Sadly, the value of a patent is generally determined by the courts. Most litigation involves infringement, but there are also other lawsuits regarding ownership and inventorship and SEC anti-competitive allegations. Let IPStreet.com help you better protect against patent infringment, better utilize patent search tools and patent your invention under the guidance of an experienced patent lawyer.

Building such a fortress around the invention makes it difficult for others to use the invention without getting a license. Depending on the policy of the organization and the type of the invention, the organization can then grant either exclusive or nonexclusive licenses to use the product. There are several ways to protect IP, but one should always remember that protecting IP is expensive. Therefore, an organization needs to think carefully about its competitors, likely infringers, and the geographical area where the invention is to be marketed. Sometimes keeping an invention as a trade secret might be the cheapest way to protect it. Sometimes patenting, even if more expensive, might give better protection. Finding the best way to build and protect an IP portfolio requires imagination, in addition to a thorough knowledge of the company and its product lines. A comprehensive IP portfolio can be of substantial value to both private and public sector entities. For both sectors, patents are a key element of an IP portfolio. Large companies can afford an offensive patent strategy, but small companies may not have the necessary resources for this. Therefore, especially for small- and middle-sized companies, proper planning and parallel thinking is required to develop an effective and cost efficient strategy. Join the IP Street community and learn more about protecting your intellectual property. We have developed a comprehensive network of patent lawyers to connect you to others that can help license, protect and commercialize your idea. Patent infringement is a serious threat and protecting your invention or patent idea is critical.

Executives need vision to convert patented R&D into a profit center. Consider EMI, a london company that produces music (a music label company). In their Central Research Laboratories in Hayes, Godfrey Hounsfield had an idea to integrate X-ray slices to create a 3-D image (originally known as an EMI scan), today know as a CT or CAT scan. Godfrey was awared a Nobel Prize for his work, and later knighted. The idea came to him while picnicking in the park; however, the senior executives realized this was no picnic. They leveraged the technology (foundation patent #3,778,614), securing over 120 of the first 450 patents in this space. The legacy competitors (General Electric, Philips, Siemens) were playing catch-up with this innovator. Few executives would be brave enough to execute such a divergent business strategy.

If the complexities of legalities seems simple, you may want to consider becoming a patent agent or patent attorney. If you are a do-it-yourselfer (DIY), you may want to get David Pressman's book "Patent it Yourself" or David Hitchcock's book "Patent Searching Made Easy". If you are like the rest of us, this process does not seem simple. Sure it may cost some money to engage someone to guide you through this process, so you need to carefully consider your innovation in context of (1) is it patentable? and (2) is it a viable business opportunity? It may, however, be in your best interest to learn as much as you can about the system and then hire a competent patent attorney to get the job done. Just think what it would cost to great idea, poorly patented, which may ultimately cost you "like a bigillion dollars in lost royalties or something like that."

A design patent covers the unique, ornamental, or visible shape or surface ornamentation of an article or object, even if only on a computer screen. Thus if a lamp, a building, a computer case, or a desk has a truly unique shape, its design can be design patented. Even computer screen icons and an arrangement of printing on a piece of paper can be patented. A design must be for an article that is different from an object in its natural state; thus a figure of a man would not be suitable for a design patent but if the man is in an unnatural position, this can be patented. The uniqueness of the shape must be purely ornamental or aesthetic and part of an article. If the design is functional, then only a utility patent is proper, even if it is also aesthetic. A good example is a jet plane with a constricted waist (narrow body) for reducing turbulence at supersonic speeds: Although the novel shape is attractive, its functionality makes it suitable for a utility patent only. A useful way to distinguish between a design and a utility invention is to ask, "Will removing or smoothing out the novel features substantially impair the function of the device?" If so, as in the jet plane with the narrowed body, this proves that the novel features have a significant functional purpose, so a utility patent in indicated. According to David Pressman's book "Patent it Yourself" two useful questions to ask to define design innovations are: (1) Is the novel feature(s) there for structural or functional reasons, or only for the purpose of ornamentation? (2) Does the novel feature make it look better or work better? (The utilitarian function always prevails.) If the state of the arts is such that the general nature of the feature and its function is old, but the feature has a novel shape that is an aesthetic improvement, then only a design patent will be proper. The design patent application must consist primarily of drawings, along with formal paperwork and a filing fee. Design patents last 14 years from the date of issuance.