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121-397: The pointing stick senses applied force by using two pairs of resistive strain gauges . A pointing stick can be used by pushing with the fingers in the general direction the user wants the pointer to move. The velocity of the pointer depends on the applied force so increasing pressure causes faster movement. The relation between pressure and pointer speed can be adjusted, just as mouse speed

242-584: A D-pad or analog stick . On certain Toshiba Libretto mini laptops, the pointing stick was located next to the display. IBM sold a mouse with a pointing stick in the location where a scroll wheel is common now. Optical pointing sticks are also used on some Ultrabook tablet hybrids, such as the Sony Duo 11, ThinkPad Tablet and Samsung Ativ Q. On the Gateway 2000 Liberty laptop the pointing stick

363-423: A chordal resistance or static resistance , since it corresponds to the inverse slope of a chord between the origin and an I – V curve . In other situations, the derivative d V d I {\textstyle {\frac {\mathrm {d} V}{\mathrm {d} I}}} may be most useful; this is called the differential resistance . In the hydraulic analogy , current flowing through

484-469: A decree by which new and inventive devices had to be communicated to the Republic in order to obtain legal protection against potential infringers. The period of protection was 10 years. As Venetians emigrated, they sought similar patent protection in their new homes. This led to the diffusion of patent systems to other countries. The English patent system evolved from its early medieval origins into

605-410: A linear approximation is typically used: R ( T ) = R 0 [ 1 + α ( T − T 0 ) ] {\displaystyle R(T)=R_{0}[1+\alpha (T-T_{0})]} where α {\displaystyle \alpha } is called the temperature coefficient of resistance , T 0 {\displaystyle T_{0}}

726-532: A circuit element is characterized not only by the ratio of their magnitudes, but also the difference in their phases . For example, in an ideal resistor , the moment when the voltage reaches its maximum, the current also reaches its maximum (current and voltage are oscillating in phase). But for a capacitor or inductor , the maximum current flow occurs as the voltage passes through zero and vice versa (current and voltage are oscillating 90° out of phase, see image below). Complex numbers are used to keep track of both

847-406: A circuit is called a resistor . Conductors are made of high- conductivity materials such as metals, in particular copper and aluminium. Resistors, on the other hand, are made of a wide variety of materials depending on factors such as the desired resistance, amount of energy that it needs to dissipate, precision, and costs. For many materials, the current I through the material is proportional to

968-453: A company helping another company to create a patented product or selling the patented product which is created by another company. There is also inducement to infringement, which is when a party induces or assists another party in violating a patent. An example of this would be a company paying another party to create a patented product in order to reduce their competitor's market share. This is important when it comes to gray market goods, which

1089-420: A conductor of uniform cross section, therefore, can be computed as R = ρ ℓ A , G = σ A ℓ . {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}R&=\rho {\frac {\ell }{A}},\\[5pt]G&=\sigma {\frac {A}{\ell }}\,.\end{aligned}}} where ℓ {\displaystyle \ell }

1210-403: A non-obvious inventive step. A patent is requested by filing a written application at the relevant patent office. The person or company filing the application is referred to as "the applicant". The applicant may be the inventor or its assignee. The application contains a description of how to make and use the invention that must provide sufficient detail for a person skilled in the art (i.e.,

1331-417: A patent covers or the "scope of protection". After filing, an application is often referred to as " patent pending ". While this term does not confer legal protection, and a patent cannot be enforced until granted, it serves to provide warning to potential infringers that if the patent is issued, they may be liable for damages. Once filed, a patent application is "prosecuted" . A patent examiner reviews

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1452-471: A patent. In the United States, however, only the inventor(s) may apply for a patent, although it may be assigned to a corporate entity subsequently and inventors may be required to assign inventions to their employers under an employment contract. In most European countries, ownership of an invention may pass from the inventor to their employer by rule of law if the invention was made in the course of

1573-511: A prohibited act that is protected against by the patent. There is also the Doctrine of Equivalents. This doctrine protects from someone creating a product that is basically, by all rights, the same product that is protected with just a few modifications. In some countries, like the United States, there is liability for another two forms of infringement. One is contributory infringement, which is participating in another's infringement. This could be

1694-497: A prominent middle mouse button, but some models have no physical buttons. Toshiba employs concentric arcs. In the early 1990s, Zenith Data Systems shipped a number of laptop computers equipped with a device called J-Mouse, which essentially used a special keyswitch under the J key to allow the J keycap to be used as a pointing stick. In addition to appearing between the G, H and B keys on a QWERTY keyboard, these devices or similar can also appear on gaming devices as an alternative to

1815-434: A replaceable rubber cap, called a nub, which can be a slightly rough "eraser head" material or another shape. The cap is red on ThinkPads, but is also found in other colors on other machines. It may be gray, pink, black or blue on some Dell models, blue on some HP/Compaq laptops, and green or gray on most Toshiba laptops produced before the 2000s. Button configurations vary depending on vendor and laptop model. ThinkPads have

1936-400: A right to make or use or sell an invention. Rather, a patent provides, from a legal standpoint, the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the patented invention for the term of the patent , which is usually 20 years from the filing date subject to the payment of maintenance fees . From an economic and practical standpoint however, a patent

