3.11 Engineering Standards and Codes 65
Patent When you come up with an invention, in order to prevent others from making, using,
or selling your invention, you may file for a patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The right given by the patent in the language of the statute and of the grant itself includes,
“the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling” the invention in
the United States or “importing” the invention into the United States.
It is important to understand that the patent does not grant the inventor the right to make,
use, or sell the invention, but it excludes others from making, using, or selling the invention.
For a new patent, an invention is protected for a term of 20 years from the date on which the
application for the patent was filed.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recommends that all prospective applicants retain
the services of a registered patent attorney or patent agent to prepare and execute their appli-
cations. A design patent is good for 14 years from the time it was granted. A utility patent lasts
for either 17 years from the time it was granted or 20 years from the earliest filing date,
whichever is longer. A utility patent is issued for the way an item works and is used; whereas a
design patent protects the way an item looks.Trademark and Service Mark A trademark is a name, word, or symbol that a company uses to
distinguish its products from others. It is important to note that the trademark right issued to
a company excludes others from using the same or similar mark, but it does not prevent other
companies from making the same or similar products. Coke
®
and Pepsi
®
are examples of sim-
ilar products with different trademarks. A service mark is a name, word, or symbol that a com-
pany uses to distinguish its services from others. A service mark is the same as a trademark,
except that it applies to a service rather than a product.Copyright Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States to the
authors of “original works of authorship.” The copyright laws cover literary, dramatic, musical,
artistic, and other types of intellectual works and is obtainable for both published and unpub-
lished work. The copyright laws protect the form of expression used by the authors, not the
content or the subject matter of their work. For example, an author can write a book about the
fundamentals of physics. The copyright law protects the author’s work from others copying the
exact way things were explained or described. It does not prevent others from writing another
book about the same fundamentals of physics, nor does it prevent others from using the fun-
damental laws of physics. For a work created after January 1, 1978, the copyright laws protect
it for a term that is equal to the author’s life plus 70 years after the author’s death. For a piece
of work that has two or more authors, the term extends to the last surviving author’s life plus
70 years. It is also important to note that currently there are no international copyright laws that
would protect an author’s work throughout the world.3.11 Engineering Standards and Codes
Today’s existing standards and codes ensure that we have safe structures, safe transportation sys-
tems, safe drinking water, safe indoor/outdoor air quality, safe products, and reliable services.
Standards also encourage uniformity in the size of parts and components that are made by
various manufacturers around the world.Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).圀圀圀⸀夀䄀娀䐀䄀一倀刀䔀匀匀⸀䌀伀䴀圀圀圀⸀夀䄀娀䐀䄀一倀刀䔀匀匀⸀䌀伀䴀