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Inventions and Patents
from: Lee AsherThere 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.
One can search patents online. US Patents through COS is a fully
searchable bibliographic patent database containing all of the
over 1.7 million US patents issued since mid-1970s. Most other
countries have their own patent office.
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.
About the author:
Original Source:
Information supplied and written by Lee Asher of
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