2057-432: A straight line through the origin with positive slope . Other components and materials used in electronics do not obey Ohm's law; the current is not proportional to the voltage, so the resistance varies with the voltage and current through them. These are called nonlinear or non-ohmic . Examples include diodes and fluorescent lamps . The resistance of a given object depends primarily on two factors: what material it

2178-513: A third party, without authorization from the patentee, makes, uses, or sells a patented invention. Patents, however, are enforced on a national basis. The making of an item in China, for example, that would infringe a US patent, would not constitute infringement under US patent law unless the item were imported into the US. Infringement includes literal infringement of a patent, meaning they are performing

2299-523: A touchpad. The pointing stick is positioned such that the hands do not need to be removed from the home row to manipulate the mouse pointer. Some people find them more appealing for mobile gaming than a touchpad, because the trackpoint allows infinite movement without repositioning. This is because a user's finger may run off the edge of a touchpad while positioning the pointer, requiring them to reposition their finger in order to continue. Some users feel that pointing sticks cause less wrist strain because

2420-555: A unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions in each of its contracting states along with giving owners a 30-month priority for applications as opposed to the standard 12 the Paris Convention granted. A patent application filed under the PCT is called an international application, or PCT application. The steps for PCT applications are as follows: 1. Filing the PCT patent application 2. Examination during

2541-589: A user does not need to avoid resting wrists on a touchpad, which are usually located just below the keyboard. One criticism is that because the pointing stick depends on the user's applying pressure, it can cause hand cramps (although this can be partly solved by setting the sensitivity higher and lifting the finger when the pointer is not being moved). Another criticism is that it stresses the index finger and may lead to repetitive strain injury . A number of ergonomic studies to compare trackpoint and touchpad performance have been performed. Most studies find that touchpad

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2662-457: A voltage drop that interferes with the measurement, so more accurate devices use four-terminal sensing . Many electrical elements, such as diodes and batteries do not satisfy Ohm's law . These are called non-ohmic or non-linear , and their current–voltage curves are not straight lines through the origin. Resistance and conductance can still be defined for non-ohmic elements. However, unlike ohmic resistance, non-linear resistance

2783-415: A wire (or resistor ) is like water flowing through a pipe, and the voltage drop across the wire is like the pressure drop that pushes water through the pipe. Conductance is proportional to how much flow occurs for a given pressure, and resistance is proportional to how much pressure is required to achieve a given flow. The voltage drop (i.e., difference between voltages on one side of the resistor and

2904-477: A yearly basis. Some countries or regional patent offices (e.g. the European Patent Office ) also require annual renewal fees to be paid for a patent application before it is granted. In the US, patent maintenance fees are due on 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 anniversaries of the patent issuance. Only ca. 50% of issued US patents are maintained full term. Large corporations tend to pay maintenance fees through

3025-404: Is electrical conductance , measuring the ease with which an electric current passes. Electrical resistance shares some conceptual parallels with mechanical friction . The SI unit of electrical resistance is the ohm ( Ω ), while electrical conductance is measured in siemens (S) (formerly called the 'mho' and then represented by ℧ ). The resistance of an object depends in large part on

3146-506: Is patentable subject matter from country to country, also among WTO member states. TRIPS also provides that the term of protection available should be a minimum of twenty years. Some countries have other patent-like forms of intellectual property , such as utility models , which have a shorter monopoly period. The word patent originates from the Latin patere , which means "to lay open" (i.e., to make available for public inspection). It

3267-465: Is a fixed reference temperature (usually room temperature), and R 0 {\displaystyle R_{0}} is the resistance at temperature T 0 {\displaystyle T_{0}} . The parameter α {\displaystyle \alpha } is an empirical parameter fitted from measurement data. Because the linear approximation is only an approximation, α {\displaystyle \alpha }

3388-419: Is a shortened version of the term letters patent , which was an open document or instrument issued by a monarch or government granting exclusive rights to a person, predating the modern patent system. Similar grants included land patents , which were land grants by early state governments in the US, and printing patents , a precursor of modern copyright . In modern usage, the term patent usually refers to

3509-454: Is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention. In most countries, patent rights fall under private law and the patent holder must sue someone infringing the patent in order to enforce their rights. The procedure for granting patents, requirements placed on

3630-675: Is above the enter key on the right side of the keyboard. A pointing stick was featured in the New Nintendo 3DS as a secondary analog stick, known as the C-Stick . The IBM TrackPoint III and the TrackPoint IV have a feature called Negative Inertia that causes the pointer's velocity to "overreact" when it is accelerated or decelerated. Negative Inertia is intended to avoid the feeling of inertia or sluggishness when starting or stopping movement. Usability tests at IBM have shown that it

3751-516: Is adjusted. On a QWERTY keyboard, the stick is typically embedded between the G, H and B keys, and the mouse buttons are placed just below the space bar . The mouse buttons can be operated right-handed or left-handed due to their placement below the keyboard along the centerline. This pointing device has also appeared next to screens on compact-sized laptops such as the Toshiba Libretto and Sony VAIO UX . Pointing sticks typically have

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3872-436: Is an intercommunity term, usually seen on ThinkPad forums, and "nipple mouse". While typically employed on a computer keyboard, IBM included one on its Trackpoint Mouse product; suggested uses included scrolling (as with a scroll wheel ) or a dual-cursor system. Electrical resistance The electrical resistance of an object is a measure of its opposition to the flow of electric current . Its reciprocal quantity

