A patent is an agreement between the inventor and society to protect technical inventions which solve technical problems.
It is a right to exclude others from making, using, selling or importing the patented invention.
What do Patents protect?
Patents are suitable for protecting new products and new processes which have a technical effect to solve a technical problem.
An invention must be of “technical character”, meaning it must relate to a technical field, concern a technical problem and have technical features. Abstract ideas cannot be patented. An invention must be developed to a stage so as to sufficiently described in good detail in the patent application.
An invention must have technical characteristics in order to be patentable.
These technical characteristics must be novel and inventive, in other words such characteristics must be new and an improvement over what is already known.
An invention is patentable if it is novel, if it involves an inventive step and is capable of industrial application.
If an invention is early in an emerging field broad patents may be obtained. However, if the field is already established the patent is likely to be of narrower scope.
An invention is considered to be new if it does not form part of the state of the art. This includes disclosures by the inventor.
Disclosures
The invention must not be disclosed by the inventors or anyone else, outside of confidentiality, before filing a patent application.
It is essential that you do not disclose your invention outside of confidentiality before a patent application is filed.
Commercial Strategy
The commercial importance of the development determines the value of the patent.
Patents should only be considered if you have a commercial plan for the invention you want to protect, and should be part of a broader business strategy.
Where to start?
Initially, the following questions should be answered by the inventor and his or her colleagues:
What is the concept of the invention and how does it work? What is the essence of our invention?
Where do I have to file Patents?
The initial step on the patent path usually involves filing a priority application.
By doing this, it is not necessary to initially file applications in all countries of interest.
