Utility Patents

Before obtaining a utility patent, an inventor must show that an invention is Novel, Non-Obvious, and Useful.

For instance, this invention met those criteria and was awarded a utility patent in 1983:

 

 

This invention was ultimately marketed as the Rubik's Cube. The world's largest hand-solvable, stationary Rubik's Cube Links to an external site. was designed by University of Michigan Mechanical Engineering students, and it can be found in the G.G. Brown Building on the U-M north campus.

 

 

To date, more than 11,000,000 utility patents have been granted in the United States alone.

A utility patent granted by the United States Patent & Trademark Office has a term of 20 years from date of filing.