If You’ve Got A Good Idea For A Product, Do You Need A Patent?
Once you have your product developed it’s time to decide if a patent is worth the trouble. Although in theory, all good ideas should be protected by a patent. Consider the protection however as only the right to allow you to claim the technology, product or ideas as your own. YOU get to do all the protecting. So if you develop a product then someone steals the idea and goes into competition with you, you have the right to sue and defend your patent rights.
In patent cases, there typically are claims and counter-claims, especially if it’s a popular product. These cases can quickly become more complicated because of the dynamics of product development. As the complexity increase, so do the costs.
Understand that it’s YOU that gets to pay the patent attorney fees and court costs that can rapidly add up into the tens of thousands of dollars very quickly. So you need to ask yourself if your product or idea is such that it will generate large dollars. Put bluntly, what’s the product going to be worth and are you confident that the product of idea has a good shot at being worth the trouble. Of course, the higher the value of the product-idea- or technology, the more likely people will want to compete and it may be to your advantage to apply for the patent rights with the government.
Another thing to consider is that even if you have the patent rights in the U.S., others may be free to use your ideas throughout the rest of the world. Although many countries support common patent rights, the reality is that if it’s a good idea and is used outside the United States, it’s becomes even more expensive and difficult to protect your patent rights. It’s important at this point in your product development to understand that the costs of a patent are not in the application but in the defense when it becomes necessary.
If you’re product becomes popular, it’s not unknown for large corporations to take your patented ideas and compete directly with you in the market. Because of their size, they have a great advantage and can literally destroy your business built around your product, idea, technology or patent. Large corporations have been known to simply have an attitude of “sue me.” They then tie up the little guy in litigation for years and sometimes decades all the while benefiting from his idea. Understand that this doesn’t always happen but if it does, you could be left without a market for your patented idea and the prospect of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to attorneys to establish your patent rights.
Finally, the last major issue to consider is that some countries and international companies simply will not care about your patent even if you have one. These countries, specifically China comes to mind, do not care about intellectual property rights or patents. Even if fully protected with your patent, some countries have no problem simply taking what interests them. Although China isn’t the only country to have this attitude, they have been considered one of the biggest offenders for years.
So you need to ask yourself if the value of your idea is such that it warrants a patent. That you are willing and able to defend those rights in court, and have developed a plan to protect your idea in the international markets.
By: Abigail Franks
About the Author:
In patent cases, there typically are claims and counter-claims, especially if it’s a popular product. These cases can quickly become more complicated because of the dynamics of product development. As the complexity increase, so do the costs.
Understand that it’s YOU that gets to pay the patent attorney fees and court costs that can rapidly add up into the tens of thousands of dollars very quickly. So you need to ask yourself if your product or idea is such that it will generate large dollars. Put bluntly, what’s the product going to be worth and are you confident that the product of idea has a good shot at being worth the trouble. Of course, the higher the value of the product-idea- or technology, the more likely people will want to compete and it may be to your advantage to apply for the patent rights with the government.
Another thing to consider is that even if you have the patent rights in the U.S., others may be free to use your ideas throughout the rest of the world. Although many countries support common patent rights, the reality is that if it’s a good idea and is used outside the United States, it’s becomes even more expensive and difficult to protect your patent rights. It’s important at this point in your product development to understand that the costs of a patent are not in the application but in the defense when it becomes necessary.
If you’re product becomes popular, it’s not unknown for large corporations to take your patented ideas and compete directly with you in the market. Because of their size, they have a great advantage and can literally destroy your business built around your product, idea, technology or patent. Large corporations have been known to simply have an attitude of “sue me.” They then tie up the little guy in litigation for years and sometimes decades all the while benefiting from his idea. Understand that this doesn’t always happen but if it does, you could be left without a market for your patented idea and the prospect of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to attorneys to establish your patent rights.
Finally, the last major issue to consider is that some countries and international companies simply will not care about your patent even if you have one. These countries, specifically China comes to mind, do not care about intellectual property rights or patents. Even if fully protected with your patent, some countries have no problem simply taking what interests them. Although China isn’t the only country to have this attitude, they have been considered one of the biggest offenders for years.
So you need to ask yourself if the value of your idea is such that it warrants a patent. That you are willing and able to defend those rights in court, and have developed a plan to protect your idea in the international markets.
By: Abigail Franks
About the Author:
Abigail Franks writes on a variety of subjects which include family, home, and business. For more information on patents and patent attorneys visit the site at http://www.patent-attorney.livingwellzone.com
Does Your New Product Qualify For A Patent
If you’ve created something unique and something you believe to be marketable the subject of patents should be of immense interest to you. Without a patent your idea could be stolen from you. With a patent in place the concept, and its financial rewards, are yours for a minimum of 17 and a maximum of 20 years.
