How to Patent Invention A Beginner’s Guide
You might have a brilliant invention that will change the world as we know it, but without the proper intellectual property protection, you could be letting your next big idea getaway. We’ll go through the process of how to patent an invention — from researching your idea and documenting it, to filing and defending against infringers. On top of this, you’ll find out about a few resources that can make the process even easier for you. So start by reading this guide!
1. How to research your idea
To research your idea, try to find a few people who might be interested in your idea and talk to them about it. Ask them questions, and try to see if your idea resonates with them.One way to conduct this research is by contacting your local Chamber of Commerce or your state website and looking up their member companies for referrals. When individuals are involved, it can be hard to determine if your idea is unique, but you should always work in a manner that indicates your idea is neither individualized nor an undisputed, patented idea that has been created by one person.
Once you have determined this, then you are ready to begin your intellectual property process. If you have an established prototype, by all means, keep that, but don’t simply start work on the next version of your invention as soon as you finish creating your prototype. Patenting just the idea helps you have a starting point and strengthen your hope that you might be able to protect your idea through copyright later on. So while you may have an idea already, don’t actually begin working on the next version of your invention until you have copyrighted it. Copyright protection would help make sure that you hold upside in your idea (i.e. if someone copies your invention then you have the right to demand they pay you). But make sure that it is a document you have prepared in advance, as this is when you have a strong argument in your favor should someone else try to infringe upon your copyright.
Once you’ve copyrighted your idea, you’re all set. Next, you’ll need to draft your invention registration. This must be done by a licensed attorney, and it’s important to have an overview of the national patent laws applicable to you and your proposed invention before you begin. The better you understand these laws, the better odds you have of succeeding.
2. How to write a patent application for your invention
When you apply for a patent, you need to show that your invention is new, useful, and unique. To do this, make sure the following information is included in your patent application: a detailed description of your invention, drawings of the invention to illustrate how it works, and any other information you feel is relevant. Patent applications must be in English.
Adding these three elements also exposes the significance of the invention: that you created or discover a new method of doing something differently. This shows people that you have an interesting and original idea.
For illustrating how your invention is unique, include during your patent application:
The same standard for novelty also applies to laws. For localization, take a foreign patent application at face value, or translate the entire patent into your own language and compare it with the patent of the foreign country. For prior art, look through recently granted patents in your field. Are they similar to yours? Have you infringed upon them? On a related note, you can also request to identify prior art using a formal request to OIA — as happened in the case of Microsoft. While OIA requests take time to process, you’ll often get a response because the patent office has dozens of prior art documents to help them.
For research purposes, you might also want to look through pending patent applications. Patents are often filed and defended on a routine basis, and ignored for years. To make patent applications effective, you want the world of patents to be aware of your invention. As with prior art, this may require you to find students, college professors, and/or other researchers who have an original idea that you want others to find.
There are several ways to research prior art, and they generally fall into two categories: textual, and algorithmical. Typical prior art researchizz consists of reading through patents as they are issued (this only takes a few minutes), and checking prior art submitted through electronic services such as Web Trademark and Patent Legal (the latter is a specialized search engine for patents).
3. What are the different kinds of patents?
Utility patents protect the invention itself, so the unique way in which it works, what it does, and how it’s made. A utility patent is the strongest form of patent protection available, but it’s also the most expensive to get and maintain.It’s best to start off by building out a plan. Here are some considerations to make.
Musts for a Basic U.K. Patents Plan:
Time frame: 6 months is optimal. If you’re doing this via patent filing and have your product ready to launch within 3 months, then your timeline is very short indeed. Do not rush it unless you have a lengthy demand. In other words, give yourself enough time to productize, market, and secure the first round of trials.
Preferred form: go the extra mile by providing the preferred form with your application. For a “minimal” patent application, you’ll want to avoid the extra step of providing the form as an appendix to the application. You can even request that the preferred form be included in the application! Providing it as an appendix protects your interest in the patent, and allows others to move forward from there.
Musts for a Foreign Patents Plan:
First access rights: a foreign national can only have U.S. patent protection for 25 years from the date of filing. This is line with international copyright treaties and is a practical requirement if you want your foreign nationals to share in your profits and your functions. Perhaps one of the reasons for establishing a foreign patent license is to allow your foreign national to pursue U.S. rights and obligations.
Eligible persons: you must make sure you’re focused on individuals for whom you’re planning to serve as agent. It usually helps to ask yourself, “Would I want my business partner or my assistant to be my agent?” If the answer is “no” to both questions, tailor the plan to who you are. If you are a foreign national, then your agent must have U.K.
4. Where can you get help if you need it?
According to the United Kingdom Patent and Trademark Office, the patent law describes inventors as “any person who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent.”
The invention must be new, useful, and nondefect to qualify for patent protection. Invention by itself does not confer patentable subject matter before publication in the United Kingdom Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which can take extensive process-involvement.
Patents were made available to the general public nearly 100 years ago: indeed, Samuel Webster first put the word “patent” into the dictionary in 1758. In 1790, the first patents issued in the United Kingdom were for magnetic writing in Bristol, England; typewriting in Philadelphia and Davenport, Iowa; and a process for making gilded bowls.
Prior to the year 1990, all patent applications were registered with, and granted by, each respective patent office. The process of determining eligibility for a patent was by analogy to grants of patents by state legislatures, including the first patent issued in the United Kingdom was assigned in Virginia on May 12, 1790 by the governor.
Patents were intended to shore up investment in frontier industries where patents offered strategic advantages when compared to other investments in that particular sector. In this sense, a patent is similar to a trade secret. However, as discussed later, a patent can be privacy-invasive for the business and these dangers warrant careful consideration as your decision-making process develops.
Practical examples of how patents impact your organization are abundant. Patents help both large and small companies differentiate themselves from their competitors. A typical patent might cover an anti-counterfeiting process, improved machine process, or blueprint method. This means that a patent is most often secured by large organizations with deep pockets or a legacy in the relevant industry.
5. What are some resources that can make this process easier?
Patents are very important legal documents, which give an inventor the exclusive right to make, use or sell their invention for a limited period of time. A patent is a legal document (granted by the government) and is used as a form of legal protection.As it pertains to startups, there are different types of patents and each have different levels of protection granted. These protections range from traditional forms of protection such as licenses for manufacturing and use to limited use, business method and patent assignment clauses. Legal scholars typically refer to patentable subject matter as “matters of general utility” or “matters of particular utility” or in patent parlance, “patents are to inventions what trademarks are to marks.”
Patents can be claimed in several different locations. A patent can be granted by a governmental entity, a branch of the military or an individual inventor. Sometimes, patents may even be filed anonymously. The location where the patent is filed has a much bigger impact on its validity than the actual document itself. It is now important for a startup with a pending patent to understand both the geographical validity of the patent and the location of patent issuance.
If a certain region (or country) is claiming patent jurisdiction, perhaps it has a stronger legal basis than another country that might have a weaker claim. Understanding the broader perspective of a patent can lead to stronger legal protections being given by the issuing country, which can serve as the cornerstone of the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976.
Diageo (owner of Guinness) is an excellent example of how not to protect your intellectual property (IP). The 1980s liquor company wanted to acquire Speyside distilling company Pimm & Fields. The Speyside region of Scotland produced around 85% of the country’s alcohol production at the time. Likely in an effort to cling to market share, Diageo sued Pimm & Fields and won.
