Intellectual Property and Patents for Sale
The intellectual property (IP) is a grouping of related concepts that cover a certain area or domain. It can be related to names, inventions, written materials and recorded media. The exclusive rights that come with holding the intellectual property on a certain subject give to the owner the possibility to benefit from his work on his own terms.
The intellectual property protects all domains. That is way different categories of IP exist: copyright – for artistic works; a patent – for inventions; a trademark – a sign to distinguish certain products or services; an industrial design right – it protects the style, appearance or design of an industrial object, such as furniture, spare parts or textiles; a trade secret – secret information regarding the proprietary knowledge or commercial practices of a business, which may be illegal to disclose to the open public.
If you have intellectual property for sale, you can save yourself the trouble of trying to get it advertised and sold. All it takes is that you find a reputable web-based business – because we all know that the Internet is nowadays the most prolific way of promoting all sorts of things – and sell you intellectual property or license it. There are two ways you can do this.
The first one implies that you, as a licensee or intellectual property seller should create a listing on that web site, which will be posted on the site, thus allowing potential buyers access to it. From here on the process is very simple, as you will be contacted by buyers, and will be able to make a choice of the buyers you wish to continue your communication with, before you finally decide who is going to be the beneficiary of you intellectual property for sale.
The second way to get your intellectual property sold is to list it on a specialized web site, have it reviewed by their team of specialists and broadcast to qualified buyers, and for the interested buyers to contact you. Then follow some preliminary talks, followed by negotiations, upon which the purchase will be finalized offline, in the presence of the attorneys of both buyer and seller.
In other words, such web sites function as mediators between you, as an intellectual property holder, and the buyer. How can this be helpful to you? Well, such specialists will guide you through everything you need in the process of selling your intellectual property, from advertising for it to assisting you with the negotiations.
The same process takes place when you have patents for sale. You can contact an invention development organization that will help you in the process of marketing your invention, while protecting it form those fake inventors, who do nothing but copy yours.
Remember that the human race has gotten so far and will be able to go on only by relying on inventions and better ways of doing things. This is why you should contact specialized organizations that can market you patents for sales, so that the whole world can benefit from your invention. Only by doing so will you be able to turn your dreams into reality, and make the most of what you have invented, for the sake of many other people.
For more resources about Patents for sale or even about Intellectual Property for sale please review this weblink http://www.ideabuyer.com
By: Groshan Fabiola
About the Author:
The intellectual property protects all domains. That is way different categories of IP exist: copyright – for artistic works; a patent – for inventions; a trademark – a sign to distinguish certain products or services; an industrial design right – it protects the style, appearance or design of an industrial object, such as furniture, spare parts or textiles; a trade secret – secret information regarding the proprietary knowledge or commercial practices of a business, which may be illegal to disclose to the open public.
If you have intellectual property for sale, you can save yourself the trouble of trying to get it advertised and sold. All it takes is that you find a reputable web-based business – because we all know that the Internet is nowadays the most prolific way of promoting all sorts of things – and sell you intellectual property or license it. There are two ways you can do this.
The first one implies that you, as a licensee or intellectual property seller should create a listing on that web site, which will be posted on the site, thus allowing potential buyers access to it. From here on the process is very simple, as you will be contacted by buyers, and will be able to make a choice of the buyers you wish to continue your communication with, before you finally decide who is going to be the beneficiary of you intellectual property for sale.
The second way to get your intellectual property sold is to list it on a specialized web site, have it reviewed by their team of specialists and broadcast to qualified buyers, and for the interested buyers to contact you. Then follow some preliminary talks, followed by negotiations, upon which the purchase will be finalized offline, in the presence of the attorneys of both buyer and seller.
In other words, such web sites function as mediators between you, as an intellectual property holder, and the buyer. How can this be helpful to you? Well, such specialists will guide you through everything you need in the process of selling your intellectual property, from advertising for it to assisting you with the negotiations.
The same process takes place when you have patents for sale. You can contact an invention development organization that will help you in the process of marketing your invention, while protecting it form those fake inventors, who do nothing but copy yours.
