Legal Definitions - double patenting

Double patenting refers to the act of obtaining two patents that cover the same invention. This can happen in two ways:

1. Statutory double patenting: This occurs when an inventor tries to patent an invention that is the same as another invention they have already patented or have a pending patent application for.
2. Obviousness-type double patenting: This occurs when an inventor tries to patent an invention that is an obvious variation of another invention they have already patented or have a pending patent application for.

Double patenting is not allowed, and it can result in the rejection of a patent application, the limitation of a patent's term through a terminal disclaimer, or the invalidation of a patent claim.

An example of statutory double patenting would be if an inventor patented a new type of phone case and then tried to patent the same phone case with a different color. Since the two inventions are the same subject matter, the second patent application would be rejected.

An example of obviousness-type double patenting would be if an inventor patented a new type of phone case with a built-in battery and then tried to patent the same phone case with a slightly larger battery. Since the second invention is an obvious variation of the first invention, the second patent application would be rejected.