Almost all businesses and most sole proprietorships will, at some point, develop a product or a method they consider to be an invention. These companies and businesses will, in almost all instances, want to protect their inventions from being “stolen” by a third party. There are many things that the business or sole proprietorship can do to protect their inventions such that their inventions cannot be stolen.
Below are five important ways a new invention can be protected such the business’ or sole proprietorships’ patent rights are not lost:
- First, the inventor should immediately contact a registered patent attorney (also called a patent attorney) and meet with the registered patent attorney. A registered patent attorney must have a scientific degree, for example he or she has a degree in engineering, and must have passed the patent bar examination given by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The registered patent attorney must also have passed a state bar, for example the New York state bar. The patent attorney will provide the inventor with information regarding the filing of patent applications in the United States Patent and Trademark Office so that the inventor has an understanding of how inventions are protected in the United States. Such a meeting will be, in most cases, about one hour long, and will provide the inventor with valuable information such that the inventor will be able to make informed decisions regarding the next steps the patenting process.
- The inventor will learn about provisional United States patent applications. Once filed, a provision United State patent application will allow the inventor to place the words “Patent Pending” on his or her product of process making the world aware that he or she is claiming patent rights in the invention. The inventor will learn about the one-year term of the provisional United States patent application and what he or she must do prior to the one-year anniversary of the provisional United States patent application. The patent attorney will be able to assist the inventor at this important stage and provide advice options regarding on the next steps to protect the invention.
- The inventor will also learn about non-provisional United States patent applications and will learn the process of how these are filed and the legal requirements for filing the non-provisional patent application. The inventor will also learn about the technical requirements for a non-provisional patent application filing and how these technical requirements must be painstakingly followed. The non-provisional United States patent application is one of the most complex legal documents that exists, and thus there is a need for a patent attorney to prepare and work with the inventor such that the non-provisional patent application is in good shape when it is filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
- The inventor will also learn that he or she needs consider filing patent applications for the invention in foreign countries, for example Canada and Japan. The patent attorney works with foreign associates so that the patent application can be filed in virtually any foreign county, and the patent attorney can provide the costs associated with the foreign filings.
- The patent attorney will also be able to review important statutory deadlines for filing provisional and non-provisional Unites States patent applications, and for filing foreign patent applications. This will help ensure that filing deadlines are not inadvertently missed. If a filing deadline is missed in the patent world, then in most instances the patent offices of the United States and foreign countries will deem the invention to be “dedicated to the public,” meaning no patent can or will ever be granted for the invention. When an invention is dedicated to the public anyone can make, use and sell the invention without penalty and without ever having to worry about being sued for patent infringement.
Thus, seeking the assistance of a patent attorney must be considered as soon as the inventor believes he or she has a product or process invention that is different and better than what already exists. This will help ensure patent rights in the invention are not lost.
*Please note that this information is shared as guidance only and is not intended to be legal advice for your particular business and circumstances. For more information on IP and to access videos about IP, visit our youtube page.*