3993-597: Is better and perhaps more precisely regarded as conferring upon its proprietor "a right to try to exclude by asserting the patent in court", for many granted patents turn out to be invalid once their proprietors attempt to assert them in court. A patent is a limited property right the government gives inventors in exchange for their agreement to share details of their inventions with the public. Like any other property right, it may be sold, licensed, mortgaged , assigned or transferred, given away, or simply abandoned. A patent, being an exclusionary right, does not necessarily give

4114-453: Is different for different reference temperatures. For this reason it is usual to specify the temperature that α {\displaystyle \alpha } was measured at with a suffix, such as α 15 {\displaystyle \alpha _{15}} , and the relationship only holds in a range of temperatures around the reference. The temperature coefficient α {\displaystyle \alpha }

4235-446: Is easier for users to position the pointer with Negative Inertia, and performance is 7.8% better. Another challenge with pointing stick design is identification of the zero position (the position where no motion is desired). Because the amount of motion is small, the sensitivity of the sensors must be high, and they are subject to noise interference. A typical solution, which assumes that pointing sticks frequently go out of calibration,

4356-476: Is enabled, the software may generate unexpected click events by touching the pointing stick during typing. In 1984, Ted Selker , a researcher at PARC , worked on a pointing stick based on a study showing that it takes a typist 0.75 seconds to shift from the keyboard to the mouse, and comparable time to shift back. Selker built a model of a device that would minimize this time. It was only three years later, working at IBM, that Selker refined his design, resulting in

4477-449: Is even more pronounced when the number of patent applications is normalized by the country's population each year, or when the country of origin rather than country of filing is used. For the US, the population-normalized peak in patenting occurred in 1915, and the number of subsequent patents induced per patent has been mostly declining since 1926. A study of 4,512 patents obtained by Stanford University between 1970 and 2020 showed that

4598-726: Is evidence that some form of patent rights was recognized in Ancient Greece in the city of Sybaris , the first statutory patent system is generally regarded to be the Venetian Patent Statute of 1474. However, recent historical research has suggested that the 1474 Statute was inspired by laws in the Kingdom of Jerusalem that granted monopolies to developers of novel silk-making techniques. Patents were systematically granted in Venice as of 1474, where they issued

4719-414: Is exactly -90° or +90°, respectively, and X and B are nonzero. Ideal resistors have an angle of 0°, since X is zero (and hence B also), and Z and Y reduce to R and G respectively. In general, AC systems are designed to keep the phase angle close to 0° as much as possible, since it reduces the reactive power , which does no useful work at a load. In a simple case with an inductive load (causing

4840-452: Is higher than expected. Similarly, if two conductors near each other carry AC current, their resistances increase due to the proximity effect . At commercial power frequency , these effects are significant for large conductors carrying large currents, such as busbars in an electrical substation , or large power cables carrying more than a few hundred amperes. The resistivity of different materials varies by an enormous amount: For example,

4961-508: Is made into a closed loop, current flows around the loop forever. Superconductors require cooling to temperatures near 4 K with liquid helium for most metallic superconductors like niobium–tin alloys, or cooling to temperatures near 77 K with liquid nitrogen for the expensive, brittle and delicate ceramic high temperature superconductors . Nevertheless, there are many technological applications of superconductivity , including superconducting magnets . Patent A patent

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5082-411: Is made of metal, usually platinum, while a thermistor is made of ceramic or polymer.) Resistance thermometers and thermistors are generally used in two ways. First, they can be used as thermometers : by measuring the resistance, the temperature of the environment can be inferred. Second, they can be used in conjunction with Joule heating (also called self-heating): if a large current is running through

5203-435: Is made of, and its shape. For a given material, the resistance is inversely proportional to the cross-sectional area; for example, a thick copper wire has lower resistance than an otherwise-identical thin copper wire. Also, for a given material, the resistance is proportional to the length; for example, a long copper wire has higher resistance than an otherwise-identical short copper wire. The resistance R and conductance G of

5324-459: Is not always true in practical situations. However, this formula still provides a good approximation for long thin conductors such as wires. Another situation for which this formula is not exact is with alternating current (AC), because the skin effect inhibits current flow near the center of the conductor. For this reason, the geometrical cross-section is different from the effective cross-section in which current actually flows, so resistance

5445-506: Is not constant but varies with the voltage or current through the device; i.e., its operating point . There are two types of resistance: Also called chordal or DC resistance This corresponds to the usual definition of resistance; the voltage divided by the current R s t a t i c = V I . {\displaystyle R_{\mathrm {static} }={V \over I}.} Also called dynamic , incremental , or small-signal resistance It

5566-399: Is often undesired, particularly in the case of transmission losses in power lines . High voltage transmission helps reduce the losses by reducing the current for a given power. On the other hand, Joule heating is sometimes useful, for example in electric stoves and other electric heaters (also called resistive heaters ). As another example, incandescent lamps rely on Joule heating:

