About Patents
Property Right
A patent provides an intellectual property right to your invention. By owning your intellectual property “IP” you may sell or licence your patent to a third party. You may also enforce your patent rights against a third party who may be infringing your rights.
Different Types of Patents
There are a few different types of patent applications including:
- Provisional patent applications
- Complete or standard patent applications
- International (PCT) patent applications
- Innovation patent applications
We can assist you to determine which type of patent fits best with your business needs. For example, you may be a business which is entirely focused on the Australian market in which case you may wish to consider only seeking Australian patents. Alternatively, your business may have a focus on larger consumer markets such as the USA, China and Europe, and we can assist you to develop a protection strategy in these international markets.
A Patent is a Business Tool for Strategic Advantage
A patent is a business tool which allows you to secure commercial gains from your invention, for example, a patent may be sold for a lump sum, licensed based on receipt of a royalty and used to inhibit competition from entering the market. A patent allows a business to quantify its intellectual assets which can be useful for marketing, when selling a business and even for taxation purposes.
Marking Your Products
Once you have applied for a patent you can also mark your product with “patent application applied for” and when the patent has granted you can mark your product as “Patented”. However, be careful not to mark your product as patented if it is not. This is particularly important if you are selling products in other countries, such as the USA, and you don’t have any patent rights in that country.
Our Commercial Focus
At the end of the day, a patent is a business tool and our focus from day one is to ensure that you obtain the best commercially focused patent protection so that your can reap the rewards for years to come. There are a number of complexities at all stages of the patenting process and we ask you please contact us for further information if you have any questions. Also, if you are after more information about patents we recommend visiting the IP Australia Website (www.ipaustralia.gov.au).
The Take Home Message
- Secure – patents provide an exclusive right and ownership of your invention
- Property Right – patents can be licensed and sold
- Different Patent Applications – provisional, complete, international and innovation patent applications
- Business tool – patents allow you to carve out or protect market share
