Patent Benefits

A patent right, because it gives its owner a monopoly, is the form of intellectual property par excellence. A patent gives the owner the right to stop others from copying, manufacturing, selling, and importing your invention without the owner’s permission. In fact, the mere existence of a patent may be enough on its own to stop others from trying to exploit the invention. If a patent owner discovers that another party uses his/her patent, the owner have the right to take legal action to stop the other party and to claim damages.

The patent also allows the patent owner to:

• sell the invention and all the intellectual property (IP) rights
• license the invention to someone else but retain all the IP rights
• discuss the invention with others in order to set up a business based around the invention.

Further to that, the public will also benefit from the patent and others can gain advance knowledge of technological developments which they will eventually be able to use freely once the patent expires.

If you do not patent your invention, anyone can use, make or sell your invention without your permission. You can attempt to keep your invention secret, but this may not be possible for a product where the technology is on display.