The patent system in the United States differs in several ways from what may be considered to be the worldwide “norm”, if such a norm really exists.
    Currently, with some exceptions such as pharmaceuticals and medical devices, a U.S. patent has a term beginning on the date on which a patent issues and ending 20 years from the date the application was filed, which is to say that the patent term does not begin while the application is pending; it begins only when the patent is actually granted. It can be a matter of years before a patent is granted from the time the patent application is first filed.
    Most other patent systems have patent terms that run for a fixed term from the date the patent application was first filed. For instance, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, and many other countries have patent terms of 20 years from first filing of the patent application.
    The United States is unique in its approach to the allocation of patent rights. In the United States, patent rights are granted to the “first to invent” rather than the universally accepted approach of the “first to file.” Consequently the United States has a unique “Interference System” that it uses to determine which party was the first to invent.
    The basic principles of novelty, utility, and nonobviousness apply as prerequisites to patentability in the United States. However, with regard to the determination of both novelty and nonobviousness, what constitutes prior use or public knowledge — - “prior art” — differs considerably from standards commonly adopted elsewhere. Although subject matter described in a printed publication or patent will constitute prior art, whether or not it is published or patented in the United States, the same is not true of subject matter in public use or known to the public. In these latter cases, only use or knowledge within the United States or its territories constitutes prior art. Many countries determine the applicability of prior art without geographic limitations.
    The United States grants a one-year grace period from the time that an invention is disclosed to the public to the time that the patent application must be filed. In other words, as long as an application for a patent is filed not more than one year from the date the subject matter is publicly disclosed, the applicant may obtain a patent. Elsewhere, the patent application must be filed before any disclosure is made to the public. Thus, in other countries, the inventors freedom of use and publication of their inventions is greatly restricted. Some countries seek an intermediate level of freedom — for example, a six-month grace period for use or public display, but only where the use is found to be experimental and the public display is at an exhibition.
    The United States requires that the best mode for working the invention be disclosed as part of the patent application. Most countries impose no such requirement, and therefore an inventor may possibly hide the best way of using or making the patented product or process. However, this practice is antithetical to the underlying purpose of a patent system because it hinders disclosures of technological innovations.
    Effective November 29, 2000, the United States publishes patent applications that are also filed abroad 18 months after the U.S. filing date, unless the applicant requests otherwise upon filing and states that the invention has not been and will not be the subject of an application filed in a foreign country.
    This publication allows American inventors to see an English language translation of the technology that their foreign counterparts are seeking to protect in the United States at a much earlier point. It gives applicants a reasonable head start and allows others to understand the state of the art so that they can improve upon it and make wise R&D; investment decisions.
    Finally, the United States requires maintenance fees to be paid at 3.5 years, 7.5 years, and 11.5 years after the original grant of a patent, while other countries require annual maintenance fees.

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