普通高中课程标准实验教科书 英语选修8 Unit 3 Reading

　　Pressed by my friends and relations, I decided to seize the opportunity to get recognition for

　　my successful idea by sending my invention to the patent office. Only after you have had that

　　recognition can you say that you are truly an inventor. The criteria are so strict that it is difficult to get new ideas accepted unless they are truly novel. In addition, no invention will get a patent if it is:

　　◎a discovery

　　◎a scientific idea or mathematical model

　　◎literature or art

　　◎a game or a business

　　◎a computer programme

　　◎a new animal or plant variety

　　Nor will you receive a patent until a search has been made to find out that your product really

　　is different from everyone else's. There are a large number of patent examiners, too, whose only job is to examine whether your claim is valid or not. If it passes all the tests, your application for a patent will be published 18 months from the date you apply. So I have filled in the form and filed my patent application with the Patent Office. Now it's a matter of waiting and hoping. You'll know if I succeed by the size of my bank balance! Wish me luck!