Remember that the human race has gotten so far and will be able to go on only by relying on inventions and better ways of doing things. This is why you should contact specialized organizations that can market you patents for sales, so that the whole world can benefit from your invention. Only by doing so will you be able to turn your dreams into reality, and make the most of what you have invented, for the sake of many other people.
For more resources about Patents for sale or even about Intellectual Property for sale please review this weblink http://www.ideabuyer.com
By: Groshan Fabiola
About the Author:
For more resources about Patents for sale or even about Intellectual Property for sale please review this weblink http://www.ideabuyer.com
Troubling Changes To Patent Rules
On January 3, 2006 the United States Patent and Trademark Office (Patent Office) proposed changes to the current patent filing procedures that will dramatically change the process inventors and small businesses use to seek patent protection. The proposed changes also limit inventors’ ability to protect their inventions. The public may submit their feedback on these changes by May 3, 2006.
CHANGE NO. 1: The first change alters the current “continuation practice” by limiting the number of correspondences that inventors may have with the Patent Office. Additional correspondence may be made with the Patent Office but only under limited conditions.
CHANGE NO. 2: The second change alters the current “claiming practice” by limiting the number of claims that may be presented on an invention, specifically, ten claims per application. The proposed change severely restricts the conditions under which additional claims may be presented.
Interestingly, the stated purposes of the changes are to reduce the back log of un-examined patent applications and increase the quality of the patent application review. Unfortunately, these changes also bring out two important negative implications:
• INCREASE COST TO OBTAIN PATENT
• NARROW PATENT PROTECTION
Under the proposed changes, an inventors may only present ten independent claims even if the technology to be patented requires more. The Patent Office states that more claims may be presented if the inventor provides an opinion as to the reason that the invention is patentable over a prior art search but such opinion may be expensive. Hence, the inventor may have to accept narrow claim coverage that may not sufficiently protect their invention. instead of continuing to pursue broad patent protection. Also, inventors must seek patent protection on multiple aspects of their invention simultaneously which may be cost prohibitive. Moreover, in cases where the Patent Office has incorrectly rejected an application, the inventor may only proceed with a costly appeal process instead of attempting to highlight different ingenious aspects of the invention.
IMPACT ON BACK LOG AND QUALITY: The changes do not appear to achieve the Patent Office’s desired objective of reducing its back log of applications and improving quality. Inventors, when faced with an examiner who does not understand the uniqueness of the invention, would immediately appeal or petition such refusal rather than use up their limited number of correspondences with the examiner. As such, in one aspect, the changes merely shift the load of the work from patent examiners to the appeal board and petition process. Moreover, patent attorneys would file additional applications on the same invention describing the invention in different ways to circumvent the changes increasing the number of applications. As such, in another aspect, it may increase the number of patent applications.
PUNISH EVERYONE BECAUSE OF A FEW: According to the Patent Office, only 1.2% of applicants engage in excessive claiming. The Patent Office has identified a claiming practice used by a few applicants and proposes changes that affect all applicants. Oddly, the Patent Office appears to be punishing all inventors due to the excessive claiming practice of a few.
PUBLIC REACTION: Feedback submitted by individuals, patent practitioners, businesses and trade associations range from full acceptance to full rejection. For example, one comment stated that the Patent Office is not taking into consideration “real-world effects on practitioners and applications.” Another comment from an intellectual property association supports the Patent Office’s efforts in increasing examination efficiency and patent quality but disagrees that the proposed changes would achieve the desired results.
SUBMITING YOUR COMMENTS: For information on submitting a comment, go to www.uspto.gov or www.ContactJamesYang.blogspot.com.
This information is provided for informational purposes only and not considered legal advice. Legal advice requires review and analysis of your specific factual situation.
By: James Yang
About the Author:
CHANGE NO. 1: The first change alters the current “continuation practice” by limiting the number of correspondences that inventors may have with the Patent Office. Additional correspondence may be made with the Patent Office but only under limited conditions.
CHANGE NO. 2: The second change alters the current “claiming practice” by limiting the number of claims that may be presented on an invention, specifically, ten claims per application. The proposed change severely restricts the conditions under which additional claims may be presented.
