For inventors and entrepreneurs, it is important that you obtain a patent in order to ensure that you have exclusive rights to your discoveries. This means you need to be aware of patent law. When you file a patent, you essentially have a limited-time monopoly (usually 15 or 20 years) for your invention or discovery. Under Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution, Congress has the right to make laws that grant patents to inventors. The Patent Act governs the granting of patents, and once you secure a patent for your invention or idea you have the right to prevent others from replicating, making, or using your patented invention.
If you are a new inventor /entrepreneur, it is understandable that you may have questions about patent, patent law, when they are needed, and how you can obtain one for your invention. To help get you started, here is a look at answers to some of the most common questions inventors have about patents.
Is a Patent Necessary?
After coming up with an idea for a new product you want to bring to market, the first question that you may find yourself asking is whether a patent is really necessary. While this is an understandable question to ask, as the process of filing a patent can be lengthy and expensive, the benefits that a patent provides to inventors generally outweigh the costs. Creating a patent gives you the exclusive right to produce your product, which creates a barrier for competing products to enter the market. Obtaining a patent can also help to enhance the value of your company, and it gives you the opportunity to generate revenue through licensing deals. However, the decision to obtain a patent can be complex and should be informed by the advice of an experienced patent attorney.
What is a Provisional Patent Application?
While researching patents, you may have heard the term “provisional patent application” used at some point and you may have not been sure that that was. A provisional patent application is a patent application that is not examined but is used to establish a priority date for an invention. Provisional patent applications are often filed in the form of an informal document such as a white paper or a product manual, and they can be converted to a utility patent application within one year of the initial filing date. In a competitive market, you will want to establish priority rights as soon as you have a conception for an invention. However, in many circumstances, inventors will need time to continue to work on a product they have invented until it is ready for production. This is where a provisional patent can be useful as it can help you to secure the rights to your invention while you continue to perfect it.
Where Should I File for a Patent?
A patent can only be enforced in the country/jurisdiction in which it is granted. In a globalized market, this may leave you wondering where you should file for a patent. The fact is that if you want worldwide protection, you must file an individual patent in countries worldwide. Unfortunately, filing this many patents can be prohibitively expensive for most startups. Ultimately, where you first choose to file your patent should then be dictated by your business plan and who you imagine your target market to be. For many startups, it is advisable to focus on the U.S. market as it is an economic behemoth, it has well-established patent laws, and enforcing patents in the U.S. is relatively inexpensive.
How Do I Obtain a Patent?
Once you have decided to file a patent, you will need to submit a patent application to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The USPTO reviews patent applications to determine whether an invention can be patented. An invention usually has to be considered statutory, new, useful, and non-obvious to be considered patentable. In order to file a patent application, you will need to work with a patent attorney who can help you to prepare, draft, and submit a patent application. The process of preparing a patent application can take about a month. Once submitted, a patent application will be pending for several years during which it will be subjected to substantial review by a patent office examiner to determine if your invention can be patented.
The complex, lengthy nature of patent law and the application process makes it critical that you work with an experienced patent attorney who can help you to gain exclusive rights to your invention. Contact us to learn more about the process of obtaining a patent for your product or invention.