Inventions. Patents protect technical inventions. For an invention to be patentable, it must involve a new and non-obvious idea concerning the application of knowledge, which solves a practical problem. Patentable inventions relate to a product (such as a ball) or a process (such as a method for making a ball).
Protection. A patent grants the patent holder the exclusive right to the commercial exploitation of the invention claimed in the patent.
Patent grant. Patents must be applied for, and at the time of application the invention must still be kept secret. This is why the use of confidentiality agreements – also known as Non-Disclosure Agreements (“NDA”) – is of great importance when developing technologies. The patent application describes the invention, and that description must, on pain of invalidity, enable a person skilled in the art to carry out the invention.
Duration. A patent has a maximum term of twenty years from the filing date.
International. Patents are, in principle, national rights, but the granting of such rights is structured internationally. For countries party to the European Patent Convention, a patent application may be filed with the European Patent Office, but once granted, that European patent is subsequently divided into a bundle of national patent rights. Under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (‘PCT’), it is also possible to use a national patent application as the basis for various patent applications in other countries, such as the US, Japan or Europe.
Patent attorneys. Applying for patents requires specialist knowledge. It is therefore ‘a profession in its own right’ practised by so-called patent attorneys, who are able to oversee both the relevant technical field and the international implications.