Workers' Compensation Glossary Terms

Patents protect inventions and improvements to existing inventions. A patent grants an inventor permission to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling their invention in the United States or importing their invention into the United States. There are three types of patents: utility, design, and plant. Typically, utility and plant patent last 20 years from filing and design patents have a term of 14 years. A utility patent will expire during its term unless appropriate maintenance fees are timely paid. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents but the owner has to enforce the patent without the help of the USPTO. Patents are issued and enforced by country.

Funds available for award to the employee forty weeks after the employee returns to work or after they were injured (if they can’t return to work). Permanent partial awards in Ohio provide 2 weeks of compensation for every 1 percent of permanent disability received. A worker’s compensation attorney can file requests for this award for their client when appropriate.

The party (individual) or entity who starts a lawsuit against another party (the defendant) in a court of law.