The first step to protecting your idea is understanding how to patent idea. Patents are a form of intellectual property protection which give inventors "exclusive rights" over their products and services for a period of time. There are two main types of patents — utility and design — both of which vary in cost, complexity, and application time frame. For more details on what you need to know about patents, see this article.
1. What is a patent?
A patent is a form of intellectual property that protects inventions and ideas. For example, a patent could protect an invention for a new piece of software or a new piece of hardware. A patent gives the creator of the invention the sole right to make, sell, or use the invention for the term of the patent.
Patents are valuable pieces of paper, and protecting your invention is a tricky business and one that should be approached with care. Before you start looking though, it’s important to understand the different types of patents and how they differ in both cost and protection. “Patents are much like lakes — they have water not because of any waterboarding but because of the complexity of innovation.” — Howard Roberts.
Buying a patent and owning the rights to an invention is one thing; getting your patent approved is another. For this task, you need to know what you’re dealing with before you even consider hiring a patent attorney.
2. The first step to protecting your idea is understanding how to patent an idea
If you want to protect your idea, the first step is to understand how to patent an idea. Here are some important facts you should know about patents: A patent gives you the right to stop other people from making, using or selling your invention. It gives you the exclusive rights to your idea for up to 20 years. The handyman in the garage can now patent his ideas. Patents expire after 20 years if you don’t start work on them after that time. Patents can be used for almost anything you can think of, although the examples I’m listing below are likely to be obvious.
Patents can be beneficial in many different ways. They are very simple to obtain, almost always save you time from having to develop your ideation, are inexpensive to apply for and maintain (as long as the courts give you access to the original patent) and can be valuable for patent litigation.
Patents are deployed through a process called Granted Patents. To obtain one you must go through the Patent Office (in the UK case Cheltenham, where the office is located) and follow the application process.
The thing to remember here is that patents are about protecting your idea. There are a couple of things you absolutely must do to get a patent. Immediately after you come up with a new invention take the time to write down the idea. That should take no more than fifteen minutes! If you can’t come up with an idea within that time frame (for example if your first thought was to sell a laptop) then you can’t patent it. Best to be safe before you come up with an idea. You don’t want a patent office saying that commercial jets could use your invention for aircraft.
3. Utility and design patents — two main types of patents
A utility patent protects the way an invention works. This is called a utility patent because it covers the practical use of something. Utility patents are the most common type of patent and the one most people think of when they hear the word “patent.” A design patent covers an invention’s appearance. In design patents, the inventor can claim ownership over certain visual components of the product, such as the finish and sides of the finished product.
There are different types of patents granted by different countries, but aside from their cubic numbers and the priority dates indicated below, these aren’t all that different from each other.
The first thing to consider when thinking about obtaining a patent is who the patent applies to and what exclusive rights have been granted to the entity who created the idea. For the purposes of this guide, we’ll assume the inventor is you! The second thing to consider is the mechanism by which your idea gets assigned a patent.
Because there are so many different countries around the world, it can be hard to determine which one grants patents in your country. Luckily, Stack overflow has an article called How to Find Patents for each country, which answers this question and lists the answers here.
If you keep reading this article, you will learn about the philosophical underpinnings of patents, what patentable ideas are, how to apply for one, creativity and invention timelines, how to figure out what Company X has patented, the advantages of automated translation, and a bunch of other stuff that didn’t get mentioned in the introduction because you’re learning stuff every day.
Alright, so you keep reading, and even though you think you know now about patents —which I think says a lot—there’s still a lot that you need to muscle through. For your convenience, here are all the steps you need to take including how long it takes, who benefits, and more.
Let’s say you think someone unique has conceived an idea.
4. Cost, complexity, application time frames for each type of patent
There are three main types of patents: utility, design, and plant. Utility patents apply to new, useful processes, machines, articles of manufacture, or compositions of matter. Design patents are granted for new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture. Plant patents are granted for asexually reproduced plants.
Utility patents are relatively cheap and easy to apply for in the United States, just as design patents are. However, utility patents assign the entire patent claim to the inventor, whereas design patents only assign an identifying term to the inventor.
Patents cost money to secure and include filing fees and an annual fee for renewals. Since patents are a form of protection, they shouldn’t be used lightly. Because of how difficult it can be to obtain patents, you should be preparing for their legal costs as early as possible and should seek to license as soon as possible.
A license is a contract between you and another party, prohibiting them from using the patent(s) you hold. In exchange, you receive various legal benefits, usually without paying the granting party any money.
If you don’t have any patents, you might think it would be difficult or impossible to launch your company. Conversely, it’s completely possible — it just requires some extra work and study.
One very effective way to determine if you have the resources to fight off unwanted patent applications is to hire a patent attorney. Hiring a patent attorney will ensure that you have a legal defense ready to use whenever a patent lawsuit is brought against you.
Establishing who owns your intellectual property can also determine how fiercely you should fight off infringing patents. Some tips can be found here.
Another tool is pre-suit discovery, also referred to as beating patent hell. This is an informal discovery process in which you ask everyone involved in an issue to disclose any relevant pieces of information for the attorneys’ briefing. In some cases, this can be time-consuming and laborious.
Conclusion: Understanding how to patent an idea will help you take your product to market.