In this article, we will be discussing the Frequently Asked Questions about Patents. Intellectual Property Rights, Uses of Patents, Patent Licensing, etc.
Frequently Asked Questions about Patents
What is a patent?
A person or an organization, after doing research or extensive development work on some important and new topic of interest, wants to protect his invention or a new method of doing work or development of a technical solution. The output in the form of invention, new method, or solution to a problem can be protected by obtaining patent rights. A patent provides an exclusive right granted for an invention, a product, or a process. A patent can be obtained by providing technical information about the invention or new development in a patent application to the appropriate authority for the information of the public. To know more, Patentability Searches
Can a person or an organization other than the patent owner use the patent?
A person or an organization other than the patent owner cannot use the patent until the patent owner permits for its use on mutually agreed terms. The owner of the patent can also give a license to other parties to use the invention on mutually agreed terms. The owner may also sell the right to the invention to someone else, who will then become the new owner of the patent.
Is the ownership of a patent for the whole life of the patent?
No, the patent is granted for a specified period. After the expiry of the period, the patent expires, the protection ends, and an invention enters the public domain. After the expiry of the period granted, the patent is open and the invention can be commercially exploited by anyone without infringing the patent.
What are the rights of the patent owner?
A patent owner has the right to decide who may – or may not – use the patented invention for the period in which the invention is protected. In other words, patent protection means that the invention cannot be commercially made, used, distributed, or sold by others without the patent owner’s consent.
Also, Read: Patent Invalidity Search
What is the period of patent rights?
A patent is granted for a limited period, usually 20 years from the date of application. After that, the patent is in the public domain and can be used by anyone.
What can be patented?
Patents may be granted for inventions in any field of technology, from everyday maintenance tools to missile technology. An invention can be a product – such as a car, or a process for producing a car, specific cement, steel, or a chemical compound.
Can there be more than one patent for a product?
A product may contain several inventions. For example, the laptop computer can involve hundreds of inventions, working together like the invention of the motherboard, screen, mouse, etc. Each can have its patent. Also, Read: Freedom to Operate (FTO) search
Is a patent valid in all the countries?
No, patent rights are territorial rights. In general, the exclusive rights are valid only in the country or region in which a patent has been filed and granted as per the law of that country or region.
On the initiative of the right owner, patent rights are enforced in a country. A court of law has the authority to stop patent infringement. It is the responsibility of the patent owner to monitor, identify, and take action against infringers of a patent.
A patent owner may license his or her patented invention by granting permission to another individual/organization to make, use, sell etc. The licensing is done on agreed terms and conditions (for example, the amount and type of payment to be made by the licensee to the licensor), for a defined purpose, in a defined territory, and for an agreed period of time.
Why is licensing done?
There are a number of reasons for which a patent owner may like to grant a license to a third party. For example, the patent owner may not have the required manufacturing facilities and therefore allows others to make and sell his/her patented invention in return for “royalty” payments. In another case, a patent owner may have inadequate manufacturing facilities to meet the market demand. In such cases, he/she may be interested to license the patent to another manufacturer in order to gain from another income stream. Yet in another situation, the patent owner wishes to concentrate on one geographic market and therefore may choose to grant a license to another individual/organization, with interests in other geographical markets. A licensing agreement can help to develop a mutually beneficial business relationship. Unlike selling or transferring a patent to another party, the licensor continues to have property rights over the patented invention.
What are the advantages of a patent?
Patented inventions have touched every walk of human life, from electric bulb, rubber, tire, telephone, radio, video, cameras, etc.
Patent offers several advantages such as:
- Patent provides incentives to individuals by giving them recognition for their creativity in the form of inventions.
- Individuals are rewarded for their inventions.
- The publication of patents and patent applications helps in the spread of new knowledge and motivates others to carry on innovation activities.
- The publicly available knowledge can be used by many people simultaneously.
What are the problems of publicly available knowledge through patents?
The publicly available information through patents causes problems for the commercialization of knowledge. Anybody can use the freely available technical knowledge from the invention for commercial benefits without recognizing the creativity of the inventor or contribution to the investments made by the inventor. This results in discouragement to bring new inventions to the market, and tend to keep their commercially valuable inventions secret. The patenting system helps to correct such situations by giving the innovators the possibility to receive appropriate returns on their innovative activities.
In other words, the public disclosure of the technical knowledge in the patent, and the exclusive right granted by the patent, offer incentives for competitors to search for alternative solutions and to “invent around” the first invention. The incentives and the dissemination of knowledge about new inventions encourage innovation, which assures that the quality of human life and the well-being of society are continuously improved.
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