Interestingly, the stated purposes of the changes are to reduce the back log of un-examined patent applications and increase the quality of the patent application review. Unfortunately, these changes also bring out two important negative implications:
• INCREASE COST TO OBTAIN PATENT
• NARROW PATENT PROTECTION
Under the proposed changes, an inventors may only present ten independent claims even if the technology to be patented requires more. The Patent Office states that more claims may be presented if the inventor provides an opinion as to the reason that the invention is patentable over a prior art search but such opinion may be expensive. Hence, the inventor may have to accept narrow claim coverage that may not sufficiently protect their invention. instead of continuing to pursue broad patent protection. Also, inventors must seek patent protection on multiple aspects of their invention simultaneously which may be cost prohibitive. Moreover, in cases where the Patent Office has incorrectly rejected an application, the inventor may only proceed with a costly appeal process instead of attempting to highlight different ingenious aspects of the invention.
IMPACT ON BACK LOG AND QUALITY: The changes do not appear to achieve the Patent Office’s desired objective of reducing its back log of applications and improving quality. Inventors, when faced with an examiner who does not understand the uniqueness of the invention, would immediately appeal or petition such refusal rather than use up their limited number of correspondences with the examiner. As such, in one aspect, the changes merely shift the load of the work from patent examiners to the appeal board and petition process. Moreover, patent attorneys would file additional applications on the same invention describing the invention in different ways to circumvent the changes increasing the number of applications. As such, in another aspect, it may increase the number of patent applications.
PUNISH EVERYONE BECAUSE OF A FEW: According to the Patent Office, only 1.2% of applicants engage in excessive claiming. The Patent Office has identified a claiming practice used by a few applicants and proposes changes that affect all applicants. Oddly, the Patent Office appears to be punishing all inventors due to the excessive claiming practice of a few.
PUBLIC REACTION: Feedback submitted by individuals, patent practitioners, businesses and trade associations range from full acceptance to full rejection. For example, one comment stated that the Patent Office is not taking into consideration “real-world effects on practitioners and applications.” Another comment from an intellectual property association supports the Patent Office’s efforts in increasing examination efficiency and patent quality but disagrees that the proposed changes would achieve the desired results.
SUBMITING YOUR COMMENTS: For information on submitting a comment, go to www.uspto.gov or www.ContactJamesYang.blogspot.com.
This information is provided for informational purposes only and not considered legal advice. Legal advice requires review and analysis of your specific factual situation.
By: James Yang
About the Author:
James Yang is a patent attorney practicing in Orange County, California. He helps small businesses create, maintain and profit from their intellectual property so that they may maintain a competitive edge. He may be contacted via email at ContactJamesYang@yahoo.com or http://www.ContactJamesYang.blogspot.com.
Corporations Go Public With Eco-Friendly Patents
wbcsd asked:
Leading members of the corporate community have come together in a first-of-its-kind effort to help the environment, unleashing dozens of innovative, environmentally-responsible patents to the public domain. (Video courtesy of IBM)
Basic Issues Regarding a Patent Search
There are several points to be taken into account when planning to receive a patent for your invention; and patent analytics imply the basic information when it comes to searching for various patents that have already been obtained by other people. The documented data will be used in order to learn everything about the already existing patents because this is actually the main condition to be applied when determining whether a person is going to receive a patent or not. Some basic issues are to be acknowledged before a person starts to search for the existing papers; for instance, the concept approach should be well defined in order for the search to be successful. Time and money will be thus saved by providing yourself with the necessary combination of terms that will be used in order to describe your own invention. These terms will be used as keywords in order to search for similar ideas that have already been patented in a particular area of interest. You have to be able to define your subject in a concise and precise manner in order for the search to come along with the needed results.
The patent search must be accompanied by a search for the relevant documents that are likely to help you decide whether the patent will be obtained or not; the patent documents are usually found in online collections that may provide you with all the necessary information in order to develop a patent analytics strategy. You will be looking for fields that are usually described in a concise manner by using classification codes and abstracts.
