Appellate Litigation. Communications Law. Conservative Public Interest Law. Corporate Law. Criminal Law. Domestic Violence Law. Education Law. Environmental Law. Family Law. Government Contracts. Health Law. Immigration Law. Intellectual Property Law. International Development.
International Human Rights. International Trade Law. Legal Services. LGBT Law. Mergers and Acquisitions. National Security Law. Privacy Law. Even the United States Patent and Trademark Office recognizes the inventor as a key part of the team. Everyone substantively involved in the prosecution of a patent application owes a duty to the Patent Office to disclose prior art that they know about which is material to the patent application. Inventors specifically owe this duty to the Patent Office and patent examiner.
See 37 C. It is absolutely essential to understand the basics of patents and patent practice so you can engage in meaningful collaboration and dialogue. With that in mind, what follows are 7 things you must understand as you embark upon your journey to protect your invention. The patent process can be expensive, so the last thing you want to do is spend a lot of money preparing and filing an application when there is easy to find prior art that will prevent a patent, or at the very least make any patent that is obtained extremely narrow.
For this reason many inventors and businesses will choose to begin the process by paying for some kind of patent search. If prior art is found that is too close for comfort then the expense of a patent application has been saved. If no serious road blocks are found the patent search can and will lead to a better, stronger patent application and likely a smoother application process.
The reason patent searches lead to a better, strong patent application is because the first application filed is absolutely critical. All aspects of your invention must be disclosed, nothing new can be added without compromising the all important filing date aka priority date.
After having done a search the initial disclosure can be specifically written to carefully define your invention so as to focus on what is most likely the patentable feature or components. By knowing what else is out there your patent attorney can tell the story and describe your invention accentuating the positive in a way that makes what you have seem unique in comparison to what the examiner will find.
Patents are all about how you characterize things and little difference can make a huge difference. You never want to blindly describe your invention without knowing what else is out there. While surveying the market is a wise first step, frequently there are patents lurking that have simply not been used to develop commercial products. For example, many times independent inventors will patent something and then not be able to advance the project forward.
The next person who comes along with the idea sees it has already been patented, perhaps the patent has expired. Other times I hear inventors say that they have done their own US patent search and have found nothing.
Patent searching is an art, and if you are not familiar with advanced search strategies it is not surprising you cannot find anything that is closely relevant. Rest assured, however, there are always patents and patent applications that can be found that are at least similar in some ways.
While I encourage inventors to spend some time doing their own patent search, before spending thousands of dollars in hopes of obtaining a patent you should obtain a professional patent search and patentability opinion. A provisional patent application must be understood as nothing more than the first step toward receiving a patent. Ultimately you will need to file a nonprovisional patent application in order to obtain a patent in the United States. Still, there are substantial benefits to beginning with a provisional patent application but, as with most things in life, there are pitfalls that can and do trap the unwary and unknowledgeable.
In many, if not most or even nearly all, situations the invention as you initially conceive of it will not be the invention that you ultimately want to patent. Many times you will come up with an invention and want to protect it but you know you will need to continue working on it.
There are things you want to make better, things you need more time to research and develop and in many cases you are seeking to obtain patent pending status before you have 3D renderings, engineering drawings or even an intermediate prototype. As you progress forward with your invention you learn more each step of the way. It is best to file a patent application as soon as possible, so consider filing a provisional patent application as soon as your invention is concrete and tangible enough to describe.
Then as you make improvements you can file another provisional patent application if your want, or just move to a nonprovisional patent application. I am a big fan of properly done provisional patent applications. A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the United States Patent Office. In order to obtain a patent in the United States it is necessary to file a US patent application. Generally speaking you can obtain either a design patent or a utility patent.
A utility patent covers the way an invention works, a design patent covers the way an invention looks. In order to obtain a utility patent you must file a non-provisional patent application. Once you file the non-provisional application and all the parts are present your application will be forwarded to a patent examiner.
At the same time, if you disclose your invention before filing a patent application, you will severely limit your possibility of obtaining patent protection on that invention.
To find out more, get in touch with your national IP office. In general however, it is possible to say that if you intend to license your patent, what is important is diligent preparation. Before starting negotiation with a potential licensee, you should be informed of the current situation and future prospects of the relevant market and technology. Moreover, you should find out about the commercial state of a potential licensee and the associated financial value of your patent, etc.
You should reflect on your own business objectives and carefully consider how entering into a licensing agreement fits into your short- and long-term business strategies. In many cases, where an enterprise has merely improved an existing product and the said improvement is not sufficiently inventive to be deemed patentable, utility models may represent a good alternative, if available in the country in question. On occasions, it may be advisable for your company to keep its innovations as trade secrets which requires, in particular, that sufficient measures are taken to keep the information confidential.
