Patent Owners and their Rights

August 25, 2011
Inventions, Patents

Patent Inventions

Patent owners are the exclusive rights holders for specific inventions. They receive the rights in return for full public disclosure about their inventions. As such patents are exclusive rights granted rather than rights to making or using of an invention.

Patent owners can assign their patent rights to other parties. In effect this implies transferring of the rights from the patent owner to another party.

Patents have the save attributes as personal property and as such can thus be sold to interest parties. The assignment must be recorded also in the Patent Office.

Entire ownership or a percentage of the ownership is transferred from the patent owner to the purchaser. The transfer must include all the rights which go with patent ownership such as the title and interest.

The patent right owners can furthermore award license rights to other parties. In this case the rights and ownership are retained while usage, marketing, distribution, making and selling rights can be awarded by means of a license agreement.

License Agreements

This may also for instance, include import rights. The party that obtains such rights is called the licensee whereas the patent owner awarding such rights by means of a licensing agreement is called the licensor.

There are specific obligations on the part of the licensee such as operation within the stipulated boundaries.

Patent owners can grant exclusive licenses to parties, meaning that the patent owner may then not compete with the licensee in a particular region and for a specific time and usage as stipulated in the license agreement between the parties.

There can be one or more patent rights owners for the same patent. Multiple patent owners can have interests in the same invention when they have worked together in the creation of the invention.

Contact us at Smit & Van Wyk Patent Attorneys for assistance in the registration, assignment, and licensing of patent rights.

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How to protect my Invention?

August 17, 2011
Biotechnological Patents, Chemical Sciences Patents, Diagnostics Patents, Genetic Engineering Patents, Inventions, Inventors, Medical Sciences Patents, Microbiological Sciences Patents, Patents

How do I protect my invention? Do I need a patent, trade mark, or copyright?

For public disclosure and protection of an invention, the inventor needs to apply for a patent.

A patent is an exclusive right granted to an inventor for a limited period of time.

A patent application must define the invention as new, non-obvious, useful or industrially applicable.

This exclusive right granted to an inventor prevents others from making, using, selling, or distributing the patented invention without permission.

In most countries, both people and corporate entities may apply for a patent but in the United States only the inventor may apply for a patent.

A written patent application is filed at the relevant patent office by a patent attorney representing the applicant. The person or company filing the application is referred to as the applicant. The applicant may be the inventor or its assignee.

The application contains a description of how to make and use the invention. In some countries there are requirements for providing specific information. Drawings illustrating the invention may also be provided.

The application also includes one or more claims. The claims define what a patent covers or the scope of protection.

After filing the patent application, it is referred to as patent pending. This term does not confer legal protection, and a patent cannot be enforced until granted.

For a patent to be granted and take legal effect, the patent application must meet the requirements of that country. Once a patent is granted it is subject to renewal fees which are payable on a yearly basis.

A patent is not a right to use your invention but right to exclude others from using it.

The patented invention is usually protected for 20 years from the filing date subject to the payment of fees.

Patent rights may be sold, licensed, mortgaged, assigned or transferred, given away, or simply abandoned.

Many inventions are improvements of other inventions that may still be protected by a patent. If an inventor takes an existing, patented design, adds a new feature to make an improvement, and obtains a patent on the improvement, he can only legally build his improved design with permission from the patent holder of the original design.

Will I need an Intellectual Property Attorney?

Filing a patent application is very complex. Patent offices will not assist you in the preparation of applications, however, they do provide you with some instruction and guides. If you are ready conduct any intellectual property activity as a beginner you are strongly advised to contact a registered patent attorney or agent.

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