Patent Terms Glossary

Disclosure

Definition:
In return for a patent, the inventor gives as consideration a complete revelation (describes it) or disclosure of the invention for which protection is sought.

PAC

Definition:
Patent Assistance Center (prior), now the Inventors Assistance Center or IAC.

Interference

Definition:
A proceeding, conducted before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (Board), to determine priority of invention between a pending application.

Novel

Definition:
A patent must be new or original. That is, the invention must never have been made in public in any way, anywhere, before the date on which the application for a patent is filed.

Trade Secret

Definition:
Information that companies keep secret to give them an advantage over their competitors.

Group Art Unit

Definition:
A working unit responsible for a cluster of related patent art. Staffed by one supervisory patent examiner (SPE) and a number of patent examiners who determine patentability on applications for a patent.

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