LEGAL QUESTION: why is a patent valid for 17 years???

Question

why is the number of years until a patent is no longer valid 17, why 17, and not 20, there has to be some reason please help thx

Answer 1

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Answer 2

"Generally, the term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, in special cases, from the date an earlier related application was filed, subject to the payment of maintenance fees. U.S. patent grants are effective only within the United States, U.S. territories, and U.S. possessions. Under certain circumstances, patent term extensions or adjustments may be available."

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Answer 3

The U.S. Constitution explicitly empowers Congress to set the times for patent and copyright. They pick whatever date they pick. Notice that copyrights keep getting longer, as corporations like Disney keep worrying that Mickey Mouse will become public domain.

Answer 4

That's how the law was written. It's statutory.

If you want to know why Congress picked any particular number, you'd need to read that statute itself, and possibly the legislative history behind the statute.

Answer 5

coragryph is right. Its 17 yrs because that's the # congress picked. They don't need a particular reason.

Answer 6

Actually, it is 20 years. Please refer to the US Patent Office website.