The invention should be understood as a unique object of technical or scientific development, the use of which will solve new problems and bring obvious benefits to society. However, in order to secure authorship, thereby protecting itself from unnecessary encroachments and unauthorized use of a unique development, patenting of inventions is required.
What is a patent?
A patent should be considered not so much as a document, but as a way of formalizing unique ideas. With its help, the developer of the invention secures the rights of the creator despite the nature of the product - be it a device, substance, method, scientific or technical method.
At the same time, the mere filing of an application for patenting inventions does not mean an automatic transfer of the right to consolidate an innovation to its creator. Before refuting or confirming the novelty of the invention, patent office personnel must carefully study the search results for copying ideas and only later make an appropriate decision.
Differences of the original invention from industrial designs and utility models
Patenting of inventions, utility models and industrial designs have their differences. Based on the concept of patent law, under the industrial design should be considered the result of intellectual work, which is more related to changes in the design and appearance of certain product samples.
As for the utility model, which is an improvement of existing inventions, such an intelligent solution when confirming novelty can be registered with a patent even in the absence of an inventive step. Based on this, the patenting of a utility model is an order of magnitude simpler compared to inventions in their traditional sense, the registration of which has fairly stringent requirements.
However, obtaining a patent for an invention is more beneficial in terms of the duration of its validity. So, patenting of inventions is possible for up to 25 years, while obtaining a patent for utility models is limited to up to 10 years.
Why file a patent?
Obtaining a patent for an invention provides an opportunity not only for subsequent mass production of the development, but also allows for the transfer of the right to use or a license for the manufacture of the invention to third parties. Thus, you can get an inexhaustible source of profit, if the development is relevant for future generations.
Moreover, patenting of inventions transfers to the author’s hands papers that can act as collateral in case of concluding loan agreements, since the value of a patent is expressed in a certain monetary equivalent.
Can I get a patent for an idea?
According to the law, a patent is assigned exclusively to existing material inventions and technical solutions. Therefore, obtaining a patent for an idea is possible only when it is issued in the form of a technological or constructive innovation.
How to patent a invention in the form of just one idea? If the author of the invention cannot present it as a technical solution, you can protect the original object with the help of copyright. In this case, the idea can be presented in the form of a technique, a scientific article, a business plan.However, while the presence of a patent gives the author full protection against the illegal commercial use of the invention, the copyright certificate protects only from the unlawful dissemination of the idea, its publication, advertising, copying or conversion.
Patent Requirements
To qualify for patenting, an invention must:
- to be useful and open the door to production on an industrial scale;
- be relevant according to the current level of technology development;
- to be something fundamentally new for specialists in a particular scientific or technical field, without being an example of the obvious development of a certain technological branch.
According to the law, scientific theories, practical solutions that can only change the appearance of products, ideas related to meeting aesthetic needs, computer programs whose functionality is aimed at informing the user do not fall within the definition of an invention.
What is required to file a patent
Service intellectual property - Office that grants a patent for an invention. Patenting of inventions takes place by filing an appropriate application, which is the following set of information and papers:
- detailed description of the invention;
- formulas and drawings of the invention;
- application of the author of the invention on the need to obtain a patent.
Preparation for patenting an invention
Whether it is patenting inventions abroad or in our country, it is advisable to carry out an information-patent search in advance, which will avoid a whole lot of trouble in the future. So, in the course of patenting, there is a high probability of receiving a refusal in connection with the identification of a pending or already registered patent for a similar invention.
The search for matches is carried out according to the databases of specialized patent organizations, where there is data both on previously patented inventions and on applications under consideration. Performing a search according to the information bases allows you to avoid wasting time, time and considerable money that would be spent on the consideration of a deliberately "dysfunctional" application.
Patent Procedure
After confirming the absence of obstacles to patenting the invention, you can safely submit an application to the patent organization, which will have to go through several mandatory stages of registration:
- Formal examination of the application - allows you to identify errors in the preparation of documentation and verify a sufficient amount of paper.
- Substantive examination - verification of the invention for compliance with generally accepted criteria.
- The process of direct registration of a patent, its registration in registers and the issuance of relevant documents.
In reality, domestic and international patenting of inventions can last for several years. The terms of patenting depend on the complexity of the invention, the speed of checking its novelty, practicality, inventive step, etc.
Patenting domestic inventions abroad
According to the norms of the current legislation, domestic inventors have every right to go through the procedure for patenting innovations abroad. This decision can be made by the inventor for several reasons. Firstly, to exclude the possibility of changing their own priorities, and secondly, to attract the attention of wealthy foreign investors.
Typically, a patent for an invention is valid only on the territory of the state under whose laws it was registered. However, today there are many countries that have international treaties on the extension of patents to other states. A striking example is the “European patent”, which is valid in the territory of all countries of the European Union.
If the inventor is faced with an urgent need to extend a patent to numerous foreign countries, in this case it is enough to seek the help of representatives of international patent institutions.
The system for filling out patent documentation for inventions is almost identical in all countries. Foreign patenting of inventions, as well as domestic, needs to submit an appropriate application and undergo the examination of the object.
However, it should be understood that despite the similar basis for going through the patenting procedure, its features may differ depending on the legislation of individual states. Therefore, in order to avoid mistakes, troubles and dragging out time, it is worth initially seeking the help of professionals specializing in the preparation of patent documents abroad.
The cost of patenting inventions
The amount that will have to be paid as services for patenting an invention depends on a number of specific factors. The price for registration of patent documentation is formed from several mandatory monetary duties and fees, as well as paperwork.
The main works during the patenting of an invention include consideration and verification of an application, search for matches according to patent databases, paperwork when considering applications in patent offices. In fact, there are no fixed tariffs, because each individual case is unique, in fact, like the invention itself.
If we talk about labor and material costs, then they are associated in each case with the degree of readiness of materials for consideration and the complexity of the object itself. The complexity of the preliminary assessment of the object and its patentability is also reflected in the cost of the procedure. For example, obtaining a patent for the invention of an innovative aircraft will entail more substantial time and material costs compared to patenting a new model of a baby carriage.
However, you need to understand that going through the relatively expensive procedure for obtaining a patent for an invention will be incomparably cheaper than litigation in the absence of supporting documents in the event of an attempt to misappropriate the inventor's achievement by third parties.
