Patent registration in Texas. Texas is a state in the South Central region of the United States. As of 2019, Texas had a gross state product (GSP) of $1.9 trillion, the second-highest in the U.S. Its GSP is greater than the GDPs of Brazil, Canada, Russia, South Korea, and Spain, which are the world’s 9th-, 10th-, 11th-, 12th- and 13th-largest economies, respectively. Texas’s economy is the second-largest of any country subdivision globally, behind California. Accordingly, many businesses want to enter this market and one of the most important preparations a business needs to take before expanding to this state is to learn the procedure of patent registration in Texas.
Patent in Texas
According to Texas law, a patent in this country is a grant of a property right given by the Government to an inventor. With a patent, the inventor, or the patentee will have the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling the invention in a country, or importing the invention into a country, along with other rights to protect their best interests.
To be patentable in Texas, an invention must satisfy the requirement of new, inventive, and industrially applicability.
In addition, an invention that is patentable can also be an improvement on existing items or methods.
On the other hand, the subjects that are unpatentable in Texas are:
- Discoveries, laws of nature, and mathematical methods;
- Aesthetic designs;
- Systems, rules, and methods for the performance of mental labor, games or management, computer programs;
- Presentation of data and abstract ideas.
Necessary documents for patent registration in Texas
The necessary documents for patent registration in Texas include:
- The request to grant a patent (patent application);
- Detailed information on the applicant(s) including the applicant’s names, addresses, etc.;
- A description of the invention;
- A signed and stamped power of attorney by the applicant(s);
- A copy of the amendments (if any);
- Priority documents (if any).
- Other required documents.
The procedure for patent registration in Texas
To obtain a patent in Texas, the applicant needs to file their patent application to the IP Office of Texas – USPTO.
In Texas, there are design patents and utility patents.
Design patents protect the look or appearance of an article of manufacture, whereas utility patents cover the idea or the thought behind the article.
Before filing for patent registration in Texas, it’s best that the applicant conducts a patent search to save time and money as there might have already been elements that existed somewhere (prior art) that blocked the registrability of the invention for patent protection.
Basically, to obtain patent protection in Texas, the easiest way is to register your patent to the USPTO.
After thorough examinations (formality examination and substantive examination which doesn’t need a specific request), the applicant will be granted the patent after all the official fees have been paid in full.
You can see a list of Texas IP firms here.