Patent protection for design patents only lasts for 14 years after the patent is granted, so they offer six years less protection than other patent types. Unlike plant and utility patents, however, no maintenance fee is required to keep a design patent active.
A virus is a small, infectious agent that is made up of a core of genetic material surrounded by a shell of protein. The genetic material (which is responsible for carrying forward hereditary traits from parent cells to offspring) may be either deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or ribonucleic acid (RNA).
Other viruslike particles called prions are composed primarily of a protein tightly integrated with a small nucleic acid molecule. Viruses are generally classified by the organisms they infect, animals, plants, or bacteria.Since viruses cannot penetrate plant cell walls, virtually all plant viruses are transmitted by insects or other organisms that feed on plants.ther viruslike particles called prions are composed primarily of a protein tightly integrated with a small nucleic acid molecule. Viruses are generally classified by the organisms they infect, animals, plants, or bacteria.