PATENT-TERM GUARANTEE

patent-term guarantee.An inventor’s statutory right to extend the term of a patent if the application was delayed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. • The term can be extended up to five years if the application was delayed because of an interference proceeding or appellate review, or if the PTO missed a statutory deadline for certain steps in the prosecution, or failed to grant the patent within three years of the filing date. The guarantee took effect May 29, 2000. [Cases: Patents  133. C.J.S. Patents §§ 234–235.]

[Blacks Law 8th]