Does your new product qualify for a patent, however? To determine this you’ll need to not only prove its uniqueness but to also make sure it’s not disqualified for category.
In the United States, for example, the issuing federal agency is the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. This agency offers utility patents, the most common form of patent, on brand new designs that can prove usefulness. They can even patent new varieties of foliage such as plants.
What cannot be patented, however, are new pharmaceuticals that are determined to be unsafe, nuclear weapons, phenomena theoretical in nature, inventions that aren’t operable, non-operational changes such as aesthetic improvements, inventions whose primary purpose would be seen as illegal, and those considered by the patent office as “whimsical,” i.e., serving no serious purpose. As of this writing the patent office also refuses “immoral” patents, but a change is in the offing that will eliminate this category from patent refusal.
One of the criteria used by the US PTO to determine uniqueness and thus eligibility for a patent is whether someone who is considered an expert in the field in which you’re introducing a new product would consider the product not only useful but also unique. You will, therefore, delay your application for a patent until you’ve determined that the answer to this is yes. You’ll want to provide the PTO with the name or names of experts who have attested to the usefulness and unique nature of your creation.
This is where you must be careful. Sharing your idea prior to its patent could result in its theft if you don’t take precautions. Besides carefully studying the credibility and ethics of those from whom you seek a professional opinion of your new idea or product, you’ll also want to carefully document your step-by-step creation – from original concept to completion.
Purchase a notebook. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy – just a diary sort of concept that notes each and every move made and every idea generated that helped to bring your concept and product to fruition. While in this day and age you’re probably more prone to use a word processing system to do so (and that’s a great idea for backup since you can not only keep it on your hard drive but save it to CD, DVD or disk) you’ll first want to record these steps, in your own handwriting, in your notebook. Make sure you date each step as well.
The process for earning a patent from initial application averages two years. However, while that process is pending you will still have proof that you’re the inventor by showing the PTO documentation of application number and official date of filing. If applying online, you’ll have this information in minutes. If you apply by mail, the documentation should arrive within eight weeks.
Once you’ve received your patent, you’ll have protected your new product or idea from infringement. What this means is that were anyone to try to claim it as their own, or to duplicate it and use or sell that duplication, you could sue for damages.
By: Jason Roberts
About the Author:
Does your new product qualify for a patent, however? To determine this you’ll need to not only prove its uniqueness but to also make sure it’s not disqualified for category.
In the United States, for example, the issuing federal agency is the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. This agency offers utility patents, the most common form of patent, on brand new designs that can prove usefulness. They can even patent new varieties of foliage such as plants.
What cannot be patented, however, are new pharmaceuticals that are determined to be unsafe, nuclear weapons, phenomena theoretical in nature, inventions that aren’t operable, non-operational changes such as aesthetic improvements, inventions whose primary purpose would be seen as illegal, and those considered by the patent office as “whimsical,” i.e., serving no serious purpose. As of this writing the patent office also refuses “immoral” patents, but a change is in the offing that will eliminate this category from patent refusal.
One of the criteria used by the US PTO to determine uniqueness and thus eligibility for a patent is whether someone who is considered an expert in the field in which you’re introducing a new product would consider the product not only useful but also unique. You will, therefore, delay your application for a patent until you’ve determined that the answer to this is yes. You’ll want to provide the PTO with the name or names of experts who have attested to the usefulness and unique nature of your creation.
This is where you must be careful. Sharing your idea prior to its patent could result in its theft if you don’t take precautions. Besides carefully studying the credibility and ethics of those from whom you seek a professional opinion of your new idea or product, you’ll also want to carefully document your step-by-step creation – from original concept to completion.
Purchase a notebook. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy – just a diary sort of concept that notes each and every move made and every idea generated that helped to bring your concept and product to fruition. While in this day and age you’re probably more prone to use a word processing system to do so (and that’s a great idea for backup since you can not only keep it on your hard drive but save it to CD, DVD or disk) you’ll first want to record these steps, in your own handwriting, in your notebook. Make sure you date each step as well.
The process for earning a patent from initial application averages two years. However, while that process is pending you will still have proof that you’re the inventor by showing the PTO documentation of application number and official date of filing. If applying online, you’ll have this information in minutes. If you apply by mail, the documentation should arrive within eight weeks.
Once you’ve received your patent, you’ll have protected your new product or idea from infringement. What this means is that were anyone to try to claim it as their own, or to duplicate it and use or sell that duplication, you could sue for damages.
By: Jason Roberts
About the Author:
Robert Michael is a writer for
Juris Patents
which is an excellent place to find patents links,
resources and articles. For more information go to:
http://www.jurispatents.com