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Patents
What is a patent?
o A patent provides protection for the invention to the owner of the patent.
– commercially made
– Used
– distributed or
– sold
o Patent rights are usually enforced in a court, which holds the authority to
third party.
Rights of a patent owner
– decide who may – or may not – use the patented invention for the
– sell the right of the invention to someone else, who will then become
o Once a patent expires, the protection ends, and an invention enters the public
domain.
o The owner no longer holds exclusive rights to the invention, which becomes
o All patent owners are obliged, in return for patent protection, to publicly
o Patents provide not only protection for the owner but valuable information
protection.
– scientific theories
– mathematical methods
– commercial methods
o Prior Art
– All information available prior to the date of filing of the relevant patent
determined.
o A prior art patentability search can prevent you from wasting money on a
patent application if the search uncovers prior art references that are likely to
o A prior art search should extend to all relevant non patent literature, including
– Textbooks
– Conference proceedings
– Theses
– Websites
– company brochures
– Newspaper articles.
Procedures for securing a Patent protection
which companies may find of great value for their strategic business
planning.
o Most significant inventions are disclosed to the public for the first time only
o Patent searches should be part of the essential inputs to any company’s R&D
effort.
How and where can you conduct a prior art search?
o A list of IP offices that have made their patent databases available online,
o Most national patent offices offer patent search services for a fee.
– the patent claims that determine the scope of the patent applied for
– drawings and
– an abstract.
How to apply for patent protection?
patent attorney or agent who will represent your interests during the
application process.
always best to check with the patent office of the relevant country or a
o Patent protection should be applied for as soon as all the information required
o Reasons for ensuring that the application is filed early include the following:
– In most countries worldwide patents are granted on a first-to-file basis.
– Filing an application early is important to ensure that you are the first to file an
application on that particular invention so that you do not lose your invention to
others.
– Applying for patent protection early will generally be useful if you are seeking
– Patent can be enforced only after it has been granted by the relevant patent
o Once you have filed your application in one country or region, you normally
have 12 months to file an application for the same invention in all the
countries of interest to your business in order to enjoy the benefit of the filing
o This may be a problem if the costs of applying in various countries and paying
translation and national fees for a period of 30 months by using the Patent
bear in mind that the application should be filed before disclosing the
invention.
from the moment an invention was disclosed by the inventor or the applicant
until the application is filed, in which the invention does not lose its
patent application within the grace period without the invention losing
CASES
Patents
Nike Vs Adidas
o DEFENDANT : Adidas
o TRIAL COURT : U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
o The well known sports giant NIKE had invested heavily in its SHOX cushioning
patents.
o In spite of the fact that Nike had properly registered and patented its SHOX
cushioning technology, Adidas has indulged in the manufacturing and selling of shoes
Inference:
o Since Nike has already patented its technology, Adidas had no right to use it and