Another alternative strategy could be to ensure that no one is able to patent your invention by disclosing it commonly known as defensive publication , thereby assuring its place in the public domain. However, you should carefully reflect on using this strategy, since if you disclose your invention before filing a patent application, you will severely limit your possibility to obtain patent protection. To avoid confusion and possible disputes, employers often specify issues of intellectual property ownership in employment contracts.
Depending on the merits of the case, the employee may, however, have a right to equitable remuneration in accordance with legislative provisions or the employment contract. Patent information commonly refers to the information found in patent applications and granted patents.
This information may include bibliographic data about the inventor and patent applicant or patent holder, a description of the claimed invention and related developments in the field of technology, and a list of claims indicating the scope of patent protection sought by the applicant.
But why would patent applicants disclose such extensive information about their inventions? The reason is that the patent system balances the exclusive rights granted to a patent holder over an invention with the obligation to publicly disclose information about the newly developed technology.
The requirement that a patent applicant disclose information about their invention s is very important for the continuous development of the technology. This information provides a basis on which new technical solutions can be developed by other inventors. Without publication there would be no way for the public to get information about new technical developments. It is therefore not surprising that providing information for the public is a key task of industrial property offices.
Patent documents contain technological information that is often not divulged in any other form of publication, covering practically every field of technology. All in all, they are a vast store of easily accessible human knowledge. The information contained in patent documents can be very useful to researchers, entrepreneurs, and many others, helping them:.
Patent documents are published by national and regional patent offices, usually 18 months after the date on which a patent application was first filed or once a patent has been granted for the invention claimed by the patent applicant. Some patent offices publish patent documents through free-of-charge online databases, making it easier than ever to access patent information. Though accessibility of patent information has grown as more and more patent offices make their patent documents available through online databases, certain skills are still required in order to make effective use of this information, including carrying out targeted patent searches and providing meaningful analysis of patent search results.
As a result, it may be advisable to contact a patent information professional for assistance where business-critical decisions are at stake. WIPO works to develop a balanced and effective international intellectual property IP system, a key part of which is dedicated to patents.
If you couldn't find an answer to your question on this page or through the Patents homepage , then feel free to contact us. Disclaimer : The questions and answers provided on this page serve a purely informative purpose and are not a legal point of reference.
They do not necessarily represent the official position of WIPO or its member states. IP and Business Universities Judiciaries. Related links. The patent owner may give permission to, or license, other parties to use the invention on mutually agreed terms. The owner may also sell the right to the invention to someone else, who will then become the new owner of the patent. Once a patent expires, the protection ends, and an invention enters the public domain; that is, anyone can commercially exploit the invention without infringing the patent.
What rights does a patent provide? What kinds of inventions can be protected? How long does patent protection last? Is a patent valid in every country?
How are patent rights enforced? Why are patents useful to society, business, individuals etc. What conditions must be met to obtain patent protection? However, some of the key conditions include the following: The invention must show an element of novelty; that is, some new characteristic which is not known in the body of existing knowledge in its technical field.
The invention must be capable of industrial application, meaning that it must be capable of being used for an industrial or business purpose beyond a mere theoretical phenomenon, or be useful. In many countries, scientific theories, aesthetic creations, mathematical methods, plant or animal varieties, discoveries of natural substances, commercial methods, methods for medical treatment as opposed to medical products or computer programs are generally not patentable.
The invention must be disclosed in an application in a manner sufficiently clear and complete to enable it to be replicated by a person with an ordinary level of skill in the relevant technical field. Who grants patents? There is currently, no universal, international system for the grant of patents. How much does it cost to patent an invention? How can patents be obtained worldwide? What practical steps do I have to take to obtain patent protection? Can the decision to grant a patent be challenged?
Is it possible to extend the term of patent protection? Can I obtain a patent for a software-related invention? Can I patent my app? Find more about the various types of intellectual property rights. How can I search for inventions that have already been patented? How can I find the patent laws of various countries?
Can I obtain a patent and keep my invention secret? Can I discuss details of my invention with a potential investor before filing a patent application? How are patents relevant to my business? Why should I consider patenting my inventions?
Exclusive rights : Patents provide you with an exclusive right to prevent or stop others from commercially exploiting an invention for twenty years from the date of filing of the patent application. Return on investments : Having invested a considerable amount of money and time in developing innovative products, through exclusive patent rights, you may be able to establish yourself in the market as the pre-eminent player and to obtain higher returns on investments.
Opportunity to license or sell the invention : If you choose not to exploit the patent yourself, you may sell it or license the commercialization of the patented invention to another enterprise, which could then be a source of income for your company.
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