SAQ 1: What is the main purpose of a patent?

Module 7: Patents

Objectives

After completing the study of this module you should be able to:

1. Describe in 100 words the purpose of a patent.

2. List the generally recognised conditions for patentability.

3. Enumerate the exclusive rights conferred by a patent.

4. State who is responsible for taking the initiative to enforce a patent.

5. Explain why a patent is required in any country before you can sue an infringer in that country.

6. Describe the procedures undergone when a patent application is filed nationally, regionally or via PCT

Introduction

Patents are one of the oldest forms of intellectual property protection and, as with all forms of protection for intellectual property, the aim of a patent system is to encourage economic and technological development by rewarding intellectual creativity. This module will explain to you: the purpose of a patent, the benefits of obtaining a patent, what sorts of things may be patented and what the term of protection is for a valid patent. Also explained will be the nature of the international patent system

Patents

What is a patent? Let's begin by exploring what a patent is. Issued, upon application, by a government office (commonly the Patent Office), a patent is a document which describes an invention and creates a legal situation in which the invention can normally only be exploited with the authorization of the owner of the patent. In other words, a patent protects an invention, and grants to the owner the exclusive rights to use his/her invention for a limited period of time. And an invention may be defined as a new solution to a technical problem. Example of inventions: band- aid, electric iron, safety pin, ball point pen,

telephone, etc. Now, let's listen to the next audio segment, which explains the purpose and history of patent protection.

Audio segment 1: Can you tell me what the purpose of a patent is?

The purpose of a patent is to provide a form of protection for technological advances. The theory is that patent protection will provide a reward not only for the creation of an invention, but also for the development of an invention to the point at which it is technologically feasible and marketable, and that this type of an incentive would promote additional creativity and encourage companies to continue their development of new technology to the point at which it is marketable, useful to the public and desirable for the public good.

Audio segment 2: When did the system of patenting start?

It was developed over several centuries. There were patents back in the 1700s. The system has evolved in the intervening years and we now have a very modern system. We are still developing the international system to make it even more modern and to keep it abreast of technological change and the changing economic

SAQ 1: What is the main purpose of a patent?

Answer:The purpose of a patent is to provide protection for technological advances(inventions). It provides an award for the disclosure of the creation ofsomething new as well as for the further development, or refinement, ofexisting technologies. In short, through patents, progress in changingtechnologies finds incentive to improve.

Now listen to the next audio segment to find out how a patent offers protection and how various sorts of things can not be protected.

Audio segment 3: What sort of things can be patented?

By international agreement, patents are available for any inventions, whether processes or products, in all areas of technology. A chemical compound can be patented. A machine, of course, can be patented. Processes for developing or making things can be patented. However, there are things that cannot be patented, and are usually excluded from the scope of patentability. Human genes, for instance, cannot be patented. Things that already exist in nature, with very few exceptions, cannot be patented. A perpetual motion machine, which goes against the laws of nature, cannot be patented unless someone can show it working. Then, of course, the old rules are set aside and something new is created. Some inventions may be excluded from the scope of patentability for public order or morality grounds. Patents are intended for breakthroughs in technology, but they are also intended for small technological increments, so the developments occurring in a given area of technology that are patentable may be great developments, like the invention of penicillin, or very small improvements, such as a new lever on a machine that enables it to work just a little faster. These types of thing can be patented.

So a patent protects new and useful inventions. You have heard some of the types of inventions that can be protected by a patent and also some of the common exceptions. To be patentable, an invention must also meet certain criteria relating to noveltyand other features. The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) provides

three criteria and conditions for an invention to be patentable.

Listen to the audio, which lists the three conditions for patentability.

Audio segment 4: You have mentioned some of them. But what, in short, are the characteristics that an invention has

to have to be patentable?

There are several characteristics that a patent office will look at to determine whether the invention is patentable. At the outset, there has to be a patent application on file. In most cases that patent application is examined by a technical expert to

ensure that it meets the substantive criteria for patentability. The first of those criteria is that it has to be new (novel), meaning that the invention must never have been made before, carried out before or

used before.

The second criterion is that there must have been an inventive step. In other words, it must represent a

Sufficient advance in relation to the state of the art before it was made to be considered worth patenting.

The term "non-obvious" is also used: if it were obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the field concerned, it would not progress to the stage qualifying for patent protection. The third criterion is that it needs to be industrially applicable. It has to

be susceptible of use in some way. This is a very broad criterion. Almost anything can be used, even if it’s in the research stage, but, as I mentioned, that does not apply to a perpetual motion machine, because it simply will not work.

In summary therefore, in order to be patentable, an invention must be new, involve an inventive step, and be capable of industrial application

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Date: 2015-12-18; view: 1174