Patents refer to inventions and inventors rather than innovations and innovators in this section.

What is a patent?

In the United States, a patent grants the holder the exclusive right to prevent anyone from creating, using, selling, offering, or importing the patented invention. Patent claims are the legal definition of a patentable invention created by an inventor.

Why patent?

Universities are required by law, policy, and contract to examine and potentially pursue patent protection for ideas generated with government and private monies. Patent rights may be granted to a corporation following research funding in some situations, and this can be a significant approach to developing a productive partnership with the industry. Patents may also be important for a corporation to invest in when commercializing research discoveries for public use.

What is patentable?

Patentable inventions must be novel, valuable, and non-obvious. Patents are classified into three types:

Design patents: Non-functional, unique designs for an object of manufacturing are protected by design patents.

Plant patents: Plant patents protect novel and different asexually reproduced plant types.

Utility patents: Utility patents cover any new and useful method, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter or item, as well as any new or useful improvement to such a process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, or article. They are the most often used type of patent protection.

What can keep me from obtaining a patent?

Even if an idea is novel, useful, and non-obvious, it is not assured to be patentable. Certain public disclosures or other events that may occur before filing a patent application may exclude an invention from patentability. For example, innovation can be invalidated if the creator discloses information about it that someone else might copy. This might be a journal article, a conference presentation, a website posting, or even dialogues with scientists from different academic institutions. An innovation, including asexually reproduced plants, may also be disqualified if sold, offered for sale, utilized, or shown in public or if a prior patent application has been submitted.

This is not a full list of potential disqualifications, and it is critical to begin working as soon as to ensure that your innovation retains as many chances as possible.

How much does it cost to obtain a patent?

The overall cost of filing a U.S. patent typically runs from $10,000 to $15,000 but can sometimes be two to three times more. Foreign patent costs can range from five to 10 times more, depending on the number of countries where applications are lodged. Often, the institution will risk filing a patent application before identifying a licensee. Following the exclusive licensing of university intellectual rights to a licensee, the licensee reimburses previous patent expenses and supports all future costs.

What is the patent process, and how long does it take?

The first step in securing valid IP protection is to submit a disclosure to Brealant; this is not part of the formal patent procedure. Therefore, it is critical to prevent public exposure until a patent application has been properly submitted.

Following the completion of the innovation evaluation and the decision to pursue patent protection, a patent attorney will design and file the patent application. Therefore, the inventor must contribute significantly to a well-drafted patent application.

After applying, a patent examiner will decide whether the application fulfills the three fundamental standards of patentability: usefulness, innovation, and non-obviousness.The complete patent examination procedure usually takes 2-4 years from filing to completion; however, it may take longer in some technical fields.