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Apatent caveat, often shortened tocaveat, was alegal document filed with theUnited States Patent Office.[1]
Caveats were instituted by theU.S. Patent Act of 1836, but were discontinued in 1909, with theU.S. Congress abolishing the system formally in 1910.[2] A caveat was similar to apatent application with a description of aninvention anddrawings, but without examination forpatentable subject matter and without a requirement forpatent claims. A patent caveat was an official notice of intention to file a patent application at a later date. A caveat expired after one year, but could be renewed by paying anannual fee of $10.[2][3]
Caveats were similar toprovisional applications used today in theUnited States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) which also expire after one year. However, provisional applications today are non-renewable under any circumstances.
According to theGuide to the Practice of the Patent Office 1853,[4] the primary objective of a caveat was to prevent the issuing of a rival patent for the same invention to a subsequent inventor. Before the issuing of a patent, the caveats filed within the preceding year were searched. If one was found for the same invention as the proposed patent, the Patent Office notified the holder of the caveat, who then had three months to submit a formal patent application with claims. If the two patent applications claimed the same invention, aninterference would then be declared and neither patent could be issued until it was determined which was thefirst to invent.[2]
The filing fee of $10 for a caveat was less costly than the filing fee of $15 for a full patent application.[3] As stated by the USPTO: "In 1861, the fee for obtaining a full patent was $35, of which $15 was to be paid at the time of application and $20 when the patent was granted. In 1922, the patent filing fee increased from $15 to $20." However the patent caveat fee remained $10 per year until the caveat system was abolished.[3]