Therefore, you will have to use these abstracts as well in order to make sure that you will access the necessary documentation. Even the patent records, file wrappers, or file histories are to be used in order to find whether your invention was patented or not; every patent record is likely to contain the main features of the invention. These features will be described by using the classification codes that have been chosen before. Even the technical content of every invention will be added to this record in order for the user to have a clearer picture of all the inventions that have already been patented. The abstracts are to be used in order to find whether your description of the invention matches one of the given descriptions that are to be found in the patent records.
A patent analytics strategy will help you express your search by using the relevant keywords that will access the patent record; but the expression of every technical subject is likely to remain the same because it is a combination that is likely to work in the case of every piece of documentation that relates to the already existing patents. All the existing documents will have the same things in common, namely the so called concepts that will help you find whether there are similar inventions or not. Therefore, your future search will consist in finding the documents that use a given combination of various concepts; this combination must be present in every case in order for you to find relevant information that may help you obtain the wanted patent. All the patent documents will be classified; therefore, you should not limit yourself to a single keyword because searching for various concepts will not depend on a single aspect or keyword. On the contrary, every individual concept is likely to be defined by various combinations of keywords and other classification symbols or codes that may be related to a particular concept in order to describe it in a concise manner without getting into details.
Therefore, every sound patent search and strategy must be complex enough in order to provide you with the necessary information; every search strategy should involve various combinations when it comes to classification symbols and keywords. You may find hard to search for all the existing synonyms that may cover a certain field; there are many classifications that are covering the same concept and you have to be fully aware of this possibility too in order not to despair when not finding the wanted concept. But you may also rely on the fact that relevant documents are likely to be displayed during your search thus revealing new methods in order to express your own concepts.
Even the experienced searcher is likely to handle this search with some difficulty because additional efforts are not likely to come along with the desired results. You will have to think in a lateral manner in order to avoid the possible dead ends that are not likely to lead you anywhere; you will have to think lateral in order to retrieve the additional concepts that may cover a certain concept that you are looking for. Therefore, you will have to explore multiple possibilities in order to approach the concept from a favorable angle; you must not stick to the same approach in case that this approach turns out to be quite ineffective.
By: Anne Tide
About the Author:
The patent search must be accompanied by a search for the relevant documents that are likely to help you decide whether the patent will be obtained or not; the patent documents are usually found in online collections that may provide you with all the necessary information in order to develop a patent analytics strategy. You will be looking for fields that are usually described in a concise manner by using classification codes and abstracts.
Therefore, you will have to use these abstracts as well in order to make sure that you will access the necessary documentation. Even the patent records, file wrappers, or file histories are to be used in order to find whether your invention was patented or not; every patent record is likely to contain the main features of the invention. These features will be described by using the classification codes that have been chosen before. Even the technical content of every invention will be added to this record in order for the user to have a clearer picture of all the inventions that have already been patented. The abstracts are to be used in order to find whether your description of the invention matches one of the given descriptions that are to be found in the patent records.
A patent analytics strategy will help you express your search by using the relevant keywords that will access the patent record; but the expression of every technical subject is likely to remain the same because it is a combination that is likely to work in the case of every piece of documentation that relates to the already existing patents. All the existing documents will have the same things in common, namely the so called concepts that will help you find whether there are similar inventions or not. Therefore, your future search will consist in finding the documents that use a given combination of various concepts; this combination must be present in every case in order for you to find relevant information that may help you obtain the wanted patent. All the patent documents will be classified; therefore, you should not limit yourself to a single keyword because searching for various concepts will not depend on a single aspect or keyword. On the contrary, every individual concept is likely to be defined by various combinations of keywords and other classification symbols or codes that may be related to a particular concept in order to describe it in a concise manner without getting into details.
Therefore, every sound patent search and strategy must be complex enough in order to provide you with the necessary information; every search strategy should involve various combinations when it comes to classification symbols and keywords. You may find hard to search for all the existing synonyms that may cover a certain field; there are many classifications that are covering the same concept and you have to be fully aware of this possibility too in order not to despair when not finding the wanted concept. But you may also rely on the fact that relevant documents are likely to be displayed during your search thus revealing new methods in order to express your own concepts.
