With a patent however this is not the case. A new idea for an invention or product is not patented automatically and requires you to go through a complicated and costly legal process (as well as to research whether any such patents already exist). Even then with the patent in place, it won’t apply in every country and will only last for ten years. Let’s look at why this is the case, and at how you can go about protecting your inventions.
Why Patents Are So Limited
You might think that it’s a bad thing for patents to have so many limitations – and believe that they should work similarly to copyright. However this would be to ignore the complex range of issues surrounding patents.
For instance, consider what would happen if someone were to discover the cure for cancer. Potentially they would be motivated at least partly by financial gain and so they might patent their new drug and charge a huge premium for it. Many people wouldn’t be able to afford the drug as a result and it would seriously push back progress in that capacity.
This is why patents are as limited as they are. Though it might be frustrating to think that your original idea isn’t instantly protected and while you might lament the costs involved in patenting your new invention, it does make sense when you think of it from a wider perspective.
Understanding Patents
With that out of the way, what do you need to know in order to protect your own project? To do this, you will probably want to use an intellectual property lawyer unless you are very confident in your ability to quickly grasp a lot of new terms. The main challenge facing you is to research whether overlapping patents already exist and if you get this wrong you can potentially waste a lot of money. This also takes a while, so you might want to begin researching patents before you start talking about your idea publicly. The good news is that while your patent goes through, you can use the term ‘patent pending’ in order to ward off potential copycats.
Something else you need to consider is whether you need to apply for a design patent or a utility patent. The difference of course applies to whether you need to protect the way something works, or the way it looks. For instance, Apple recently tried to sue Samsung using a design patent that looked like a square inside another square (the basic appearance of the iPhone), which would count as a design patent. Multitouch, on the other hand, would be a utility patent.
You need to decide which kind of patent you need for your new product or invention and then apply accordingly as they are separate and distinct formats. Most inventions will need both.