5687-438: Is only true in the special cases of either DC or reactance-free current. The complex angle   θ = arg ⁡ ( Z ) = − arg ⁡ ( Y )   {\displaystyle \ \theta =\arg(Z)=-\arg(Y)\ } is the phase difference between the voltage and current passing through a component with impedance Z . For capacitors and inductors , this angle

5808-623: Is patentable. Patentable material must be synthetic, meaning that anything natural cannot be patented. For example, minerals, materials, genes, facts, organisms, and biological processes cannot be patented, but if someone were to apply an inventive, non-obvious, step to them to synthesize something new, the result could be patentable. That includes genetically engineered strains of bacteria, as was decided in Diamond v. Chakrabarty. Patentability also depends on public policy and ethical standards. Additionally, patentable materials must be novel, useful, and

5929-417: Is related to their microscopic structure and electron configuration , and is quantified by a property called resistivity . In addition to geometry and material, there are various other factors that influence resistance and conductance, such as temperature; see below . Substances in which electricity can flow are called conductors . A piece of conducting material of a particular resistance meant for use in

6050-1012: Is resistance, G is conductance, X is reactance , and B is susceptance . These lead to the complex number identities R = G   G 2 + B 2     , X = − B     G 2 + B 2     , G = R   R 2 + X 2     , B = − X     R 2 + X 2     , {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}R&={\frac {G}{\ G^{2}+B^{2}\ }}\ ,\qquad &X={\frac {-B~}{\ G^{2}+B^{2}\ }}\ ,\\G&={\frac {R}{\ R^{2}+X^{2}\ }}\ ,\qquad &B={\frac {-X~}{\ R^{2}+X^{2}\ }}\ ,\end{aligned}}} which are true in all cases, whereas   R = 1 / G   {\displaystyle \ R=1/G\ }

6171-436: Is sent by the patent office, or the patent application is granted, which after the payment of additional fees, leads to an issued, enforceable patent. In some jurisdictions, there are opportunities for third parties to bring an opposition proceeding between grant and issuance, or post-issuance. Once granted the patent is subject in most countries to renewal fees to keep the patent in force. These fees are generally payable on

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6292-422: Is shining on them. Therefore, they are called photoresistors (or light dependent resistors ). These are a common type of light detector . Superconductors are materials that have exactly zero resistance and infinite conductance, because they can have V = 0 and I ≠ 0 . This also means there is no joule heating , or in other words no dissipation of electrical energy. Therefore, if superconductive wire

6413-427: Is slightly faster; one study found that "the touchpad was operated 15% faster than the trackpoint". Another study found that average object selection time was faster with a touchpad, 1.7 seconds compared to 2.2 seconds with a trackpoint, and object manipulation took 6.2 seconds with a touchpad, on average, against 8.1 seconds with trackpoint. Various informal names have been invented, including "nub", "clit mouse", which

6534-548: Is that the resistivity itself may depend on frequency (see Drude model , deep-level traps , resonant frequency , Kramers–Kronig relations , etc.) Resistors (and other elements with resistance) oppose the flow of electric current; therefore, electrical energy is required to push current through the resistance. This electrical energy is dissipated, heating the resistor in the process. This is called Joule heating (after James Prescott Joule ), also called ohmic heating or resistive heating . The dissipation of electrical energy

6655-547: Is the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property , initially signed in 1883. The Paris Convention sets out a range of basic rules relating to patents, and although the convention does not have direct legal effect in all national jurisdictions, the principles of the convention are incorporated into all notable current patent systems. The Paris Convention set a minimum patent protection of 20 years, but

6776-406: Is the derivative of the voltage with respect to the current; the slope of the current–voltage curve at a point R d i f f = d V d I . {\displaystyle R_{\mathrm {diff} }={{\mathrm {d} V} \over {\mathrm {d} I}}.} When an alternating current flows through a circuit, the relation between current and voltage across

6897-462: Is the length of the conductor, measured in metres (m), A is the cross-sectional area of the conductor measured in square metres (m ), σ ( sigma ) is the electrical conductivity measured in siemens per meter (S·m ), and ρ ( rho ) is the electrical resistivity (also called specific electrical resistance ) of the material, measured in ohm-metres (Ω·m). The resistivity and conductivity are proportionality constants, and therefore depend only on

7018-463: Is therefore only useful for protecting an invention in the country in which that patent is granted. In other words, patent law is territorial in nature. When a patent application is published, the invention disclosed in the application becomes prior art and enters the public domain (if not protected by other patents) in countries where a patent applicant does not seek protection, the application thus generally becoming prior art against anyone (including

7139-401: Is to interpret a variation below a certain threshold (over a given interval, perhaps one or several seconds) as being a neutral stick. However, the recalibration can also allow brief periods of 'drifting' (movement of the pointer while the user is not moving the pointing stick). In practice, if the re-calibration interval is set too short and if the user applies moderately consistent pressure to

7260-409: Is typically +3 × 10  K−1 to +6 × 10  K−1 for metals near room temperature. It is usually negative for semiconductors and insulators, with highly variable magnitude. Just as the resistance of a conductor depends upon temperature, the resistance of a conductor depends upon strain . By placing a conductor under tension (a form of stress that leads to strain in the form of stretching of

