Patents - Overview
The patent is the primary form of protection for inventions. Patents are specifically adapted to protect intellectual property which is functional in nature, as opposed to purely artistic (see copyright and registered designs).
The protection a patent offers can be very specific, or quite broad - this is largely determined by how novel and inventive your invention is compared to what is known (the prior art). Accordingly, new breakthroughs tend have broader protection than minor improvements to known inventions.
Apart from having a written specification describing the invention, a granted patent has patent claims. The patent claims define what is protected, just like a plan might detail the boundaries of the section your house is built on. They often can be read like a checklist. If a competitor's product possesses each and every feature of the checklist it infringes. If features are missing then it doesn't.
One of the skills of the patent attorney is to work with the inventor to ensure that the patent claims only contain features which is hard for competitors to omit from any competiting product or process.
Many countries have novelty requirements governing what can be patented. Basically this means that invention cannot have been published, used, or otherwise known before the filing (priority) date of your patent application. Some countries grant up to a year's grace period after your first disclosure of the invention, but this should be used as a last resort.
If you wish to keep your options open for obtaining overseas protection, file a patent application before the first public use or disclosure of your invention. If the invention is still being developed, consider using the provisional patent application to cover you for the 12 months before filing a complete specification.
Patents are territorial, which means you need to file for protection in each country where you ultimately want protection. A convention system allows you to file a first (priority application) in one member country (most countries of the world are members) and defer filing in other member countries by up to 12 months. The convention gives you the same protection as if you had filed the priority application in all the convention member countries on the same date, even though you only filed in one.
Using the international Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) process, a single PCT patent application can be filed within the 12 month convention period, instead of applications in each country of interest. You then have an additional 18 months (sometimes more) to decide where you want protection, and file applications in those countries. However not all countries are PCT member countries, and you may have to rely on the 12 month convention period (previous paragraph) for filing in those countries.
Patent applications are not enforceable. Only the granted patent, which typically first goes through an examination and opposition process (depending on the country), can be enforced against infringers. Most countries provide expedited processes for hurrying the grant processes where warranted.
Sometimes a pending application is a more useful tool at thwarting potential infringers and competitors. A complete specification is filed with a nominal set of patent claims, often quite broad. During the examination process these typically change. Most competitors like to have the certainty of a granted set of patent claims (which cannot be altered in scope any more) so they can determine if their version of the invention is likely to infringe or not. In many cases a pending application allows certain leeway to change your patent claims to thwart efforts by competitors to release comparable products.
The claims in a pending patent application are like a set of moveable goal posts. This makes it hard for competitors to plan for non-infringing comparable and competing products. Hence the still pending application can be a very useful business tool.
Inventions for which patent applications have been sought make licensing and assignment (sale) of the technology easier. Often the patent specification(s) are used to define the invention which is subject to the business transaction. You do not need a granted patent for this - most licences and transfers are performed on the basis of pending applications.
More about patents:
Novelty
Inventiveness
Specification
Patent claims
Claim Infringement
Filing Process
Priority Date
Provisional specification
Filing overseas
International PCT application
Complete specification
Examination
Opposition
Grant
The patent is the primary form of protection for inventions. Patents are specifically adapted to protect intellectual property which is functional in nature, as opposed to purely artistic (see copyright and registered designs).
The protection a patent offers can be very specific, or quite broad - this is largely determined by how novel and inventive your invention is compared to what is known (the prior art). Accordingly, new breakthroughs tend have broader protection than minor improvements to known inventions.
Apart from having a written specification describing the invention, a granted patent has patent claims. The patent claims define what is protected, just like a plan might detail the boundaries of the section your house is built on. They often can be read like a checklist. If a competitor's product possesses each and every feature of the checklist it infringes. If features are missing then it doesn't.
One of the skills of the patent attorney is to work with the inventor to ensure that the patent claims only contain features which is hard for competitors to omit from any competiting product or process.
Many countries have novelty requirements governing what can be patented. Basically this means that invention cannot have been published, used, or otherwise known before the filing (priority) date of your patent application. Some countries grant up to a year's grace period after your first disclosure of the invention, but this should be used as a last resort.
If you wish to keep your options open for obtaining overseas protection, file a patent application before the first public use or disclosure of your invention. If the invention is still being developed, consider using the provisional patent application to cover you for the 12 months before filing a complete specification.
Patents are territorial, which means you need to file for protection in each country where you ultimately want protection. A convention system allows you to file a first (priority application) in one member country (most countries of the world are members) and defer filing in other member countries by up to 12 months. The convention gives you the same protection as if you had filed the priority application in all the convention member countries on the same date, even though you only filed in one.
Using the international Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) process, a single PCT patent application can be filed within the 12 month convention period, instead of applications in each country of interest. You then have an additional 18 months (sometimes more) to decide where you want protection, and file applications in those countries. However not all countries are PCT member countries, and you may have to rely on the 12 month convention period (previous paragraph) for filing in those countries.
Patent applications are not enforceable. Only the granted patent, which typically first goes through an examination and opposition process (depending on the country), can be enforced against infringers. Most countries provide expedited processes for hurrying the grant processes where warranted.
Sometimes a pending application is a more useful tool at thwarting potential infringers and competitors. A complete specification is filed with a nominal set of patent claims, often quite broad. During the examination process these typically change. Most competitors like to have the certainty of a granted set of patent claims (which cannot be altered in scope any more) so they can determine if their version of the invention is likely to infringe or not. In many cases a pending application allows certain leeway to change your patent claims to thwart efforts by competitors to release comparable products.
The claims in a pending patent application are like a set of moveable goal posts. This makes it hard for competitors to plan for non-infringing comparable and competing products. Hence the still pending application can be a very useful business tool.
Inventions for which patent applications have been sought make licensing and assignment (sale) of the technology easier. Often the patent specification(s) are used to define the invention which is subject to the business transaction. You do not need a granted patent for this - most licences and transfers are performed on the basis of pending applications.
More about patents:
Novelty
Inventiveness
Specification
Patent claims
Claim Infringement
Filing Process
Priority Date
Provisional specification
Filing overseas
International PCT application
Complete specification
Examination
Opposition
Grant