Even the experienced searcher is likely to handle this search with some difficulty because additional efforts are not likely to come along with the desired results. You will have to think in a lateral manner in order to avoid the possible dead ends that are not likely to lead you anywhere; you will have to think lateral in order to retrieve the additional concepts that may cover a certain concept that you are looking for. Therefore, you will have to explore multiple possibilities in order to approach the concept from a favorable angle; you must not stick to the same approach in case that this approach turns out to be quite ineffective.
By: Anne Tide
About the Author:
A patent search and patent analytics strategy are to be used in order to approach more possibilities.
Selling And Buying Patents Online
There are many great products out there, and even the ones that appear on the midnight infomercials can be huge successes. Those who hold the patent on the product will ultimately cash in on a lot of money, so if you are interested in finding an easy way to make money, you can buy patents or sell a patent online. There are many resources where you can check out online patent auctions and other buy and sell resources so you can start making money with your investment.
There are more than just dreams of money when you want to buy patents. You will also need to buy patents whenever you find a product that you like, but have some great ideas to improve it. Otherwise, you could be looking at legal action from the owner of the patent who feels you are violating laws that prevent you from trying to resell a nearly-same product on that patent.
When you buy and sell patents online, you will want to work with a registered patent attorney. Most online auction sites for patents will have attorneys available so that the switch happens entirely legally. And if you are looking for complete anonymity on either side of the sale, an attorney is a vital part of this transaction to keep the identity of the buying partner from the patent holder. This helps when large corporations are taking on individual patent holders. The attorney can negotiate the best deal for both parties without having the disadvantage of trying to negotiate the worth of the intellectual property with a large company that will be perceived to get a lot of money from owning the patent. At the moment, a database for selling patents is not available online, so to find out what patents are for sale and how you can acquire them, you will want to get the help of a patent law attorney.
And if you are an inventor who is sitting on a great patent, but wants to sell it, you will want to hire a patent broker who can find the right buyer for it. This is especially important if you are afraid that you will have an expired patent on your hands without seeing a profit. Large companies can quickly turn a patent into a gold mine, and if they recognize your product as something really valuable, they will be able to strike a deal with you and your broker to give you the amount of money you deserve for your intellectual property while acquiring what they need to make money from the invention. The only problem is that many patent holders are looking to sell their patents at less than $1000 wholesale. But if the idea is recognized as really valuable, your broker will be able to help you get a deal with the participating company for anywhere up to a million dollars if the patent is deemed worthy enough. So check out buying and selling patents online.
By: Jordan McPelt
About the Author:
There are more than just dreams of money when you want to buy patents. You will also need to buy patents whenever you find a product that you like, but have some great ideas to improve it. Otherwise, you could be looking at legal action from the owner of the patent who feels you are violating laws that prevent you from trying to resell a nearly-same product on that patent.
When you buy and sell patents online, you will want to work with a registered patent attorney. Most online auction sites for patents will have attorneys available so that the switch happens entirely legally. And if you are looking for complete anonymity on either side of the sale, an attorney is a vital part of this transaction to keep the identity of the buying partner from the patent holder. This helps when large corporations are taking on individual patent holders. The attorney can negotiate the best deal for both parties without having the disadvantage of trying to negotiate the worth of the intellectual property with a large company that will be perceived to get a lot of money from owning the patent. At the moment, a database for selling patents is not available online, so to find out what patents are for sale and how you can acquire them, you will want to get the help of a patent law attorney.
And if you are an inventor who is sitting on a great patent, but wants to sell it, you will want to hire a patent broker who can find the right buyer for it. This is especially important if you are afraid that you will have an expired patent on your hands without seeing a profit. Large companies can quickly turn a patent into a gold mine, and if they recognize your product as something really valuable, they will be able to strike a deal with you and your broker to give you the amount of money you deserve for your intellectual property while acquiring what they need to make money from the invention. The only problem is that many patent holders are looking to sell their patents at less than $1000 wholesale. But if the idea is recognized as really valuable, your broker will be able to help you get a deal with the participating company for anywhere up to a million dollars if the patent is deemed worthy enough. So check out buying and selling patents online.