7381-434: Is when a patent owner sells a product in country A, wherein they have the product patented, then another party buys and sells it, without the owner's permission, in country B, wherein the owner also has a patent for the product. With either national or regional exhaustion being the law the in country B, the owner may still be able to enforce their patent rights; however, if country B has a policy of international exhaustion, then

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7502-589: The Nagoya Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity and its system of Access and Benefit-Sharing . Representatives of Indigenous peoples view the GRATK Treaty as a "first step towards guaranteeing just and transparent access to these resources." Before filing for an application, which must be paid for whether a patent is granted or not, a person will want to ensure that their material

7623-475: The U.S. Congress was passed on April 10, 1790, titled "An Act to promote the progress of useful Arts". The first patent under the Act was granted on July 31, 1790, to Samuel Hopkins of Vermont for a method of producing potash (potassium carbonate). A revised patent law was passed in 1793, and in 1836 a major revision was passed. The 1836 law instituted a significantly more rigorous application process, including

7744-465: The WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge (GRATK Treaty) mandating patent disclosure requirements for patents based on genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge from being granted. The Treaty contemplates revocation for patents incorrectly filed. The treaty, and in particular its planned extension, is seen as complementing

7865-762: The World Trade Organization (WTO) being particularly active in this area. The TRIPS Agreement has been largely successful in providing a forum for nations to agree on an aligned set of patent laws. Conformity with the TRIPS agreement is a requirement of admission to the WTO and so compliance is seen by many nations as important. This has also led to many developing nations, which may historically have developed different laws to aid their development, enforcing patents laws in line with global practice. Internationally, there are international treaty procedures, such as

7986-575: The 18th century through a slow process of judicial interpretation of the law. During the reign of Queen Anne , patent applications were required to supply a complete specification of the principles of operation of the invention for public access. Legal battles around the 1796 patent taken out by James Watt for his steam engine , established the principles that patents could be issued for improvements of an already existing machine and that ideas or principles without specific practical application could also legally be patented. The English legal system became

8107-537: The TrackPoint product for which IBM received US patents in 1996 and 2000. Pointing sticks were the dominant pointing device for laptops before the advent of the touchpad . During later years, they faced a decline in popularity as most laptop-producing brands switched to touchpads, although as of 2021, some manufacturers like Lenovo still produce laptops with pointing sticks. The pointing stick can be used in ultra-compact netbooks where there would be no place for

8228-835: The UK, substantive patent law is contained in the Patents Act 1977 as amended. In the United States, the Constitution empowers Congress to make laws to "promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts ...". The laws Congress passed are codified in Title 35 of the United States Code and created the United States Patent and Trademark Office . There is a trend towards global harmonization of patent laws, with

8349-545: The US, plant breeders' rights are sometimes called plant patents , and utility models and Gebrauchsmuster are sometimes called petty patents or innovation patents . The additional qualification utility patent is sometimes used (primarily in the US) to distinguish the primary meaning from these other types of patents. Particular types of patents for inventions include biological patents , business method patents , chemical patents and software patents . Although there

8470-445: The applicant) who might seek patent protection for the invention in those countries. Commonly, a nation or a group of nations forms a patent office with responsibility for operating that nation's patent system, within the relevant patent laws. The patent office generally has responsibility for the grant of patents, with infringement being the remit of national courts. The authority for patent statutes in different countries varies. In

8591-444: The article: Electrical resistivity and conductivity . For the case of electrolyte solutions, see the article: Conductivity (electrolytic) . Resistivity varies with temperature. In semiconductors, resistivity also changes when exposed to light. See below . An instrument for measuring resistance is called an ohmmeter . Simple ohmmeters cannot measure low resistances accurately because the resistance of their measuring leads causes

8712-530: The benefits of using each other's patented inventions. Freedom Licenses like the Apache 2.0 License are a hybrid of copyright/trademark/patent license/contract due to the bundling nature of the three intellectual properties in one central license. This can make it difficult to enforce because patent licenses cannot be granted this way under copyright and would have to be considered a contract. In most countries, both natural persons and corporate entities may apply for

8833-400: The conductance G is the reciprocal: R = V I , G = I V = 1 R . {\displaystyle R={\frac {V}{I}},\qquad G={\frac {I}{V}}={\frac {1}{R}}.} For a wide variety of materials and conditions, V and I are directly proportional to each other, and therefore R and G are constants (although they will depend on

8954-468: The conductivity of teflon is about 10 times lower than the conductivity of copper. Loosely speaking, this is because metals have large numbers of "delocalized" electrons that are not stuck in any one place, so they are free to move across large distances. In an insulator, such as Teflon, each electron is tightly bound to a single molecule so a great force is required to pull it away. Semiconductors lie between these two extremes. More details can be found in

9075-589: The conductor), the length of the section of conductor under tension increases and its cross-sectional area decreases. Both these effects contribute to increasing the resistance of the strained section of conductor. Under compression (strain in the opposite direction), the resistance of the strained section of conductor decreases. See the discussion on strain gauges for details about devices constructed to take advantage of this effect. Some resistors, particularly those made from semiconductors , exhibit photoconductivity , meaning that their resistance changes when light

9196-400: The course of the 20th and 21st centuries, however, disparity is still prevalent. In the UK, for example, only 8% of inventors were female as of 2015. This can partly be attributed to historical barriers for women to obtain patents, as well as to the fact that women are underrepresented in traditionally "patent-intensive" sectors, particularly STEM sectors. Marcowitz-Bitton et al. argue that

