Posts Tagged ‘patents’
The United Nations World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) recorded an all-time high in patent applications filing accepted in 2008, throughout its 30-year history. A total of 1.76 million filings were received. This number has seen a slight decline last year of 4.5%, owing to the US recession. Among the countries that registered patent applications, the US had the most number of filings, followed by Japan and Germany, respectively, and Republic Of Korea. China took a big leap forward ranking 5th, and displacing France.
Economies from many nations are strong on applying patent applications as a potent way of protecting their intellectual property and inventions. Innovations can be stolen by a competitor laying claims over patent ownership, and this can occur in the domestically and internationally.
Not many inventors know, that in patent application, timing is of the essence. An innovative invention can be stolen by the first to file the patent for that invention.
Having this in mind, patent applicants commonly consider the Patent Cooperation Treaty path for patent application filing. Through the PCT, an applicant secures a priority date for 30 months as he processes the filing of the patent in his own area and in the other 141 member nations of the PCT union where he resolves to pursue patent application as well.
This period of embargo provides the patent applicant to employ time to settle on the countries he would like to pursue patent application in, without threat that a competitor may be stepping in. PCT also involves a one-time filing fee.
Preparations for patent application through the Patent Cooperation Treaty entail a documentation of the state and range of intellectual property lawmaking in the inventor’s state, and a foreknowledge of the inclemencies of securing patent in other countries.
This information will help ensure the next measures to be involved, leading to a no-fail patent application through the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
For more information on patents filing and assistance in patent application through the Patent Cooperation Treaty, talk to us today.
categories: copyright,IP lawyer,trademarks,patents,ideas protection,business idea protection,protecting business ideas,business value,Intellectual property
There is this guy who is truly inclined in literature and music. His day will not end without him writing a literary piece which he sometimes turns into a song’s lyrics. He develops every piece by himself because he aspires to be a popular singer-composer or even a poet someday.
He is doing everything to reach for his dreams – attempting to sell his songs to recording companies and joining national writing contests. It is his ultimate dream to be well-known in the field of literature and music. Nonetheless, it seems that good fate is nowhere in sight for him, because nobody appreciates his works.
He soon started to think of giving up until one time, he heard a new song on the radio. It has got a really nice melody and so, he listened more attentively. He was then astonished to find out that he knows the entire lyrics of the song. He may not be familiar with its melody, but as regards to the lyrics, he is 100% sure that those words came from his creative thoughts!
Poor guy, his intellectual property has probably been stolen! What moves should he make?
Intellectual Property Defined
If a person produced any creative material such as music, literary piece, artwork etc, the material is called his intellectual property. The creator and owner of the asset has total control of his work.
Identifying The Owner’s Rights Regarding His Intellectual Property
An intellectual property should be used by the owner alone. He is likewise the only one who has all the right to reproduce his work readily. If he wills to authorize other persons to use his work, then that will be the only time it can be used and reproduced by others.
In addition, the owner can freely object to changes by other parties to his work. All unpermitted actions towards his intellectual property are subject to punishments, should the owner will to fight for his rights.
Solving The Problem Regarding A Stolen Intellectual Property
Returning to the guy in the story, he has all the right to investigate and pursue a case against the company or person that stole his song. First thing to do: figure out the probable suspects. He once tried to sell his song to a recording company and for that, the representative of such company and some other people involved in his attempt to sell his song may be considered as suspects.
After determining the possible suspects, an investigation should be carried out. Once the result has come out and proved to be true, the guy may still have the option to decide if he would still want to demand for further investigations or other courses of actions.
Just like houses, cars, and other tangible properties, an intellectual property should also be given importance. The owner worked hard for it, beat his brains out for it; and so by all means, he needs to protect his property and do every necessary thing to fight for his rights.
Learn some more about the importance of intellectual property and discover much more about IP.
Patents are legitimate rights that allow creators of certain products to prevent malicious persons from illegitimately using their products for a particular length of time. They usually apply to inventions in the field of technology, biological discoveries, and scientific theories.
As acknowledged by the state, these legitimate rights also permit the creator of a product to take some actions against anyone who violates his exclusive rights over the use of his inventions.
Based on national laws and international agreements, the procedure for granting, the placed requirements, and the extent of sole rights vary widely in various countries.
