The main type of patent, a utility patent, covers inventions that function in a unique manner to produce a utilitarian result. Examples of utility inventions are Velcro® hook-and-loop fasteners, new drugs, electronic circuits, software that is tied to some form of hardware, semiconductor manufacturing processes, new bacteria, newly discovered genes, new animals, plants, automatic transmissions, Internet techniques and methods of doing business (provided physical things are involved), and virtually anything else under the sun that can be made by humans. To get a utility patent, one must file a patent application that consists of a detailed description telling how to make and use the invention, together with claims (formally written sentence fragments) that define the invention, drawings of the invention, formal paperwork, and a filing fee. Sometimes the state of the art, rather than the nature of the novelty, will determine whether a design or utility patent is proper for an invention. If a new feature of a device performs a novel function, than a utility patent is proper. According to the USPTO in 2009, there were 456,106 utility patent applications. Patent law is designed to promote innovation in "science and useful arts." It's right there in the first Article of the Constitution: in order to be patentable, an invention needs to be useful in some way. Utility patents expire 20 years from the date of filing.

Utility patents protect inventions that are a novel, nonobvious, and useful, such as: process innovations, machine innovations, manufacturing innovations, compositions of matter, or incremental improvements from foundational innovations. The three patentability requirements: New and Novel: For a United States patent the invention must never have been made public in any way, anywhere in the world, a year before the date on which an application for a patent is filed. In other countries, you have no one year grace period and require absolute novelty. Original and Nonobvious: An invention involves an inventive step if, when compared with what is already known, it would not be obvious to someone with a good knowledge and experience of the subject, for example, if you just make cosmetic changes that is obvious. Useful: This means that the invention must take the practical form of an apparatus or device, it has to do something.

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Here are five common factors that often determine the worth of an invention. (1) Importance of a Patent: For breakthrough patents, a.k.a. foundational patents, the patents are so innovative that they give the owner a complete monopoly over an entire industry and are extremely valuable, often worth billions of dollars. Although most patents never reach these heady heights they are nevertheless valuable in that they can force a competitor to start innovating to keep pace with new and improved technologies and products in the market. Incremental patents, which make only small advances over existing products, are usually the least valuable though this may not be always so. A question that is often asked in relation to endeavoring to put a price on a patent is 'How much would my competitors pay to use my protected product or process?' (2) The Market: Market size, the number of products that are likely to be made and the cost of each product also have a significant bearing on the value of a patent. What sort of sales can the patent be expected to support, and for how long? A good example of an article which has significant market presence is the ubiquitous Intel chip that is reported to have a value estimated in the billions of dollars. (3) The Patent Term: Patents have a maximum life of 20 years and, therefore, a 20-year potential monopoly. Patents that are just beginning their life and which have longer to run on the their potential monopoly position understandably will have more value. It is rare that a patent nearing the end of its term will cause a great threat to its competitors. It is almost certain that they will have devised technologies or products of their own by then that will not interfere with the patent owners monopoly position. In addition, one has to take into consideration the potential business life of a patent, i.e., the duration, which a patent is likely to be economically useful, if other subsequent patents are providing better alternatives to it. (4) Amount of Prior Art: The number of cited documents or patented products populating an area of innovation also has an effect on the value of a patent. Generally, if the particular product is one of many products of a similar type then the consumers' options de-value the patent of interest, yielding a relatively smaller premium than, for example, a stand alone patent with a captured customer base and no adjacent competition. (5) Patent Significance: Every patent has its own significance in a particular area and will usually form part of an overall IP strategy either to maximize its earning potential or to allow other patents to maximize theirs. Examples of such patents are those that are used to block other key players from gaining a foothold in a market. Yet other examples are those patents that are additional to an original patent and rely on the protected matter in the original patent to successfully operate. It is not uncommon for drug companies or telecom companies to take out further patents protecting a strong first generation of patents, thus securing a big chunk of a market and the ability to negotiate licenses and royalties from the protected, but much desired technology.

"At the heart of any successful organization there is the recognition that only through the firm's talent will it acheive its objectives. With that in mind, the talent management organization's role is to align its strategy for acquiring, managing and developing talent to the business' strategic objectives. Business leaders want to assist with this goal. According to the Aberdeen Group, the top priority in 2011 for best-in-class companies is aligning their business and talent strategy." (Facteau and Hall, July 2011, talent management TM). Let the patent search tools at IPstreet.com help you identify key assets.