Electronic Notebooks and the Specifications to Prove Date of Invention in Patent Interferences

Is It An Invention?

A patent is there to protect an 'invention', not simply an idea. When you apply for a patent what you are doing is specifying, through text and drawings, how your invention works. If the answer is yes then your idea is not an invention, its simply the logical application of current day knowledge to a new problem and therefore you can't patent it.

In many ways the US patent system is more akin to what many people assume about patents over here, if your the first person come up with an idea then you can patent it.

If you've got to here then hopefully you have an invention that may be patentable. Patents cost money. Carrying out the searches and filing your patent application through an attorney will cost a few thousand pounds. Once you've got your patent you then have ongoing costs each year to patent offices to keep the patent active.

Another misconception is that once you have a patent no-one else can copy your idea. If the infringer is a large company, or several companies infringe your patent you need to be able to fund the legal action. Is the idea your looking to patent commercial enough to justify all this.

You may be looking to patent your invention to then license it to another company to produce.

A few patent help tips

When researching an invention you'll often need to read through existing patent applications to make sure your idea is new. The rest will simply be lesser claims the patent can fall back to should the higher claims ever be overturned or rejected by the patent examiner.

Patent claims are not exclusive.

Interestingly one of the aims of patents is to promote invention and innovation.

Filing a patent application doesn't mean that any searching will be done. It will then be examined in detail by a patent examiner but even if the patent is awarded it can be overturned at any time if prior art can be proved. If you want your application to have a level of commercial value (if your doing it for IP purposes) you need to also do a search. However even then bear in mind that searches are not necessarily as skilled as you may expect and patent office searches will not necessarily search anything other than previous published patent applications and filings.

There is no point giving the patent attorney too much information.

* The advantages of the invention.

Should I Patent My Idea?

Electronic Notebooks and the Requirements to Prove Date of Invention in Patent InterferencesThis paper contains an excerpt of an email I sent to the PIUG (Patent Information User's Group) email distribution list on November 30, 2003.1. In all other major jurisdictions, it is the date of filing of a patent application that is the earliest date allowed to as a date of invention, except where there are issues of theft of invention.2. Here, "inventor" means the person or persons who are named on the patent. (I use the word "patent" here to mean either patent or patent application, for simplicity.)