If you’ve developed a new invention, it’s important to get patent protection as soon as possible. This will allow you to have greater control over how the product is used and give you a commercial advantage in the market. A patent helps to stop others from copying your invention without permission, and this protection can last up to 20 years.
While obtaining a patent certainly won’t guarantee your success in the market, it does give you options like licensing rights so that your invention can generate royalties, which can boost your business revenue significantly. To get patent protection, you must go through a complex process which involves adhering to some strict rules. Guides are available online to help you work through the process, and legal advice from a patent attorney can also be very useful.
Patent protected inventions are a standard in most modern nations today. Of the many forms of protection for intellectual property, patents are the most complicated and carry the most restrictions. Patents protect new inventions, and unlike copyright protection a patent protects the idea and/or the design process behind a new invention rather than just the physical invention itself. This difference makes the patent process more complex and restrictive.
Inventors must meet a number of requirements in order to gain patent protection, the first of which is that their invention must meet high standards of novelty. It must be sufficiently unique from existing patents which are already on the market. It’s important to note that you cannot patent an invention if it has been sold or published for over a year.
Furthermore, your invention must not be obvious. This means that your invention should not be an easily recognizable fact or process. The invention must demonstrate an idea that was unnoticed before as it must be exceptional and uncommon.