There are three main types of patents. These major types are as follows.
Utility: Once approved, the owner will have the right to prevent other malicious persons in using, making, and importing a good. The right extends for a span of time which is normally 20 years after the filing date of application. This span of time may be extended in some instances (although rare), most especially when the patent covers a pharmaceutical product.
Design: It is granted to safeguard the structure and looks of a specific product. Thus, it guards the ornamentation, pattern, and shape of the product. It is likewise often used by companies which are engaged in developing or upgrading the present products instead of producing entirely new ones.
Plant: This type deals with the granted protection for invention of an asexually produced variety of a plant that is new and not known in the field. It also safeguards the inventor against malicious persons, who may plan to try reproducing or selling a portion of the plant or the whole plant.
All these are the three major kinds of patents. The utility patents, which require an application that lasts for four years, can be temporary applications of utility. At times, it may be hard to recognize the first two types, but it may help to always bear in mind that design patents safeguard the ornamental features of inventions, while utility protects the useful aspects of these inventions. Plant, on the other hand, deals with asexually reproducible diversities.
Learn some more about the importance of patents and discover much more about patent lawyer.
Aside from concrete things or properties like buildings, homes, vehicles and so on that are protected by the law, there are other various types of property like intellectual property (IP).
Listed below are the four primary types of IP:
Copyrights: This form works on the original creative works’ protection. They offer legal guarding for original works or assets just like literary pieces, films, songs etc. They permit the owners to make use of various forms of their idea in several mediums with lone rights of adaptation, replication and so on for a specific span of time.
Patents: These are legal rights which allow inventors to stop others from manufacturing their invention. They are typically applied to inventions in the field of technology, biological discoveries, and specific theories. Patents, same with copyrights, can be available to inventors for only a limited period of time prior to the expiration date. They generally last for twenty years after the application filing date.
Trademarks: This IP type contains logos, designs, symbols, phrases, words, or devices that are associated with a certain product for differentiation from other commodities of that industry. The usage of trademarks is for identification purposes, and once they’ve been registered, they’ll be legitimately safeguarded.
Trade secrets: These are practices, recipes, designs, formulas, processes, or ideas which a company uses for the aim to gain leverage in its industry. Typically, trade secrets are safeguarded by one’s own means, as opposed to being secured through government policies such as patents and copyrights. Because trade secrets do not have legitimate protection, they are freely obtainable for anyone if they leak to the general public.
The mentioned forms of IP may be varying from each other, but they also have some things in common. Except for trade secrets, all three are recognized by law in certain ways which allow the property owners to make legitimate courses of action against the violator and obtain compensation for infringement.
Learn some more about the importance of IP and discover much more about industrial design.
Hiring a patent lawyer is different from calling up a legal representative for cases like libel, slander, physical injury etc. One difference is that while the mentioned types of cases can be dealt well by a local lawyer because of particular state or country laws, patent law is national. With this, it is crucial that when you are searching for a patent law firm, you should be sure about your personal needs and weigh up your options.
Additionally, unlike other fields of law in which the persons concern only feel the need for a lawyer when a particular issue comes about, a patent lawyer is needed even before any problem happens.
Among the most significant duties of a patent lawyer are the following: help the client to obtain the patent, advise him on actions and dealings to assure the patent’s security, and embody the case if any problem arises.
Searching For The Most Suitable Patent Lawyer For Your Invention
The procedure of obtaining a patent is very long and tedious. In searching for the best patent lawyer, you should always remember some important points. Some of those pointers are listed below:
Find a way to learn about his performance record: Should you go over some necessary information about how many patents he has given to customers, then you would have enough basis and knowledge about his performance. Should you do this, you can tell how effective your potential lawyer is. Furthermore, this can assure the successful execution of your patent filing. Only a good patent lawyer can correctly ensure the exceptionality of your work in the industry.
Assess his experience: You should determine if he would possibly understand the product that you’re patenting. If he has got a different education from your patent’s focus, it is more likely that he will not be able to give you help in patenting your creative work.
At present, there have been lots of new lawyers who are working in the field of patents. Because of this, you may easily look for a lawyer who suits your product and whose fees are affordable for you.
Learn some more about the importance of getting an excellent patent lawyer and discover much more about industrial design.