9317-654: The establishment of an examination system. Between 1790 and 1836 about ten thousand patents were granted. By the American Civil War about 80,000 patents had been granted. In the US, married women were historically precluded from obtaining patents. While section 1 of the Patent Act of 1790 did refer to "she", married women were unable to own property in their own name and were also prohibited from rights to their own income, including income from anything they invented. This historical gender gap has lessened over

9438-401: The filament is heated to such a high temperature that it glows "white hot" with thermal radiation (also called incandescence ). The formula for Joule heating is: P = I 2 R {\displaystyle P=I^{2}R} where P is the power (energy per unit time) converted from electrical energy to thermal energy, R is the resistance, and I is the current through

9559-647: The first modern patent system that recognised intellectual property in order to stimulate invention; this was the crucial legal foundation upon which the Industrial Revolution could emerge and flourish. By the 16th century, the English Crown would habitually abuse the granting of letters patent for monopolies . After public outcry, King James I of England (VI of Scotland ) was forced to revoke all existing monopolies and declare that they were only to be used for "projects of new invention". This

9680-630: The foundation for patent law in countries with a common law heritage, including the United States, New Zealand and Australia . In the Thirteen Colonies , inventors could obtain patents through petition to a given colony's legislature. In 1641, Samuel Winslow was granted the first patent in North America by the Massachusetts General Court for a new process for making salt. The modern French patent system

9801-404: The full term, while small companies are more likely to abandon their patents earlier, even though the due fees are ca. 5 times lower for small businesses (microentities). The costs of preparing and filing a patent application, prosecuting it until grant and maintaining the patent vary from one jurisdiction to another, and may also be dependent upon the type and complexity of the invention, and on

9922-510: The gender gap in patents is also a result of internal bias within the patent system. The number of patent applications filed each year has been growing for most countries although not smoothly, and jumps in activity are often observed due to changes in local laws. The high number of patent families for Spain in the 1800s is related to the superior preservation and cataloguing of the data by Spanish Patent and Trademark Office compared to other countries (see 1836 U.S. Patent Office fire ). The US

10043-502: The international phase 3. Examination during the national phase. Alongside these international agreements for patents there was the Patent Law Treaty (PLT). This treaty standardized the filing date requirements, standardized the application and forms, allows for electronic communication and filing, and avoids unintentional loss of rights, and simplifies patent office procedures. Sometimes, nations grant others, other than

10164-415: The invention be exploited in the jurisdiction it covers. Consequences of not working an invention vary from one country to another, ranging from revocation of the patent rights to the awarding of a compulsory license awarded by the courts to a party wishing to exploit a patented invention. The patentee has the opportunity to challenge the revocation or license, but is usually required to provide evidence that

10285-571: The inventor's normal or specifically assigned employment duties, where an invention might reasonably be expected to result from carrying out those duties, or if the inventor had a special obligation to further the interests of the employer's company. Applications by artificial intelligence systems, such as DABUS , have been rejected in the US, the UK, and at the European Patent Office on the grounds they are not natural persons. The inventors, their successors or their assignees become

10406-437: The licensee the right to make, use, sell, or import the claimed invention, usually in return for a royalty or other compensation. It is common for companies engaged in complex technical fields to enter into multiple license agreements associated with the production of a single product. Moreover, it is equally common for competitors in such fields to license patents to each other under cross-licensing agreements in order to share

10527-422: The material it is made of. Objects made of electrical insulators like rubber tend to have very high resistance and low conductance, while objects made of electrical conductors like metals tend to have very low resistance and high conductance. This relationship is quantified by resistivity or conductivity . The nature of a material is not the only factor in resistance and conductance, however; it also depends on

10648-399: The material the wire is made of, not the geometry of the wire. Resistivity and conductivity are reciprocals : ρ = 1 / σ {\displaystyle \rho =1/\sigma } . Resistivity is a measure of the material's ability to oppose electric current. This formula is not exact, as it assumes the current density is totally uniform in the conductor, which

10769-671: The most significant aspect of the convention is the provision of the right to claim priority : filing an application in any one member state of the Paris Convention preserves the right for one year to file in any other member state, and receive the benefit of the original filing date. Another key treaty is the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and covering more than 150 countries. The Patent Cooperation Treaty provides

10890-409: The other), not the voltage itself, provides the driving force pushing current through a resistor. In hydraulics, it is similar: the pressure difference between two sides of a pipe, not the pressure itself, determines the flow through it. For example, there may be a large water pressure above the pipe, which tries to push water down through the pipe. But there may be an equally large water pressure below

11011-399: The patent application to determine if it meets the patentability requirements of that country. If the application does not comply, objections are communicated to the applicant or their patent agent or attorney through an Office action , to which the applicant may respond. The number of Office actions and responses that may occur vary from country to country, but eventually a final rejection

11132-400: The patent owner seeks monetary compensation ( damages ) for past infringement, and seeks an injunction that prohibits the defendant from engaging in future acts of infringement, or seeks either damages or injunction. To prove infringement, the patent owner must establish that the accused infringer practises all the requirements of at least one of the claims of the patent. (In many jurisdictions

