An inventor is a person who sacrifices his social life to create something new. He is a man who works behind an idea for days and nights, for years, just to see his idea turning into reality. And after filling the world with something new, the world honors him by giving a legal claim on his intellectual property, which is known as Patent. A Patent has the highest value of all the trophies a scientist can get. Owning a Patent means that nobody can use the technology without the owner’s concern. This article intends to provide the basic knowledge about Patents that everyone must know.
Types of Patents
Most of the time, the Patent we keep talking about is the Utility Patent. As the name says, Utility Patents are the Patents given for the utilization or application of the invention. In the utility Patents there are five basic functional areas- a process, a machine, a manufacture, a composition of matter, or an improvement of an existing idea. An invention may be categorized in any one of them or it may be categorized in multiple functions, even though the invention covers more than one functional area, only single utility Patent can be issued for one invention. Biological inventions; new chemical formulas, processes, or procedures; computer hardware and peripherals; electronic circuits; food inventions; housewares; computer software; cosmetics; electrical inventions; machines; and magic tricks are few of the example that comes under Utility Patents.
Besides Utility Patent there are two more types of Patents: Design Patent and Plant Patent. Design Patents can be issued for the innovation concerned with the ornamental or the design aspect of any product. Remember that, the utility Patent is for the working of any product and design Patent is for the aesthetical feature of any product. And a single product can get both the Patents if it is both functionally and aesthetically new.
The other type of Patent is called as the Plant Patent, which is a bit different from utility or design. This Patent deals with the invention of any new type of plant. If you have reproduced a novel, non-obvious and distinct type of plant by genetic mutation, you may apply for Plant Patents.
Length and Cost of Protection
After you have successfully registered your Patent, it comes with an expiry date for your ownership, which depends on the nature of Patent you have issued. The utility and plant Patents have the validity of 20 years while design Patent has a validity of 14 years from the date of registration. While the expiry date is approaching you get a legal notice which allows you to renew the validity for the next specific period.
Copyrights, Trademarks and Geographical Indications (GI)
People often get confused between Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks and Geographical Indications (GI) as they all serve a similar purpose. The copyrights are issued in the field of Arts and Literature, Paintings, Novels, Papers, Movies, Songs, etc. and are protected as an intellectual property. However, the expiration of copyrights depends on various factors, depending upon the nature of copyrights; the validity may be achieved for 70 to 120 years, which is way more than the validity of Patents.
Trademarks have the purpose of giving legal claim to organizations over certain Brand Names, Logos or Slogans. Only the owner of Trademarks has the rights to use it for commercial purposes. Any practice of selling products using the trademarks owned by the other organizations can be filed as a fraud. Trademarks are very important for the companies; as brand names, logos and slogans are the identities, having judicial rights on them is mandatory.
Geographical Indications can be defined as the aspect of property which concerns to the geographical indication referring to a place or to a country situated therein as being the place or the country of origin of that product. Typically, such a name conveys the distinctiveness and assurance of quality which is essentially attributable to the fact of its origin in that defined geographical locality, region or country.
Conflicts of Patents
Patents are not only associated with individuals but also being claimed by organizations and companies. Proclaiming Patents to protect the technology or Patent can add very big advantages for the company as the same technology or design cannot be used without the companies concerns. In the current age of innovations knowingly or unknowing similar technologies or designs can be produced by more than one organization. In such situation, the organization which has already filled the Patent has legal authority over the innovation. In case if a company or organization is found guilty of copying the technology or design or breaching the Patent Laws, a huge amount of penalty can be filed against the culprit by the owner of the Patent. Filing false cases against companies in a hope of receiving a big amount by winning the case is also a common practice nowadays. To secure the company from such false cases, protecting the owned Patents and for protection from the legislature, all industrialists employ honest law firms.
The process of filing the Patent differs as per the country. As there are different Patent Laws in the different countries the Law Firms having updated knowledge and experience in related practices is very important.
IP Assets
Like any other property, the Intellectual Properties can be sold, purchased or rented. For any company it can be very beneficial to use their IP rights at a proper time. Sometimes the most valuable assets owned by companies are Intellectual Properties. But, it involves many complications which makes it very difficult by the owners to use them in a wise manner. The intimacy of juridical procedure with the technology makes the technology based companies to involve Legal Consultant Companies in the affairs related to Intellectual Properties.
It can be now terminated how the inventors or creators become billionaire; because they own virtual properties worth billions, which can be rented or sold with a little help of legal experts.
Why to Consider your Innovations as your Property