By: Jordan McPelt
About the Author:
Jordan Mcpelt is a professional author who specializes in buying and selling patents. For more information on buying patents online please visit http://www.lynxstreet.com
Stock Symbol: MDOR (New Patents & Trade Secrets for Rubber Recycling Solutions)
MDORRecycling asked:
Magnum’s proprietary “GREEN” technology provides a one of a kind solution to all of the challenges in eliminating Stockpiles of Scrap Tires and Global Waste including: establishing Turnkey Recycling/Waste Management facilities; design, manufacture, and sell products made with recycled materials; and institute viable solutions to the problem of recycling waste rubber. This also includes our one of a kind close loop recycling technology using our proprietary know-how for recycling scrap rubber to produce a variety of end products while reducing greenhouse gases.
Magnum currently has open contracts with NSS, LLC that equal $131 Million USD over the next five years for the production of both rubber nuggets and rubber buffing. The Company has acquired licensing rights to a number of patents that allow rubber to be reconstituted, liquefied, specially blended into EPDM powders, and EPDM compounds. These Agreements provide the Company with an array of technologies that could potentially revolutionize the rubber recycling industry in the U.S., Canada, and China.
Magnum’s Magog, Canada Facility:
Magog is a well known rubber and plastics epicenter that is located in the Estrie region of Quebec and in the MRC Memphremagog. It benefits from an exceptional geographic location since it is situated on the Canadian-American border. Located at 2035 Rene-Patenaude Magog (Quebec), J1X 7J2 is comprised of a 98,000+ sq ft mixed use building located within the Technology Center of Magog, Canada on approximately 10 acres of land. Photos of the Facility:
http://www.magnumresources.net/invest…
The licensed proprietary and patented process that MDOR utilizes produces the finest rubber products available to the market. Furthermore, MDOR’s patented processes will produce profitable products that are ecologically friendly by disintegrating used tires down to their most basic and usable components. This high technology plant will be used to design, manufacture, and sell products made with recycled materials; and institute viable solutions to the problem of recycling waste rubber. MDOR will use its licensed patented processes to recycle scrap tires, remove fibers and metal wire, and produce crumb rubber sorted into different mesh sizes for use in various rubber products.
Thus, MDOR will continue developing new compounds, file new patents, and produce products for the rubber powder it manufactures. At this time applications outnumber the amount of available raw material to produce them, thus creating a considerable supply gap for quality recycled rubber powder.
What You Should Know About Patent Registration
There is one kind of home business that is very different to any other: that of the inventor. If you’ve invented something, the chances are that you don’t have the resources to mass-produce it yourself – you’ll be needing to send the plans and designs off to someone else to make in their factory. When you do this, though, how can you protect your idea against theft by them, or anyone else who might see it? The answer is patent registration.
What is a Patent?
A patent is when your government gives you the exclusive right to profit from an invention for a set number of years. If anyone else tries to sell something that is covered by your patent, then you will have the legal right to make them either pay you a licence fee or stop.
Each patent has a patent number – you might have seen ‘Pat No’ printed on some things, followed by this number. You may also have seen ‘patent pending’, which means that the patent has been applied for but not yet granted.
Your Invention Must Qualify.
Not all inventions can be covered by patents. Check that your invention meets these two requirements:
Is it new and secret? You can’t have showed your invention publicly before you apply for a patent. Whatever you do, don’t take your invention round and demonstrate it to people before you think about patents – you might make it impossible to get one.
Is it non-obvious? Your invention must not be something that would be obvious to experience in your chosen industry. This is to stop people rushing to patent things that anyone could figure out, and then charging high fees for their use.
In addition, you cannot apply for a patent for any of the following: a scientific or mathematical theory or method, a work of art (books, plays, etc. – computer programs are included), a way of doing things (eg. a new business method). Many of these things are, instead, covered by copyright. Patents are intended for actual, physical inventions.
Where Do I Get One?
Wherever you live, the chances are that it has a government agency called a ‘patent office’, or similar. There are also patent agencies for larger areas, such as the European Patent Office or, ultimately, the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation).
To begin with, you should apply for a patent at the patent office for your country – it’s best to get a lawyer to guide you through this, and make them sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement, a contract saying they won’t tell anyone else about your invention). Depending on your country, this can either be absurdly cheap or really expensive.
