IP Glossary
Novelty
The quality of an invention not having been publicly disclosed before the filing date - a mandatory requirement for both patents and petty patents.
Read about Patents →Inventive Step
The requirement that an invention not be something a person skilled in the field could easily arrive at. This is what separates an invention patent (high bar) from a petty patent (lower bar).
Read about Patents →Office Action
A notice from the Department of Intellectual Property requiring the applicant to amend or clarify a patent or trademark application before it proceeds or is refused.
Read What Is an Office Action? →Distinctiveness
The quality a trademark must have so consumers can tell one owner's goods/services apart from another's - a mandatory requirement for trademark registration.
Read about Trademarks →Prior Art
Information, inventions, or documents already publicly disclosed before a patent application's filing date, used to check whether the claimed invention is genuinely novel.
Read about patent search →Trade Secret
Business information that has value because it isn't generally known and is kept confidential by its owner. It requires no registration, but also carries no legal monopoly the way a patent does.
Read Patent vs. Trade Secret →Infringement
Acting on a patent, trademark, or other IP right without the owner's permission - for example, making, using, selling, or importing a product that matches another party's patent claims. The rights holder can petition the court for an injunction and damages.
National Phase
The stage after a PCT international patent application moves into examination before each selected national or regional patent office. Each office examines and decides independently under its own law, with its own deadlines, documentation, translation requirements, and fees.
Read: what is the National Phase →Priority Date
The date from which priority is claimed for the relevant subject matter of an invention or mark. Its legal effect depends on the application filed, the applicable treaty, the facts of the case, and the jurisdiction involved - it is not always the date on which worldwide protection begins, as is sometimes mistakenly assumed.
Read: what is the PCT and priority →This glossary is being expanded over time.
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