what are the requirements? So now we're going to talk about the meat of what's required, what do you need to do or put into your application to get a utility patent? What are your requirements? What are the details? And so this is an important module. In fact, if you're really, really interested in patents, if you really, really want to get a patent, you know you want to get a patent, you may say, I could have skipped Module 1. I could have skipped Module 2. Just tell me, what do I have to do? And that's where we're going to start here. This is our module on what is required to get a utility patent. In our fourth module, we'll be talking about some advanced topics and some interesting examples. This one is the meat. That one is the icing on the cake. Now, in terms of the essential requirements, just briefly, you have to be novel. That means you have to be new. New has several meanings. It means you have to be the first, so new and original. But it also means if you publish something more than a year before you apply for a patent, you can't get a patent. There's some issues around that in some interactions with your provisional patent. But just be aware there's a limited time that you're allowed to apply for a patent on any new idea or invention. And that's your novelty and novelty bars. Second is utility. Utility means it has to be useful. Useful means to the public. Useful means practical. Not just, I know there are many things I could do with this and I know it's useful, and it would be useful for me and buy a laboratory. No, it has to be useful to the public. And it has to be a specific utility. Third is non-obviousness, which could be a proxy for brilliance. When a judge says, wow, I wouldn't have thought of that. That's a great idea. That's a sign of no-obviousness. There's more to it, there's more criteria, and it's complex gradually. When we go through the sessions we will spend at one session on novelty, one session on utility. But for non-obviousness, that'll take more than one session. Because non-obviousness is a big area and a complex area to cover with and deal with. So we'll focus most of our time and effort here on this non-obviousness element of patent requirement. Now, an example of a patent would be a fountain pen. It's an old patent, an old technology. It's been with us a long time. Before we had fountain pens, we had ink wells with a feather and an ink well. When you get a patent on the original filed patent invention, you're going to ask, were you first? Is it useful? Is this brilliant? And we'll look at each of these criteria. But that's what was looked at in this original application for a fountain pen, or any invention. It always must be new, useful, and non-obviousness. That's what you need for patent. Thank you. We look forward to seeing you in each of our modules. [MUSIC]