Once you’ve done that, you generally have only one year to file for any patents you might want in the rest of the world. You used to have to apply individually in every country where you wanted a patent (this got very painful and expensive very quickly). Now, though, you can now take advantage of the PCT (Patent Co-operation Treaty), which allows you to apply once and eventually receive protection in all of the 126 countries that have signed up to the treaty.
You can apply for a PCT patent either through your own country’s patent office, or through the WIPO’s office in Geneva. It is again important to stress that you should really get a lawyer if you plan to go through this process, as international patent law isn’t especially intuitive or easy.
You should note that if your patent application is refused at any stage, you won’t be getting your fees back – although you can usually apply again, if you want to pay again.
What if I Don’t Get a Patent?
If you’ve looked at the prices, you might be wondering: what’s the worst thing that could possibly happen to me if I didn’t get a patent? The only answer I can give is that anyone you happen to explain the idea to can steal it, and you won’t be able to do a thing. What’s more, once your invention does come on the market, success will attract many imitators, and they’ll probably be able to produce your invention cheaper by sacrificing quality.
Essentially, a patent gives you protection against competition – but if you think you could do perfectly well in the market no matter how many imitators you had, then maybe patents aren’t for you.
By: Masni Rizal Mansor
About the Author:
What is a Patent?
A patent is when your government gives you the exclusive right to profit from an invention for a set number of years. If anyone else tries to sell something that is covered by your patent, then you will have the legal right to make them either pay you a licence fee or stop.
Each patent has a patent number – you might have seen ‘Pat No’ printed on some things, followed by this number. You may also have seen ‘patent pending’, which means that the patent has been applied for but not yet granted.
Your Invention Must Qualify.
Not all inventions can be covered by patents. Check that your invention meets these two requirements:
Is it new and secret? You can’t have showed your invention publicly before you apply for a patent. Whatever you do, don’t take your invention round and demonstrate it to people before you think about patents – you might make it impossible to get one.
Is it non-obvious? Your invention must not be something that would be obvious to experience in your chosen industry. This is to stop people rushing to patent things that anyone could figure out, and then charging high fees for their use.
In addition, you cannot apply for a patent for any of the following: a scientific or mathematical theory or method, a work of art (books, plays, etc. – computer programs are included), a way of doing things (eg. a new business method). Many of these things are, instead, covered by copyright. Patents are intended for actual, physical inventions.
Where Do I Get One?
Wherever you live, the chances are that it has a government agency called a ‘patent office’, or similar. There are also patent agencies for larger areas, such as the European Patent Office or, ultimately, the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation).
To begin with, you should apply for a patent at the patent office for your country – it’s best to get a lawyer to guide you through this, and make them sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement, a contract saying they won’t tell anyone else about your invention). Depending on your country, this can either be absurdly cheap or really expensive.
Once you’ve done that, you generally have only one year to file for any patents you might want in the rest of the world. You used to have to apply individually in every country where you wanted a patent (this got very painful and expensive very quickly). Now, though, you can now take advantage of the PCT (Patent Co-operation Treaty), which allows you to apply once and eventually receive protection in all of the 126 countries that have signed up to the treaty.
You can apply for a PCT patent either through your own country’s patent office, or through the WIPO’s office in Geneva. It is again important to stress that you should really get a lawyer if you plan to go through this process, as international patent law isn’t especially intuitive or easy.
You should note that if your patent application is refused at any stage, you won’t be getting your fees back – although you can usually apply again, if you want to pay again.
What if I Don’t Get a Patent?
If you’ve looked at the prices, you might be wondering: what’s the worst thing that could possibly happen to me if I didn’t get a patent? The only answer I can give is that anyone you happen to explain the idea to can steal it, and you won’t be able to do a thing. What’s more, once your invention does come on the market, success will attract many imitators, and they’ll probably be able to produce your invention cheaper by sacrificing quality.
Essentially, a patent gives you protection against competition – but if you think you could do perfectly well in the market no matter how many imitators you had, then maybe patents aren’t for you.
By: Masni Rizal Mansor
About the Author:
Masni Rizal Mansor provide tips and review on how to buy franking machine in UK.