-->
question.jpgIn Patents

What laws govern patents?

As far as patent law in the United States is concerned, Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution is the “grandaddy” of patents, authorizing Congress to grant exclusive rights (e.g., patents) to inventors for their “discoveries.” All of the details of United States patent law, however, are governed by Title 35 of the United States Code, which is a lengthy and sometimes convoluted statute outlining all of the patent requirements (e.g., usefulness, novelty), the application process, the rights you get with a patent, infringement, etc. In the United States, the federal government has what is known as “exclusive jurisdiction” over patents, meaning the only law for patents is federal law - there is no state law governing patents.