IP Basics »
Patents
What is a patent?
Patents protect inventions. A patent gives the patentee (the owner) the right to stop others exploiting the invention for a set period of time, usually 20 years.
Why is patent protection important?
Everyone needs to protect precious business assets. Having a patent can do just that. A patent deters competitors from copying a product or process. It can provide an important commercial advantage – whether preventing competitors encroaching on a market or allowing you time to profit from your research and development expenditure. It is usually far more expensive to innovate than to copy. A patent helps protect a monopoly that allows fair prices to provide return on investment. A patent gives other commercial benefits as well. A patentee can licence an existing patent, receiving royalties in return; a patent can even be used as security to raise a loan; and can provide assurance to investors looking to invest in an innovation-driven business.
What can be patented?
A patentable invention can relate to a product or system, a method or process, including computer-implemented methods, or even a fresh use for a known product. The invention must be new and not obvious, compared to what is previously known. Critically, in most territories, the patent needs to be filed before the invention is disclosed publicly.
How do I patent my product?
Patents are registered rights. To obtain a patent, we file an application with a governmental intellectual property office. An application for a patent can be a complex document. It requires us to provide a detailed description of the invention and a set of legal claims defining the scope of the monopoly sought, i.e. the essential features of the product or method that you want to prevent being copied. The exact form of the claims is essential in ensuring that the eventual patent is robust and commercially valuable. Patent applications are searched and examined by the intellectual property office to ensure the claims are new and inventive. We often correspond with them to argue for a set of claims that are as broad and commercially useful as possible. Once a set of claims are agreed, a patent will be granted. Patents are territorial, and so we often file multiple patent applications in multiple countries. For European protection, we can file a single application at the European Patent Office. The Patent Cooperation Treaty enables us to file a single international application that designates a number of countries around the world. We can later convert the international application into national applications in the countries where protection is ultimately required. This provides a useful method for deferring the choice of countries, as well as the increased expense of pursuing multiple patent applications. If you’re asking ‘how do I patent my product?’, speak to our team of patent attorneys.
How can a patent be enforced?
This varies from country to country but generally a patent is enforced by bringing legal proceedings in a court of law. Success can result in an injunction to stop further infringement and possibly damages.