Patents

Patents give you the right to stop other people making, using or selling your invention.

Patents

Patents are a legal mechanism that incentivizes and rewards innovation by providing inventors with a limited-term monopoly on the right to prevent others from making, using, or selling their invention as claimed in the patent. In exchange, the government requires the inventor to provide the public with a detailed description of the invention. This description is called the patent specification and forms part of the patent application.

The maximum term for most technology patents (excluding pharmaceuticals) is 20 years. It's important to note that a patent only grants the right to stop others from making the invention, not the right to make the invention. In some cases, making an invention may infringe on others' patents.

Patents are territorial, only having effect in the country that they are granted in. The requirements for obtaining a patent also vary by country. In general, the primary requirements for obtaining a granted patent are that the invention as claimed is a 'novel' and 'inventive' product or process. For a product or process to be deemed novel, it must be new to the world, i.e. not previously disclosed to the public in any form. The invention as claimed must also be 'inventive', i.e. being more than just an obvious improvement over existing technology to a person having ordinary skill in the relevant field.

Keep it Secret!!

Keep the invention secret until you have applied for a patent. If not, then any patent you eventually get may not be valid or you may not be able to obtain a patent. As soon as you make your invention public or tell someone about it (non-confidentially), the novelty is destroyed. It's also important to note that confidential commercial use (e.g. using the machine in a production factory) or sale is also considered to destroy the novelty in the invention. Don’t sell or offer to sell (even secretly) the invention before you’ve applied for the patent.

Some countries, such as New Zealand, Australia, and the United States, offer 'grace periods' for patents that won’t count an inventor's own public disclosure as destroying the novelty in the invention. However, many countries don't have such grace periods, so it pays to keep your invention secret until after you’ve filed a patent application.

Work Out Your Strategy

Make sure you've defined a strategy for the patent. This includes thinking through the technical and commercial aspects of the invention as thoroughly as possible before applying.

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