11253-488: The patent owner the right to exploit the invention subject to the patent. For example, many inventions are improvements of prior inventions that may still be covered by someone else's patent. If an inventor obtains a patent on improvements to an existing invention which is still under patent, they can only legally use the improved invention if the patent holder of the original invention gives permission, which they may refuse. Some countries have "working provisions" that require

11374-427: The patent owner will have no legal grounds for enforcing the patent in country B as it was already sold in a different country. Patents can generally only be enforced through civil lawsuits (for example, for a US patent, by an action for patent infringement in a United States federal district court), although some countries (such as France and Austria ) have criminal penalties for wanton infringement. Typically,

11495-544: The patent owner, permissions to create a patented product based on different situations that align with public policy or public interest. These may include compulsory licenses, scientific research, and in transit in country. After two decades of drafting, the WIPO 's Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore moved to a Diplomatic Conference in May 2024 and adopted

11616-562: The patent should never have been granted. There are several grounds for challenges: the claimed subject matter is not patentable subject matter at all; the claimed subject matter was actually not new, or was obvious to the person skilled in the art , at the time the application was filed; or that some kind of fraud was committed during prosecution with regard to listing of inventors, representations about when discoveries were made, etc. Patents can be found to be invalid in whole or in part for any of these reasons. Patent infringement occurs when

11737-665: The patentee, and the extent of the exclusive rights vary widely between countries according to national laws and international agreements. Typically, however, a patent application must include one or more claims that define the scope of protection that is being sought. A patent may include many claims, each of which defines a specific property right. Under the World Trade Organization 's (WTO) TRIPS Agreement , patents should be available in WTO member states for any invention, in all fields of technology , provided they are new , involve an inventive step , and are capable of industrial application . Nevertheless, there are variations on what

11858-679: The permission of the other proprietor(s). The ability to assign ownership rights increases the liquidity of a patent as property. Inventors can obtain patents and then sell them to third parties. The third parties then own the patents and have the same rights to prevent others from exploiting the claimed inventions, as if they had originally made the inventions themselves. The grant and enforcement of patents are governed by national laws, and also by international treaties, where those treaties have been given effect in national laws. Patents are granted by national or regional patent offices, i.e. national or regional administrative authorities. A given patent

11979-1245: The phase and magnitude of current and voltage: u ( t ) = R e ⁡ ( U 0 ⋅ e j ω t ) i ( t ) = R e ⁡ ( I 0 ⋅ e j ( ω t + φ ) ) Z = U   I   Y =   1   Z =   I   U {\displaystyle {\begin{array}{cl}u(t)&=\operatorname {\mathcal {R_{e}}} \left(U_{0}\cdot e^{j\omega t}\right)\\i(t)&=\operatorname {\mathcal {R_{e}}} \left(I_{0}\cdot e^{j(\omega t+\varphi )}\right)\\Z&={\frac {U}{\ I\ }}\\Y&={\frac {\ 1\ }{Z}}={\frac {\ I\ }{U}}\end{array}}} where: The impedance and admittance may be expressed as complex numbers that can be broken into real and imaginary parts: Z = R + j X Y = G + j B   . {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}Z&=R+jX\\Y&=G+jB~.\end{aligned}}} where R

12100-491: The phase to increase), a capacitor may be added for compensation at one frequency, since the capacitor's phase shift is negative, bringing the total impedance phase closer to 0° again. Y is the reciprocal of Z (   Z = 1 / Y   {\displaystyle \ Z=1/Y\ } ) for all circuits, just as R = 1 / G {\displaystyle R=1/G} for DC circuits containing only resistors, or AC circuits for which either

12221-409: The pipe, which tries to push water back up through the pipe. If these pressures are equal, no water flows. (In the image at right, the water pressure below the pipe is zero.) The resistance and conductance of a wire, resistor, or other element is mostly determined by two properties: Geometry is important because it is more difficult to push water through a long, narrow pipe than a wide, short pipe. In

12342-690: The procedures under the European Patent Convention (EPC) [constituting the European Patent Organisation (EPOrg)], that centralize some portion of the filing and examination procedure. Similar arrangements exist among the member states of ARIPO and OAPI , the analogous treaties among African countries, and the nine CIS member states that have formed the Eurasian Patent Organization . A key international convention relating to patents

12463-443: The proprietors of the patent when and if it is granted. If a patent is granted to more than one proprietor, the laws of the country in question and any agreement between the proprietors may affect the extent to which each proprietor can exploit the patent. For example, in some countries, each proprietor may freely license or assign their rights in the patent to another person while the law in other countries prohibits such actions without

12584-404: The reactance or susceptance happens to be zero ( X or B = 0 , respectively) (if one is zero, then for realistic systems both must be zero). A key feature of AC circuits is that the resistance and conductance can be frequency-dependent, a phenomenon known as the universal dielectric response . One reason, mentioned above is the skin effect (and the related proximity effect ). Another reason

12705-400: The reasonable requirements of the public have been met by the working of invention. In most jurisdictions, there are ways for third parties to challenge the validity of an allowed or issued patent at the national patent office; these are called opposition proceedings . It is also possible to challenge the validity of a patent in court. In either case, the challenging party tries to prove that

12826-437: The relevant area of technology) to make and use the invention. In some countries there are requirements for providing specific information such as the usefulness of the invention, the best mode of performing the invention known to the inventor, or the technical problem or problems solved by the invention. Drawings illustrating the invention may also be provided. The application also includes one or more claims that define what

12947-468: The relevant country. Although an infringer is generally free to rely on any available ground of invalidity (such as a prior publication , for example), some countries have sanctions to prevent the same validity questions being relitigated. An example is the UK Certificate of contested validity . Patent licensing agreements are contracts in which the patent owner (the licensor) agrees to grant

13068-411: The resistance of wires, resistors, and other components often change with temperature. This effect may be undesired, causing an electronic circuit to malfunction at extreme temperatures. In some cases, however, the effect is put to good use. When temperature-dependent resistance of a component is used purposefully, the component is called a resistance thermometer or thermistor . (A resistance thermometer

13189-435: The resistor, the resistor's temperature rises and therefore its resistance changes. Therefore, these components can be used in a circuit-protection role similar to fuses , or for feedback in circuits, or for many other purposes. In general, self-heating can turn a resistor into a nonlinear and hysteretic circuit element. For more details see Thermistor#Self-heating effects . If the temperature T does not vary too much,

13310-409: The resistor. Near room temperature, the resistivity of metals typically increases as temperature is increased, while the resistivity of semiconductors typically decreases as temperature is increased. The resistivity of insulators and electrolytes may increase or decrease depending on the system. For the detailed behavior and explanation, see Electrical resistivity and conductivity . As a consequence,

13431-502: The right granted to anyone who invents something new, useful and non-obvious. A patent is often referred to as a form of intellectual property right, an expression which is also used to refer to trademarks and copyrights , and which has proponents and detractors (see also Intellectual property § The term "intellectual property" ). Some other types of intellectual property rights are also called patents in some jurisdictions: industrial design rights are called design patents in

13552-555: The same way, a long, thin copper wire has higher resistance (lower conductance) than a short, thick copper wire. Materials are important as well. A pipe filled with hair restricts the flow of water more than a clean pipe of the same shape and size. Similarly, electrons can flow freely and easily through a copper wire, but cannot flow as easily through a steel wire of the same shape and size, and they essentially cannot flow at all through an insulator like rubber , regardless of its shape. The difference between copper, steel, and rubber

13673-443: The scope of the patent may not be limited to what is literally stated in the claims, for example due to the doctrine of equivalents .) An accused infringer has the right to challenge the validity of the patent allegedly being infringed in a counterclaim . A patent can be found invalid on grounds described in the relevant patent laws, which vary between countries. Often, the grounds are a subset of requirements for patentability in

13794-420: The size and shape of an object because these properties are extensive rather than intensive . For example, a wire's resistance is higher if it is long and thin, and lower if it is short and thick. All objects resist electrical current, except for superconductors , which have a resistance of zero. The resistance R of an object is defined as the ratio of voltage V across it to current I through it, while

13915-409: The size and shape of the object, the material it is made of, and other factors like temperature or strain ). This proportionality is called Ohm's law , and materials that satisfy it are called ohmic materials. In other cases, such as a transformer , diode or battery , V and I are not directly proportional. The ratio ⁠ V / I ⁠ is sometimes still useful, and is referred to as

14036-412: The stick for such an interval, this method results in an incorrect zero point. Additional pressure again moves the pointer, but the calibration may occur again, requiring even more force. If the user releases pressure at this point, the change will be interpreted as an instruction to move the opposite direction. In time, the software will re-calibrate and stop the motion. Additionally, if "press-to-select"

14157-431: The university's patenting activity plateaued in the 2010s. Incidentally, only 20% of Stanford patents in that dataset produced a positive net income for the university, while the rest was a net loss. Similar declines have been noted not only for the number of patents, but also for other measures of innovation output. Several hypotheses have been proposed as explanations for the observed decline: A patent does not give

14278-481: The voltage V applied across it: I ∝ V {\displaystyle I\propto V} over a wide range of voltages and currents. Therefore, the resistance and conductance of objects or electronic components made of these materials is constant. This relationship is called Ohm's law , and materials which obey it are called ohmic materials. Examples of ohmic components are wires and resistors . The current–voltage graph of an ohmic device consists of

14399-472: Was created during the Revolution in 1791. Patents were granted without examination since inventor's right was considered as a natural one. Patent costs were very high (from 500 to 1,500 francs). Importation patents protected new devices coming from foreign countries. The patent law was revised in 1844 – patent cost was lowered and importation patents were abolished. The first Patent Act of

14520-612: Was incorporated into the Statute of Monopolies (1624) in which Parliament restricted the Crown's power explicitly so that the King could only issue letters patent to the inventors or introducers of original inventions for a fixed number of years. The Statute became the foundation for later developments in patent law in England and elsewhere. Important developments in patent law emerged during

14641-596: Was the World's leader in terms of patent families filed between 1900 and 1966, when Japan took over. Since 2007 PR China leads. However, in most technologically advanced countries (see, for example, France, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, the UK in the figure on the right, as well as in Poland ), the total (i.e. regardless of the priority/inventors' country) number of patent families filed there have been declining in absolute numbers since c.  1970s –1980s. The decline

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