For Patent Information: http://patentsbyidventors.ourprofile.org
Patents are meant to protect inventions. A patent once granted gives its owner the right to go to Court to prevent others from using the patented invention. Patents are a form of industrial property, or as it is now called, an INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. They can be bought and sold, mortgaged, or licenced, just like any other piece of property.
A patent protects the output of your R & D. Without patent protection, your innovations are generally free for all to use. Without protection, you are handing your research to your competitors.
Without patents, your business becomes your competitor's R & D department.
According to law, the following is patentable:
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Addition of technical features in a new product that make it better, cheaper, simpler, or easier to manufacture.
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A patentable invention is more than an idea. It is an idea that can be put into practice (but you need not have actually made a prototype).
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A patentable invention is a technical thing. It is not a mere idea. It is not a purely mental act.
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A patentable invention might be entirely contained in a business method or a computer software.
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An invention can be an improvement. A chair is an example of an improvement of a three-legged stool which might have been patentable once and a wheel chair is an example of a simple chair which solves a technical problem of movement of physically handicapped persons.
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An invention is something novel. Before a patent application has been filed, the public must not have been told about it in any way, anywhere. Otherwise, a valid patent cannot be obtained.
If you want to patent something, keep it confidential until you have a patent application on file!
Structure of Patent Application:
The main part of a patent is a document (called a specification) that has a description and normally drawings of an example of a thing embodying the invention. Additionally, the specification includes a definition of the invention. The specification is a legal document, and must be drafted in accordance with accepted conventions and rules if it is to have the required legal effect. Drafting specifications is the core skill of a patent agent/attorney and not of a lawyer.
It is the specification that is the source of the protection, not what the inventor has done. If a patent's specification is not right, it will likely be a weak patent.
Who owns patent rights?
The inventor or inventors, unless:
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If the inventor is employed, the employer owns the rights.
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If the inventor has agreed to assign rights, then the assignee is the owner.
A person making an invention while working under a freelance contract will normally retain rights to the invention unless the inventor has agreed to assign rights. An assignment must be supported by a legal assignment document, signed by the inventor. The ownership of patent rights should be addressed at the inception of any such contract, and should be treated with as much care as any transaction that involved the property of your business. Act early to keep things simple, otherwise, disputes are likely to occur later.
Other people have rights too!
Ignore other people's rights at your peril. If you discovery a relevant patent document after a product has been developed you might have to throw away all of your R&D investment and effort. Therefore, make intellectual property considerations an integral part of your product development cycle.
Some interesting facts relating Science and patents:
