Your company has developed a extremely nifty new product. Do you have to file for a patent, and do you have to trademark the product’s name? Like so many different issues in life, business, marriage and sports activities, it relies upon.
Patent a New Product? To begin with, you can not truly “patent” a product or service. You’ll be able to solely patent the innovation that went into creating that product or service. Making use of for and receiving a patent has a number of advantages 특허거래.
1. Safety and Exclusivity: At the beginning, getting a patent to your invention prevents rivals from utilizing it to create an identical or related products. For instance, when Publish-it® notes got here out, 3M had patented the expertise behind them, and that gave 3M a priceless monopoly for a few years. Perceive, nonetheless, that the US Patent Workplace points patents; they don’t implement them. So if a company infringes in your patent, you’ll have to defend your patent via civil litigation.
2. Further Income: You’ll be able to license your patent to different companies. Whereas it most likely doesn’t make sense to license your patent to a direct competitor, you may license it to firms in different industries and create a pleasant income stream. If the product that makes use of the invention will not be producing the specified gross sales or income to your business, you may then license the patent – and even promote the patent – to generate income from it.
3. Higher Protected than Sorry: When you do NOT apply for a patent, and two or three years later you uncover {that a} company is utilizing your innovation to provide a product or service, chances are you’ll remorse not patenting the expertise whenever you had the chance to take action.
Is Your Invention Patentable? It’s price a couple of hundred {dollars} to have a patent attorney or patent agent have a look at your innovation and decide whether it is price making use of for a patent. If the patent attorney or patent agent believes your invention will be patented, he’ll assist you via the patent utility course of. A patent attorney is an attorney who makes a speciality of what’s referred to as “patent prosecution,” the method of making use of for and receiving a patent. A patent agent will not be an attorney, however is licensed to observe earlier than the US Patent and Trademark Workplace. To discover a patent agent or patent attorney, use our free Patent Agent and Patent Attorney Referral Service.
Defending Your Innovation: As quickly as you’ve utilized for a patent, you must use the time period “Patent Pending” in your gross sales literature and outline of the product. Doing so will basically mark your turf, and it could discourage rivals from copying your product.
Trademark a New Product? Simply as you can not patent a product – you’ll be able to solely patent the innovation behind the product you can not trademark a product: You’ll be able to solely trademark the name (or model) of the product. In case your new product has a novel name to determine it, you must undoubtedly apply for a trademark if for no different cause than to forestall rivals from complicated prospects and stealing gross sales from you by utilizing the identical or an identical product identification for his or her competing product.
When you merely name your new product the Model FHJ-604, then no trademark is basically wanted. If, nonetheless, you have give you a name that’s distinctive and memorable, (the Die Onerous® battery from Sears is an efficient instance), you must undoubtedly protect your new and revolutionary product identification.
Seek the advice of with a trademark attorney, and if he believes your model or product name will be trademarked, apply for the trademark. As soon as the US Patent and Trademark Workplace points you a trademark, it will likely be a registered trademark, so you’ll then place a “®” after the model.
Patent versus Trademark: Whereas each patents and logos are issued by the US Patent and Trademark Workplace, they’re actually unrelated. A product’s expertise will be patented whereas the product’s name will not be trademarked. Or the product name will be trademarked whereas the product’s expertise will not be patented. Sears filed for a trademark for “Die Onerous” however there are not any patents associated to the battery. Regardless of the picture created by the model, there’s nothing particular, revolutionary or distinctive a couple of Die Onerous® battery. 3M filed for a trademark for “Publish-it” and likewise patented the expertise behind the product.
In case your product makes use of a novel expertise, patenting your invention is sensible. When you got here up with a marketable name to your new product, trademarking the name is sensible. However each points needs to be thought-about individually.