Table 6.

Utility patent protection details in the USA for digital pathology inventions.

Type of IP	Statutory basis for Protection in USA	What is protected	Legal requirement	Rights granted in USA	Term of protection	Process, time and cost involved	International rights	Digital Pathology example
Utility patent	U.S. Constitution and 1952 Patent Act, as amended, see 35 U.S.C. §§ 1–390	New and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter or improvements	Novelty; non-obviousness; utility and sufficiency of disclosure	To make, use, offer to sell, sell, and import the patented invention	20 years from filing	Very involved, can take years and be very expensive	Rights are country specific, hence need to obtain a patent in each country where one is desired	Auto-focus methods and systems for multi-spectral imaging US Patent: 10,768,403