When it comes to innovations, the primary thing you need to do is protect your idea before someone else gets their hands on it. The simple truth is a patent is a valuable tool that protects your creativity and innovative spirit and gives you the right for a limited period to stop others from using, copying or selling the invention without permission. In return, the applicant reveals the invention’s details in a comprehensive manner. Like any other form of property, a patent can be licensed, mortgaged, bought or sold.
Patent protection brings an array of advantages, making it crucial for any enterprise. When deciding if you should apply for a patent, you should take a look at your invention and consider the risks of not patenting if in comparison with the costs of doing so. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of protecting a patent for your business.
Protection Against Invention Theft
Startups and inventors may initially seek a licensing deal or an investor for capital. For the purpose of attracting investors and licensees, the invention must be disclosed so that the potential investor or licensee can properly assess the deal. In absence of a patent application, the licensee or entrepreneur may reject the offer to invest or license only to later file their own patent protection. By filing for patent protection and acquiring patent pendency, any application filed by the potential investor or licensee will be later in time, and therefore, junior to the patent application.
Higher Profit Margins
Assuming that there is a general demand for the copyrighted product, the ability to rule out others minimizes the supply of the process or product in the market. As a result, patent owners might charge increased prices for the patent or process.
Promotes Settlement
During the litigation time period, both parties will put forward different claims against one another including the infringement of the patent. In certain cases, two patent owners might agree to cross-license the respective technologies to each other rather than litigating the issues.
Expand Market Share
Patented technology might be licensed to others in a new geographical market or in a completely new market. For instance, a patent owner doing business in one part of the country could license patent rights to a business with a market presence in a different city or state.
The patent protection may offer the patentee, now licensor, with standard royalty expenses for sales of the patented process or product outside the patentee’s regular geographical market. In addition to that, patented technology might be licensed to others in a different tech field. Let’s say a manufacturer may issue a patent to a retailer while keeping patent rights for the manufacturing market.
Interested in patent protection for your business? Contact your Zachary Hiller Law and find out more about our services.
