What are the requirements for a patent?
The two primary requirements for having a United States patent issue are that the invention is novel, that is, never been done before, and the invention is not obvious, based on what has already been done before. These two requirements are closely examined by the Patent and Trademark Office during the examination of a patent application. There are other requirements that need to be noted. An inventor cannot get a patent if a public disclosure was made more than 12 months before the patent application is filed. Also, an inventor cannot get a patent if an offer for sale was made more then 12 months before the patent application is filed.
